Jasprit Jasbirsingh Bumrah born 6 December 1993 is an Indian international cricketer, who plays for the Indian national cricket team in all formats of the game. After a couple of moderately successful seasons with the Mumbai Indians at the Indian Premier League, and with his domestic team Gujarat, he was named in India’s squad for its 2015–16 series against Australia, as a replacement to an injured Bhuvneshwar Kumar.
Bumrah made his debut in One Day Internationals and Twenty20 Internationals in 2015–16 series against Australia. He is the first Asian bowler to take 5 wickets in a test innings in South Africa, England and Australia during the same calendar year. He is also the third highest wicket taker in test matches in a debut year with 48 wickets in 8 matches.
Early life
Bumrah’s father Jasbir Singh died when he was 5 years old. He was brought up by Daljit Bumrah, a single mother working as a school teacher in Ahmedabad, Gujarat in a middle-class surrounding. Daljit made an appearance in the 2019 Netflix documentary Cricket Fever: Mumbai Indians where she was emotional on the cricketing success of her son.
Domestic cricket
Bumrah plays first-class cricket for Gujarat and he made his debut against Vidarbha in October 2013 during the 2013–14 season. He picked up 7 wickets in the match. Eventually, he ended the tournament as the side’s leading wicket-taker.
A right-arm fast-medium pacer from Gujarat with an unusual bowling action, Bumrah made his T20 debut against Maharashtra in the 2012–13 Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy, and also helped his side clinch the title with his Man of the Match performance. His figures of 3/14 were instrumental to Gujarat’s win over Punjab in the final.
A 19-year old Bumrah grabbed instant limelight when on his Indian Premier League (IPL) debut, he finished with figures of 3/32 against Royal Challengers Bangalore. While doing so, he became only the second bowler in the side to take three wickets on debut. Though he played just a couple of games in the Pepsi IPL 2013 for Mumbai Indians, his impressive show in the domestic circuit convinced the Mumbai Indians management to buy him back for Pepsi IPL 2014 season. He was named in the IPL XI of the tournament in 2017 by Cricbuzz. In 2018 he took 78 wickets.
He was also named in the T20 XI of the years 2016 and 2017 by ESPNCricinfo and in 2017 by Cricbuzz.
Bumrah went on to win the 2019 IPL title with Mumbai Indians for a record 4th time while also being adjudged the Man of the Match in the final against Chennai Super Kings.
In the 2020 IPL, Bumrah was instrumental in Mumbai qualifying for the final. Bumrah delivered a man of the match performance in the qualifier.
On 11 December 2020, he scored his maiden first class half century (55*) against Australia A during the India tour of Australia.
International career
Bumrah made his T20I debut on 26 January 2016 against Australia.
In the two matches, T20I series against West Indies in August 2016, he became the bowler to claim most wickets (28) in Twenty20 Internationals in one calendar year surpassing the record of Dirk Nannes.
In January 2017, in the second match of T20I series of England’s 2016–17 India tour, Bumrah played a crucial role in India’s win. He picked up two wickets and gave away 20 runs in his quota of four overs. Bowling at the death, in the final over, he took 2 wickets giving away only two runs when England needed eight to win. He was awarded Player of the Match, he produced an excellent yorker in the final ball, with 6 runs required. During the 2017 Sri Lanka tour, Bumrah recorded the most wickets (15) taken by any fast bowler in a bilateral ODI series of five or fewer matches. He is remembered for bowling a no-ball in the final of the Champions Trophy 2017 that resulted in a wicket. The batsman, Fakhar Zaman, went on to score a match-defining century.
In November 2017, he was named in India’s Test squad for their series against South Africa. He made his Test debut for India against South Africa at Newlands in Cape Town on 5 January 2018. Jasprit Bumrah got his maiden Test wicket as he clean bowled AB de Villiers for 65 runs. In the 3rd Test Match of India Tour of South Africa 2017-18, at Johannesburg, Bumrah took his maiden five-wicket haul in Tests, with figures of 5/54 from 18.5 overs. He was named in the ODI XI of the year by Cricbuzz.
Bumrah took his 2nd five-wicket haul in Tests, with figures of 5/85 from 29 overs, in the 3rd Test Match of India Tour of England 2018, at Trent Bridge, as India defeated England by 203 runs.
On the Boxing Day Test of India Tour of Australia 2018, Bumrah took his 3rd five-wicket haul in Tests, on the 3rd day, with career-best figures of 6/33, to wrap up Australia’s first innings on 151. By doing that, he also became the first Asian bowler to take five-wicket hauls in Australia, England and South Africa in the same calendar year. Overall, he had finished the series as the highest wicket-taker, with 21 wickets. He had finished the year, with 48 wickets, which was a record for Indian bowler in his debut year in Test cricket. For his performances in 2018, he was named both in the World Test XI and ODI XI by the ICC. He was also named in the ODI XI of the year 2018 by ESPNCricinfo and Test XI and ODI XI by Cricbuzz.
– Legendary pacer Wasim Akram, January 2019
In April 2019, he was named in India’s squad for the 2019 Cricket World Cup. The International Cricket Council (ICC) named him as one of the five exciting talents making their Cricket World Cup debut. On 5 June 2019, in India’s opening match of the tournament, against South Africa, Bumrah played in his 50th ODI match. On 6 July 2019, in the match against Sri Lanka, Bumrah took his 100th wicket in ODIs and became the second-fastest Indian to do so after Mohammed Shami. He finished the tournament as the leading wicket-taker for India and the fifth highest overall, with eighteen dismissals in nine matches. He was named in the ‘Team of the Tournament’ by the ICC and ESPNCricinfo.
In August 2019, Bumrah took his fourth Test five-wicket haul against the West Indies in the first Test match of India tour of West Indies 2019, at the Sir Vivian Richards Stadium, with figures of 5/7 in the 2nd innings. In the second Test match, he became the third bowler for the Indian cricket team to take a hat-trick in a Test match.
Bumrah took his maiden Test wicket in India as Daniel Lawrence for nought in England Tour of India 2021.
Bowling style
Bumrah gained prominence with his unorthodox action and his ability to bowl yorkers at the right time and perform well in the death overs. He has an anomalous, sling-arm action and coupled with natural pace, and a peculiar release point of his deliveries makes it hard for the batsmen to pick him up early. He bowls outside the off-stump or short quite consistently.
– Legendary Australian fast bowler Dennis Lillee, December 2018
Bumrah carved himself a reputation for possessing an uncanny ability to hit the blockhole, just like his Mumbai Indians team-mate, the Sri Lankan Lasith Malinga. Bumrah has grown into an indispensable asset for the Indian team in the limited-overs format.
Bumrah is considered one of the fastest Indian bowlers with an average speed of 142 km/h, his fastest being 153.26 km/h, which he bowled during the first Test match of India Tour of Australia 2018, at the Adelaide Oval, outpacing Mitchell Starc and Pat Cummins.
My all-time favourite bowlers are Mitchell Johnson, Wasim Akram and Brett Lee. I used to watch their videos and learn from them. I have learnt a lot from Johnson, and Malinga too. I try to learn from any senior bowlers who have played international cricket. – Bumrah
Mumbai Indians bowling coach and former New Zealand fast bowler Shane Bond said: “Boom’s action, though unique, is repeatable. He has great control.”
Former Indian fast bowler Ashish Nehra also commented on his bowling action:
What you do in 75–80% of your run-up, nothing matters. It’s the last 15–20%, the last four-five steps, which is the main thing. That is bowling. Bumrah runs differently, but in his last three-four steps – he is loading, front leg, back leg, everything is in alignment, and he is quick through the air.
Awards
- ICC ODI Team of the Year (2017, 2018)
- ICC Test Team of the Year (2018)
- ICC Men’s T20I Team of the Decade: 2011-20