Jasprit Bumrah Opens Up About His Life Without Cricket In Forbes Interview

Jasprit Bumrah admitted that he didn’t always know where life would take him. “If I wasn’t a cricketer, I’d probably be a struggling cricketer,” he quips, reflecting on his unwavering love for the game.

In an interview with Forbes India, Bumrah spoke about his passion for bowling, the challenges of the game and his extraordinary journey from watching cricket on television to becoming India’s spearhead.

The allure of fast bowling

For a young Bumrah, the sight of fast bowlers dismantling stumps and making batsmen jump left an indelible impression. “I was fascinated to see the stumps flying and the batsmen ducking,” he recalls. Unlike many kids in love with batting, Bumrah’s heart was set on bowling.

Even now, his teammates know what his priorities are. “Batting doesn’t excite me,” he laughs. “Bowling is harder and I remind him of that often.”

Your toughest opponent? Surprisingly, he is a teammate. “Ashwin in the nets,” he says with a smile. “He always brings something out of the box.”

From dreams to reality

Bumrah’s rise is nothing short of meteoric. In 2024 alone, he was the Player of the Series in India’s victorious T20 World Cup campaign and the leading wicket-taker of the year across all formats. His statistics are staggering: 77 wickets in 20 matches, a Test average of 19.52 and a reputation for excellence in all conditions.

But Bumrah is not one to obsess over numbers. “I focus on the boy who dreamed of playing for India,” he says. “The numbers are just an advantage.”

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The origins of the Yorker

One of Bumrah’s deadliest weapons, the yorker, has its roots in gully cricket. “As a kid, I loved watching hitters struggle,” he remembers. “I played yorkers over and over again, not realizing I was developing a skill.”

Since then, that ability has rattled hitters around the world. From his crushing yorkers to his unpredictability with pace and swing, Bumrah has transformed into a nightmare for even the game’s best.

A legacy in the making

Bumrah’s achievements say it all. He has surpassed Kapil Dev to become India’s highest wicket-taker in SENA countries and has the most five-wicket hauls by an Indian pacer after Dev.

The 2024 T20 World Cup final showed Bumrah’s brilliance. Defending 22 runs off 18 balls, Bumrah’s economical over strangled South Africa’s chase, turning the game on its head.

“I stayed in the present,” he says, reflecting on the tense moments. “I didn’t think about the glory balls, but rather focused on taking the team to a better position.”

Based despite success

Despite all his achievements, Bumrah remains steadfast. The joy of the T20 World Cup victory was in stark contrast to the silence that followed India’s defeat in the ODI World Cup final just a few months earlier.

“Winning was an incredible feeling, but we kept our feet on the ground,” he says. “We know how quickly things can change,” he concluded.

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