Mumbai Indians’ bowling coach Shane Bond feels that Jasprit Bumrah’s rise in international cricket is phenomenal. From being a limited-overs specialist, Jasprit has emerged as one of the finest fast bowlers across all formats of the game and even in the will play a crucial role in his team’s title defense in Indian Premier League (IPL).
As per the recent reports in ANI, Bond said, “He’s progressed massively, just three seasons ago he was still finding his feet in IPL, now he’s the number one bowler in T20s, ODIs and he’s been great in Tests as well. I think over the three years; everyone’s seen the skills he’s developed, he’s a fine all-around bowler across all formats, and like a lot of the others, he’s grown up as a person as well. All of a sudden now he’s the senior bowler in the team, although, for me, he’s still the same Jasprit I met three years ago, humble and hard-working.”
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Coincidentally, Jasprit’s rise on the international platform coincided with the decline of Lasith Malinga. In the previous season, he was announced as MI’s strike bowler that too by Malinga. However, during Bumrah’s early days with MI, it was Malinga who mentored him and made him the bowler he is today. In fact, Bumrah received BCCI’s A+ grade top contract last month.
After a grueling South Africa series, Bumrah took a break from international cricket and as a result of that, he was rested from the Nidahas trophy 2018, which was a T20I tri-series tournament in Sri Lanka including Bangladesh. Talking about his break, Jasprit said, “I am very happy to be back from my break. I bowled a lot of overs in South Africa and have been playing continuously throughout the year. It was a good break and a necessary one. It wasn’t like I was sleeping at home, I was at NCA, training. The hunger is back, and it feels good to be back.”
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Mumbai will take on their biggest rivals, Chennai Super Kings (CSK) in the tournament opener of the IPL at Wankhede Stadium on Saturday. Bumrah shrugged off questions on the CSK threat and the responsibilities that come as the bowling spearhead.
Describing his responsibilities, Bumrah said, “I have played against Chennai before. It’s good to play against India teammates, although I will not be seeing this as a special challenge against a particular opponent. As a bowling unit, which we have a very one, we do not depend on one particular bowler, we have got many varieties in our line-up and as a unit, if we create pressure, the job’s done. I don’t think about all the responsibilities; I just enjoy whatever job I am given.”
