Everything about Jasprit Bumrah is unconventional. This includes the way he bowls and the way he is treated. When India’s pace spearhead broke down last year after a long chain of injury-related complications, carping critics came down on him like a tonne of bricks.
Why?
Bumrah has never been the conventional fast bowler. His action doesn’t follow the prescribed smooth run-up, then acceleration and hitting top pace at the time of release. He had begun with the tennis ball, simply trying to bowl fast.
For him to be near the top in the list of wicket-takers in the ongoing World Cup is fantastic. He has a tally of 10 wickets from four matches, one behind Mitchell Santner. Considering that the event is played in the sub continent, spinners are expected to top the charts.
Bumrah just keeps defying the odds. His career was off to a humble start in Ahmedabad. His talent was never in doubt, just that the coaches who saw him early were worried if he could sustain the pace which terrorised local cricketers.
Playing age group cricket for Gujarat was no big deal. Where Bumrah really caught the eye was the Indian Premier League (IPL). Almost a decade ago, the talent in him was spotted by John Wright of Mumbai Indians.
The IPL? Was that not supposed to finish cricketers, not make them! Then, Bumrah had the last laugh. He still smiles, has a hearty laugh when people ask him about his bowling, his pace, him making batters hop. Bowling at a pace of around 140kmph is the hallmark of Bumrah. Yet, there were talks that success in the IPL will not make him a super hit for India.
How wrong have the fans and critics been!
Bumrah is an anti-thesis, really. He did not go to the pace foundation run by MRF in Chennai. In the good old days, none other than Dennis Lillee was moulding wannabe fast bowlers over there. After him, Glenn McGrath took charge.
In an interview before the World Cup, Bumrah spoke of how he learnt cricket by just watching matches on television. This is the big difference. This guy is a natural and unconventional.
Former India captain, Mohammed Azharuddin, had told this writer a few years ago that “this kind of action” would land Bumrah with back trouble. Azhar may have been right. Bumrah’s back has caused problems. He needed rest and rehab to return to international cricket. Even that, according to many, was a bit rushed.
That is when Bumrah decided to have a back surgery abroad, rest and undergo proper rehab. Would the man with that jerky, bouncy action, with a short run-up be a hit again?
Proof of the pudding, they say, is in eating it. Bumrah’s return to international cricket caused apprehension. Not that the bowler had any doubt. The critics felt he would not be the same again. Bumrah likes proving people wrong. He came back. Rather, he came back with a bang.
If his return in the away series against Ireland was closely followed, the bigger question was could he make the transition from T20s to ODIs. And then, when Hardik Pandya hobbled off the field in Pune on Thursday, Bumrah must have watched with sympathy.
Fast bowling is a natural art as well as hard work. Not many understand what it takes to become a fast bowler of international repute. After having made his mark in every format and every continent he has played in, Bumrah is still under the microscope. He has proven that he is not a one-trick pony. Nor has the IPL finished him. If the workload is managed properly, he can still go flat out and make life uncomfortable for batters.
To rest Bumrah during the World Cup is next to impossible. He has to go on, bowl and blow them away even on pitches not offering much to the pacers. So far, the Ahmedabad boy turned genius has demonstrated his skills on unfavourable surfaces in Chennai, Delhi, Ahmedabad and Pune.
Amazing, isn’t it? A guy who was “supposed to fail” continues to rock with his black magic with the white ball in his hand.