Harish Kotian/Rediff.com caught up with Mumbai Indians players to find out how Jasprit Bumrah was consistent throughout IPL 10
Mumbai Indians’ third IPL triumph on Sunday was largely down to a stellar contribution with the ball from the young fast bowler Jasprit Bumrah.
The 23-year-old Gujarat fast bowler was consistent throughout the tournament but made telling contributions in the final two games to steer his team to the IPL crown.
He registered splendid figures of three for seven against Kolkata Knight Riders in Qualifier 2 in Bengaluru. And in the final, he snatched victory for MI from the jaws of defeat with a sensational spell of death bowling -- sending down yorkers after yorkers -- picking up two for 26 against Rising Pune Supergiant.
Bumrah finished with 20 wickets in 16 games in IPL-10 -- his best season in the T20 tournament in five years since he first started in 2013.
When asked if Bumrah is the best fast bowler in T20 cricket, Mumbai Indians bowling coach Shane Bond replied:
“It makes me look good when he bowls the way he does. He is probably the best one in our team to bowl the pressure overs because he has got the skills and the temperament to do. I think he has done that for Mumbai and India.”
Bond further revealed that Mumbai’s attack was tweaked around Bumrah, with the fast bowler reserved to bowl the death overs and a senior pro like Lasith Malinga was used in the middle overs.
He predicted that Bumrah also has the potential to do well in the longer format.
“Normally, you look a team like ours, you say Malinga will naturally do the death bowling, in the end Harbhajan Singh has done that and we had to tweak our bowling attack, and make Bumrah bowling at the back end and start to use Malinga bowling in the middle overs and that what put leg-spinner to give us the attacking option. When you start to base your attack around a bowler like Jasprit, that shows his quality and I think he will definitely play Test cricket and can be a world-class bowler across all formats,” said the Kiwi.
Bond stated that if Bumrah continues his good form with the ball in the upcoming ICC Champions Trophy in England, India stand a good chance of defending their title.
"I think he has got a skill set which is going to make him successful wherever he plays in the world. I think it’s his first 50-over tournament, so it’ll be a little bit different for him. But the way the guy is bowling in this tournament, if he carries this form through to that Champions Trophy than he’s going to play a big role in India’s success," he said.
Meanwhile, Mumbai Indians captain Rohit Sharma also showered rich praise on Bumrah and is hoping he can continue his good showing in the future editions of the IPL too.
“I would prefer not to say that he is the world’s best T20 bowler because, right now, he is doing a great job. I would like him to continue to do well. All those things when he sees will only add pressure on him. I don’t want to say anything. He knows what his capabilities are. He has shown it throughout the tournament when he came to bowl the Super Over to probably the best T20 batters in Aaron Finch and Brendon McCullum, defending 11 runs. He has got all the abilities to be No. 1 bowler in the world, for sure,” he said.
