Jasprit Bumrah — the King of Yorkers!

Indians are crazy about cricket and movies, and an auspicious ‘marriage’ of Cricket and Bollywood defines the mind-set of the Indian millennial — glamorous, sporty, ‘filmy’, with a zest to succeed and an equally deep commitment to learn from the life experiences of success and failures. Welcome a new breed of cricket players who are not only more fit and aggressive, but have in them the traits of taking life head on, accepting challenges and coming out as winners — just like a blockbuster Bollywood movie plot. This is the perfect set of cricketers for our ‘always filmy’ nation. And why not? Cricket entertains and unites the entire nation into one spirit quite like Bollywood does.

Let’s take a look at the making of the new face of bowling in Indian Cricket — Jasprit Bumrah. Life happens to each one of us at different ages, but you never know when the opportune moment strikes. For Bumrah, the opportunity to play for the Indian cricket team bounced high and early on at his door. Starting young and being scooped out of the blind as a Jonty Rhodes catch on point, this is the story of a young lad from Ahmedabad we, at Zaggle, like to call,

“The making of the King of Yorkers, Jasprit Bumrah”.

Now, the peculiar thing that defines the millennial generation is that they do not wait for perfection to happen, but go headlong into challenge and innovate along the way. They know the value of that first opportunity presented to them and how it is so special. In Bumrah’s case, he was thrown into the ‘deep-end of the pool’ in his very first game in the Indian Premier League.

Playing against Virat Kohli and AB De Villiers in the IPL’s first season, he was hit all around the park. Bumrah stood his ground, went back and came trotting in, angled the ball back in and hit Kohli right in front of the stumps. Boom! and Bumrah managed a Leg before Wicket. Who knew that Boom Boom Bumrah was in the making.

Another opportune moment allowed Jasprit Bumrah to boom all the way to the Indian Cricket Team’s dressing room at the Sydney Cricket Ground and debut against Australia in international cricket. After a long and tiring flight from India, Jasprit landed in Australia an hour before the pre-match practice session. He didn’t think he would be picked among the playing 11, but to his surprise, he was! In the dressing room before the game started, Jasprit did experience a case of nerves — jitters and overthinking about the upcoming match and how he would perform. Perhaps he expected someone to come up and comfort him, maybe give guidance about how to deal with the first experience on foreign ground in international cricket, but none of that happened.

Everyone around was focusing on the match strategy. Enter the captain of the Indian Cricket Team — Mahendra Singh Dhoni! In the Bollywood filmy style of last-minute pre-match pep-talk, Dhoni told Bumrah to not worry. “ You just go out there and do what you know best ”, said Dhoni. Bumrah found his Eureka moment when he realised that stressing about what happens in the future would block his mind from playing the game in the present moment. He simply needed to live in the moment and work towards giving his best shot to every moment in the present.

Despite some defeats in the series, captain Dhoni admitted that the biggest find on the tour was Jasprit Bumrah and his bowling tactics which now gave stability to the Indian team’s bowling attack which was until then severely lacking. The Indian Cricket team is always known more for the strong batting lineup. “Boom-Boom Bumrah’s” journey had begun with a memorable tour in which the Aussies were white washed in their own backyard.

Jasprit Bumrah also exemplifies the millennials’ unorthodox way of thinking and innovating lives professionally and personally. In a country where following a set protocol had been the norm, the new age cricketers have redefined the way cricket is played by giving their unique styles to the game. Bumrah’s bowling style is unique because he learns, adapts, and develops his variations in all the games, making him difficult to predict.He has developed new and innovative variations and tactics such as a new slower one, an accurate bouncer and a polished yorker.

Although Kapil Dev remarked early on in his career that Jasprit was too unorthodox and with an awkward bowling action it would not allow him to survive for long in international cricket; Bumrah was still praised by his mentor Shane Bond, who spoke of him as having a calm demeanour and a maturity beyond his years. Cricket lovers often make comments like this one in Hindi,  “kitna relax hai ” meaning how calm Jasprit is even in strenuous conditions.  Bumrah has the ability to understand the match situation, has a good temperament, the pace, the guile and the occasional variation to flummox the batsmen, with a slinging arm action, pace upwards of 140kmph, a straight right arm, an elbow that doesn’t bend, a high arm and a whippy release.

But Jasprit’s grit, determination, and steadfast focus have changed the Indian cricket’s perception towards unorthodox bowlers. With their unique bowling actions and variations, they now stand a fighting chance to perform well in all formats of the game. This paradigm shift is part of the bigger blockbuster in the making for Indian cricket and is a ushering in of a new era of thinking which players such as MS Dhoni and Virat Kohli have built and shaped. MSD has himself never followed the beaten path and has carved a niche for himself with his calm presence on the field in moments of triumph and defeat. Not having the grace of a Sachin or the soft hands of a Kirmani, what sets Dhoni apart is his aptitude and a lion-hearted approach to the game. This more than what makes up for perceived lack of technique and has made him the cool and unflappable cricketer under pressure.

In any case, I believe in cricket and life, technique is overrated and temperament and attitude are of far greater value and they differentiate the winners from the losers.

For the Indian team, this is a rare breed of cricketer and a momentum changer. Kohli, on the other hand, is just like Kapil in his stern advocacy of fitness. The new regimen under his captaincy has brought the idea of fitness in the team, and has perhaps made the team one of the fittest in world cricket. New age players like Jasprit have benefitted from this. Jasprit’s unorthodox playing style and his being a pacer, requires high levels of health and fitness to maintain his performance over time.

Jasprit had the opportunity to play in the Indian Premier League with his childhood cricketing hero Mitchell Johnson and to learn under “The Buddha of Cricket”, the Captain Cool — Mahendra Singh Dhoni. Having the unflappable man of Indian cricket — MS Dhoni as his mentor and his teacher, Jasprit has come a long way today.  The key to Jasprit’s success has been his spirit, discipline, focus, hard work, lots of practice and self-belief. Kapil Dev today agrees that Bumrah has proven him wrong, and it is because of Bumrah’s commitment towards learning from every session of the game.

Today we may all wonder about Jasprit’s secret mantra to success. We attribute it to his discipline on the pitch and in practice, or to his unique bowling style. However, if we dig deeper and look beneath the pitch, we will find some answers in his family, friends and his life while growing up. Simple, quiet, shy and not among the popular kids even though his mother was the Principal at the school where he studied, Jasprit Bumrah blended into the crowd. He seemed to be just another kid in the neighbourhood with love for good food. Having said that, his mind and heart were always focused on his love for the game and in the pursuit of his dreams.

Even today he is a simple and unassuming player with steadfast focus on his game. Jasprit learnt to take responsibility in his family, which includes his mother and his sister, at the tender age of 7 after his father passed away. Perhaps growing up as his mama’s boy and a responsible brother made him a very strong family man. His mother is known to have advocated that every child should be allowed to pursue his or her dreams. Her support and patient belief in little Jasprit’s big dreams gave Jasprit Bumrah the courage and the ability to learn, grow, and pick up the pieces after each fall to keep moving forward.

With a love for Punjabi chicken curry and Hyderabadi Biryanis, boom boom Bumrah, as he is lovingly known, is part of a delicious new and coming of age collection of recipes of Indian cricket where the ingredients are not only full of old world flavour but also consist of new age health conscious & organically home grown, farm fresh food with a sprinkle of exotic spices, dollops of dedication and a dash of determination.

This is the making of the King of Yorkers and the story has just begun!