"I am going to bowl this ball, you set the field" - Jasprit Bumrah opens up on his early interaction with captain Rohit Sharma in the IPL
Team India lead pacer Jasprit Bumrah has revealed that he blindly trusted skipper Rohit Sharma with field placing when he had the ball in hand during his early days in the IPL. He stated that he just tells the captain what ball he is going to bowl and leaves it to Rohit as to what kind of field he wants to set.
Rohit and Bumrah are teammates for India and the Mumbai Indians (MI) franchise in the IPL. Both the senior players performed key roles as Team India lifted the 2024 T20 World Cup last month. While Rohit was India's leading run-getter in the ICC event, with 257 runs from eight innings, Bumrah was the Player of the Tournament for claiming 15 wickets in eight matches at an economy rate of 4.18.
Speaking on the show Indian Express Adda, Bumrah opened up on the kind of equation he shares with Rohit and how highly dependent he was on the MI skipper during his early days.
"When I came into cricket, I actually didn't know a lot. When I started playing in the IPL as well, I even used to go and tell Rohit that you set the field, I don't know where the ball... I am going to bowl this ball. You set the field and I trust you. Whatever you feel is right, you set the field. Slowly, I realized that I cannot be overly dependent on someone because I have to learn my own craft," the 30-year-old commented.
While Rohit announced his retirement from T20Is after the 2024 T20 World Cup win, Bumrah is expected to be one of the key members of the Indian side that will look to defend the ICC title in 2026.
Rohit Sharma will lead the ODI side in Sri Lanka; Jasprit Bumrah rested for the tour
It was initially reported that Rohit, Virat Kohli, and Bumrah would be rested for the white-ball tour of Sri Lanka. However, Rohit and Kohli have made themselves available for the ODIs, reportedly at the insistence of new head coach Gautam Gambhir. Bumrah, however, has been granted a much-needed break.
While sharing his views on the decision to rest the premier fast bowler, Gambhir explained at a press conference a few days back:
“Workload management for someone like Bumrah is important. For Bumrah, because he is one rare kind of a bowler who anyone would want, so it’s our responsibility to try and have him fresh for most of the important games. Not just for Bumrah but for other fast bowlers too."
Bumrah is among the few players who feature in all three formats for India. The 30-year-old has played 195 international matches across the three formats, claiming 397 wickets at an average of 21.10, with 12 five-wicket hauls.