Jasprit Bumrah credits international success to IPL and first-class experience

Jasprit Bumrah was the highest wicket-taker in the series against Zimbabwe

Since January 2016, Jasprit Bumrah has been hailed as the next big thing in India's relatively young and inexperienced bowling attack. His performance in the recently concluded ODI series against Zimbabwe was no different.

In the three-game series, Bumrah has taken nine wickets (including a four-wicket haul) even as the conditions for bowling consistently deteriorated with each passing game. Speaking to NDTV, Bumrah said, “It is always good when the ball is moving, so you can try out more variations. The wicket today was not offering as much help as it was in the earlier two games.”

The weather before and during the match was warm and sunny as compared to the relatively colder weather during the previous two games. As a result, the ball moved around less than it did in the first two matches. Throughout the series, Zimbabwe have proved to be largely inept at facing India's bowling attack and the last game was no different.

"International cricket is international cricket (whether it is Zimbabwe or any other team). The days are going good for us, we are getting the results. We are looking to keep on improving", said the 22-year-old right arm bowler.

Bumrah, who was instrumental in seeing India through a must win game against Bangladesh in the World T20 in March, has proved himself to be quite a solution during a crisis on more than one occasions. Expressing a wish to continue improving for his team and a million supporters in his country, Bumrah recalled a time when his inherent aggression prevented him from getting desired results when it came to improving his bowling.

"When I started to play cricket, I used to be very aggressive, I used to do stupid things. But the more I played, I realised the calmer I am, the better it is for me when I bowl", Bumrah told Asian News International. This realisation has certainly worked in favour of team India.

Speaking at the post-match press conference, Bumrah attributed his success to the experience first class cricket and the IPL has given him. "Earlier, I didn't have that ball, I only used to bring it in. But after playing the IPL and first-class cricket, I have learnt quite a lot with the experienced coaches,” he said.

He made it a point to thank the different coaches he has played under over the years, adding that it took a “long time” for him to perfect his style. Being particularly good at yorkers, over time Bumrah has acquired versatility which helped him take wickets and earned him the reputation of a formidable bowler.

Bumrah, who has regularly featured in India's games in the limited overs format since his debut in Australia, said that he personally does not treat ODI's and T20Is any different when it comes to planning a gameplay.

“In T20 cricket, the mindset is different because you only get four overs. Mostly, you get two overs upfront and two overs at the death. That's a different ball game; the batsmen are more attacking in that. In this, there are 50 overs, so the batsmen sometimes take their time to play their innings. But I keep the same mindset,” he added.