Jasprit Bumrah - A captain's cheat code
Imagine the process of picking players for a team. One has to segregate players based on their strengths and what sort of role that can be given to them. Some bowlers are proficient in the powerplays, some can strangle the opposition in the middle overs and a few can block them out in the death overs. Apart from that, while wicket-taking is a given for any bowler, having a penchant for delivering breakthroughs at crucial times is nothing less than a virtue.
A team has to rope in several bowlers to tick down all of the aforementioned roles and criteria. However, Mumbai Indians have Jasprit Bumrah, who is capable of fitting all the roles.
Grateful for where I've come, excited about where I'm going. 🙏💯 https://t.co/sFkmGw1Zha
Bumrah encompasses a rare breed possessing the prowess to bowl at any stage of the match. Whether it be the powerplay, the middle overs or the death overs, he has the batsmen on his strings at all times.
He broke into the scene thanks to his ability to bowl yorkers at death overs. The pacer has now developed his game to be a threat at any given stage of the innings.
He is at times given a single over in the powerplay to delay the opposition's charge. Sometimes, he is used to apply more pressure to an over in the middle overs to break a partnership. There is also the trademark two overs in the death where Bumrah is at his best.
This is where the cheat code comes into play, and even if that formula is tweaked ever so slightly, its impact will remain more or less the same. While skill and temperament remain the foundation, versatality is the cherry at the top.
Also Check: IPL Live Score | IPL Points Table | IPL Schedule
Is Bumrah the most important player for India at the T20 World Cup?
UAE remains a haven for genuine speedsters and it was evident by the performances by the likes of Jasprit Bumrah, Kagiso Rabada, Anrich Nortje and others last year.
His credentials in ODI cricket were questioned, brought up and scrutinized after successive poor overseas tours of New Zealand and Australia. However, that remains a whole separate conversation which is not deemed a priority at the moment.
It is an encouraging note that Bumrah started from right where he left off. With his performances in the Middle East, he is now the highest wicket-taker for the league in the overseas set of venues. It is evident that he has cracked the code to bowl across all three venues there.
Jasprit Bumrah has the most 3️⃣-wicket hauls in the IPL matches played in UAE
#jaspritbumrah #ipl2021 #MI https://t.co/JgGoKXKvbf
He has now picked up twice the number of wickets in the second leg than he scalped in the first leg of the tournament in India. Interestingly, he has only come out wicketless in four matches in the UAE spanning across one and a half editions.
The 28-year-old did not have the brightest start in the UAE as a youngster after a wicketless two-over spell without a wicket in 2014. 27 wickets in the previous edition was the highest any Indian bowler has picked in a single edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL).
The Indian team has several key players. Hence it is difficult to pick out a single star player. Names like Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma come to mind. While their match-winning abilities cannot be questioned, is it wrong to question their consistency when compared to Bumrah?
This time around, however, even with the wickets being considerably slower than last time, it has not put a dent in Bumrah's displays. The only concern that remains is whether it will be the same if the wickets become even slower in the T20 World Cup next month?
The key to the perfect execution of a cheat code is arguably its timing. It remains to be seen whether that will be on point or not.