Jasprit Bumrah said Rohit Sharma’s trust in him helped him a lot through his early years at Mumbai Indians, saying he still shares a wonderful relationship with his India captain.
Jasprit Bumrah said Rohit Sharma’s backing during the early stages of his career at Mumbai Indians helped him develop confidence and evolve as a bowler. Jasprit Bumrah said he started playing for the 5-time champions in the Indian Premier League regularly under Rohit Sharma’s captaincy after getting picked by MI as early as 2013.
Jasprit Bumrah Reckons He Got Freedom To Play Under MI Skipper Rohit Sharma
Speaking to Ravichandran Ashwin on his YouTube show, Jasprit Bumrah said his relationship with Rohit Sharma has been the same from the early stages of his career, and the trust the skipper had in him played a big role in his career.
The highly-rated India fast bowler said the relationship has evolved to a stage where Rohit Sharma allows him to have control over his field placements and bowling plans for Mumbai Indians.
Jasprit Bumrah made his IPL debut in 2013 but he became a regular fixture of MI’s plans only in 2016 after making his India debut. The Gujarat fast bowler has grown to become an integral member of the Mi side, picking up 130 wickets in 106 matches.
“It’s been very good (Relationship) since the early days. When I came into the side, Ricky Ponting was the captain but I was not playing regularly. But under Rohit, I did. He had a lot of confidence in me, he instilled confidence,” Bumrah said.
“He saw me bowling in the nets and the skills that I have. He always backed me, told me to believe in myself. Whenever in the initial stages as well, he had a lot of trust in me. He would give me the important overs. It’s been the same relationship.”
“Now we have reached a stage he doesn’t even tell me things. He will tell ‘you set the field on your own, if you have any changes, tell me, I will do that’. He has had that trust because I have made things work. Somedays, things might not go well, but he always has kept the atmosphere in our team very simple and calm.”
“Under him, I have got the freedom to do whatever I want. That has really helped me.”
Meanwhile, Jasprit Bumrah dismissed the popular notion that he learned the trick of the trades from the IPL, adding that domestic cricket helped him a lot.
Jasprit Bumrah Reckons Shane Bond Pushed Him Out Of His Comfort Zone
Jasprit Bumrah highlighted the role of bowling coach Shane Bond in helping him learn new things by going out of his comfort zone during his early days at the Mumbai Indians.
“And when I reached Mumbai Indians, I had a set template of playing T20 cricket which got me here. So I thought I will stick to it and I thought if I chance, I might lose the things I have.”
“When I went there, Shane Bond and the Mumbai Indians set-up taught me how to plan and analyze for different batters. When I started, I had 2-3 deliveries. I did not know what field to have when. I used to say ‘I am going to bowl this delivery, you set the field accordingly because I did not know where the ball would be good because my accuracy was still in development.”
“But at MI, I started understanding these things, started planning on my own. I started studying my own game. I realized that people are preparing for me, so I have to have things that are out of the syllabus or out of the thought process of the batter.”
“For instance, I can’t bowl a slower ball because of the dew. I developed the slower yorker. Trying different things and gaining the confidence to execute it came at MI. Shane Bond pushed me out of my comfort zone and try new things. He put me under pressure, saying the things I have not done,” he said.
Jasprit Bumrah, who the franchise retained as the second player for INR 12 crore before IPL 2022, has never worn another shirt than the Mumbai Indians. In his 106-match career, he has picked 130 wickets at 23.04 with an economy rate of 7.42. Mumbai Indians retained Rohit Sharma, Jasprit Bumrah, Kieron Pollard, Suryakumar Yadav.