File photo of Jasprit Bumrah. (AP photo) TimesofIndia.com in Mumbai: It was a pleasant October afternoon in Delhi, and Jasprit Bumrah was constantly coughing as he headed for deep leg to Gujarat. The opponents were the Railways and the venue for the Ranji Trophy was the Karnail Singh Stadium. Only a handful of people watched the first-class match and appreciated the red-ball masterclass from the ‘mystery’ bowler despite the inclement weather. He told this reporter about his poor health, which was surprising because without the respiratory illness it would be impossible to say he wasn’t 100%. He bowled 30.4 overs in two innings, taking seven wickets and showing the ability to excel in a line-up that included current selector RP Singh playing as a guest player. Bumrah’s name was not unknown in that 2015-16 season as he had already signed an IPL contract with Mumbai Indians in 2013 and made 17 appearances for the mighty franchise before playing for Gujarat on the domestic circuit. He appeared in eight matches in 2015 and returned with 21 wickets after batting 200.2 overs for the Parthiv Patel-led unit. His domestic performance set him up nicely to become a regular in the Mumbai Indians XI and slowly become the franchise’s banker in a cash-rich league.
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However, it was the 2012-13 season that put Bumrah on the map and on everyone’s radars. John Wright became the head coach of Mumbai Indians in 2013 and served them for two seasons, but it was his role as a scout that unearthed a gem, a diamond, for the franchise and Indian cricket. During one of his many excursions, the former Indian coach was watching a 2012-13 Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy match where a young bowler with a different action and mad ability to bowl yorkers caught his attention.“I saw Bumrah when I went to Ahmedabad and I was watching the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy. And I just happened to watch the last few overs of the Gujarat-Mumbai match. Bumrah played two overs and tried to yorker every ball. He had pace and that was unusual and he had an interesting, different action. I asked about Gujarativ and the captain. Confirmation.
Jasprit Bumrah of Mumbai Indians delivers the ball during the IPL 2025 match against Delhi Capitals. (Getty Images)
“So it’s a bit of luck. It’s a bit of a fluke. Bumrah was interesting because he was different. He had a different action and he was fast. And I’ve never seen anyone try to bowl 12 yorkers in a row,” Wright recalled in a chat with TimesofIndia.com.It was love at first sight and Wright immediately called up Rahul Sanghvi, who has been with the franchise since 2008 and wears many hats. Things progressed and Mumbai Indians brought him on board. “It happened really quickly. I called Rahul Sanghvi and we would sign him the next morning,” Wright said.Wright knew he had picked someone really special and different, but he received real reassurance after the great Sachin Tendulkar faced Bumrah during one of the side nets and found it “really hard to pick”.
He has a difficult action and Sachin noticed it immediately
John Wright
“Sachin batted first in the nets and I bowled Jasprit. I said, ‘Jasprit, I want you to bowl to Sachin’. We had three or four bowlers in the nets for the fast bowlers. And I’ll never forget, after Sachin had his net, he came up to me. And he said, ‘John, who’s that guy over there?’ And I said, ‘It’s Bumrah and we’ve just signed him.’ And he said, “John, it’s really hard to pick him.” I almost jumped for joy then because when he said that I thought it was great. He has a difficult event ahead of him and Sachin noticed that immediately,” said Wright.That was enough for the New Zealander to quickly include Bumrah in the Playing XI. Although he did not play every game in the first three seasons, his development was at a rapid pace and the Mumbai Indians were patient enough to see his development.“Jasprit only played two games that year and not every game the next two seasons … It took him a while. But, you know, people forget he’s only 18 or 19. And it’s going to take time to be, you know, a performer, a consistent performer,” Wright added.
Mumbai Indians’ Jasprit Bumrah warms up ahead of the IPL 2025 match against Chennai Super Kings. (Getty Images)
Mumbai Indians won the titles in 2013 and 2015 but it was in 2016 that Bumrah hit his stride and never looked back. He has remained between the wickets in every season since that year and his season economy has never reached the 8 run mark. Three more titles came in 2017, 2019 and 2020, with Bumrah playing the leading role. During these golden years for the IPL franchise, Bumrah became too valuable an asset for the national selectors to ignore. He was drafted into the white-ball setup and made his Australian debut in T20Is and ODIs in the 2016 season. And then came the unexpected Test call when head coach Ravi Shastri and captain Virat Kohli then unleashed him with the red cherry against South Africa in South Africa in 2018. The transition to red-ball cricket stood out for Wright and he still remembers the “fantastic spell” he played against England at Trent Bridge.“I remember watching the India game when Bumrah first toured England with the Test team. I was watching it on TV. I wasn’t at the match. But he bowled a fantastic spell at Trent Bridge. And I thought, ‘Wow, that’s great.’ Because he made that transition from limited over cricket to Test cricket. I was in Derbyshire. I did part of the coaching work there. He had a great tour. Then he took his game not only to the limited overs but also to the Test level. And that’s great. Because, you know, whoever worked with him and whatever he thought, I think he’s a very intelligent kid. And modest. And you’re happy for the guy that they’re doing well,” Wright said.
Jasprit Bumrah mixes it up on Day 2 of the third Test between England and India at Lord’s. (Getty Images)
Between these appearances across formats and in the IPL, Bumrah struggled with back problems and eventually underwent surgery in March 2023. Critics, always skeptical of his ‘different’ bowling option and the strain it puts on his back, drew their swords and wrote off the comeback. They said it was impossible but Bumrah was not going to give up. He missed a lot of cricket after the surgery but came back to have a great ODi World Cup 2023 campaign followed by the Border Gavaskar Trophy in Australia. The problem resurfaced in the final Test in Sydney and forced him to miss the Champions Trophy, but he returned again. This was followed by victory in the 2024 T20 World Cup in the Caribbean. While others continued to question and ponder, Bumrah slowly built up his trophy cabinet, which now includes five IPL titles and one T20 World Cup. In his 234 appearances for the country across formats, the ‘different action’ bowler has consistently made a difference. He read and saw many opinions surrounding him and his longevity, but remained mum for most of the period. This has changed in recent years.
A file photo of Jasprit Bumrah getting the attention of a physiotherapist.
During a press conference after taking five wickets against England in Leeds last year, Bumrah hit out at critics who had given him just six, eight months at the most.“They said I’d only last six months, then eight months. But playing and playing, I’m now close to completing ten years in international cricket. It’s been twelve or thirteen years since I’ve played in the IPL. Even now people are saying the same thing – ‘He’ll go now, he’ll retire now.’ Let them wait. I don’t think about all that. I will continue my work. Every three or four months, people say, ‘Now it will go, now it will go.’ We will see,” said Bumrah.“I will play as long as God has written for me. I will prepare as best I can and then leave it to God. With all the blessings he has given me, I am trying to take them forward. I am trying to take Indian cricket forward as well,” he added.
Jasprit Bumrah celebrates the wicket of Roston Chase during the T20 World Cup cricket match between India and West Indies in Kolkata. (AP)
In the ongoing T20 World Cup, he was the real bowler of the team; Suryakumar Yadav has used him in various phases as he can pull off any role to perfection. There are times when the results on the scoreboard would not attract praise and laurels, but Bumrah packs a punch and no one does it better than him. More than a decade after that pleasant afternoon in Delhi, Bumrah has taken his skills to a dangerous level. It remains a prized possession and a polished diamond that does not lose its luster. If you ask a gem nerd, he would immediately label Bumrah as a D color and IF clarity diamond. And this one is not grown in a lab, but carefully polished after years of grinding.
