The fiery Indian pacer, Jasprit Bumrah is not in a habit of taking what people say about him too seriously as he focuses on staying fit physically and mentally and backing himself constantly as it keeps him ticking. In a recent interview with the Times of India, Bumrah explained that hearing comments on his action over the years has become common and that he blocks it out.

With 48 wickets in his debut year of Test cricket, Bumrah was the find of the year for the Indian team despite having played 62 limited-overs games before he made his Test debut in South Africa in January. With five-wicket hauls in South Africa, England, and South Africa, Bumrah emerged as the spearhead of India’s fast bowling attack.

During his career-best 6/33 in India’s win at the MCG in December, Bumrah eclipsed a 39-year-old Indian record. Reflecting on his debut year as a Test cricketer, Bumrah said that his comeback to the XI in England, after injury ruled him out of the defeats in Birmingham and at Lord’s, in a famous win at Nottingham was special.

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Bumrah explained, “I had missed the first two Tests and was making a comeback and there was so much talk already – in the England camp – they’d seen some videos, there was some analysis and all they did and there were experts there who said ‘this guy has only one type of delivery’, etc. Some claimed I only had an away delivery for left-handers. I said fine, if this is what they’re thinking, then I have a bit of an advantage here. Because they don’t know that I have an out-swinger as well. I remember I was bowling to Keaton Jennings and I started with two away deliveries. I teased him by moving slightly over the wicket before bringing one back in slightly. It turned out to be just enough. Small joys are the best ones.”

Asked about any other special moments from 2018, Bumrah replied: “Now that I look back, small things that happened between spells, between innings, how wonderfully I got to learn with each passing game. The first innings in Cape Town, for instance, I bowled, learned what kind of line was required there, what the conditions demanded. And then coming back in the second innings keeping those aspects in mind, doing what was required – that is what I cherish.”

Staying fit, stressed Bumrah has played a crucial role in him being a successful bowler. His idea of fitness would have to be taken to a whole new level. He feels that fitness has been the criteria back then too but international cricket is a different ballgame.

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Bumrah further explained, “The more you inculcate discipline, cheat days just keep disappearing and there comes a time when the idea of a cheat day doesn’t even occur to you. I changed my diet, changed my training routines, starting ticking certain boxes that were new to my daily routine. I’ve got to remain in the best shape possible. The thing is, reaching certain fitness levels is only half the work done. Staying there is the tougher half. The real challenge begins when you reach the top.”

Jasprit has credited Rohit Sharma for space he gives him on the field, when leading Mumbai Indians and India, whenever Virat Kohli has been rested.

Bumrah’s association with Rohit dates back to 2013 when he made his IPL debut for MI. The two have been a feature of India’s ODI and T20I teams since Bumrah made his India debut in January 2016, and Rohit was part of India’s Test XI when Bumrah earned his first cap in January 2018. 

Describing the same, he said, “He’s seen me before I was an India player and he’s seeing me now. The thing with Rohit is, he’s never been different with me. He used to back me with a lot of space then and he does it now. He’ll come, ask me what I see or believe in, set the field accordingly and then keeps backing me up all the time. Some days it works, some days it doesn’t but it’s always so reassuring.”

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In seven ODIs when Rohit has led India, Bumrah has claimed 12 wickets at 20.16 apiece while conceding runs at 4.04 an over. In five T20Is under Rohit, Bumrah has four wickets at 6.88 per over. He also stated that the Indian bowling coach 

Bumrah also singled out the importance of India’s bowling coach Bharat Arun and former New Zealand fast bowler Shane Bond in his success. He said, “Usually when a coach sees a bowler for the first time, there’s bound to be some discussion on technique. In my case, there was going to be all the more reason, given the focus around my action. But when he saw me, his first reaction was – you don’t need to change anything about your action. Then, at Mumbai Indians, I came across Shane Bond. You should ask him the number of questions I used to go to him with, all the time, asking him (how) I could add variety to my bowling. There would be never-ending questions. The idea was to keep improving all the time.”