Jasprit Bumrah

In an Indian team desperately searching for a death overs' bowler, Jasprit Bumrah came to the fore through the Indian Premier League, as a boon for cricket in the country. The scantily-built pacer from Gujarat has managed to perfect the art of bowling inch-perfect yorkers as an understudy to Lasith Malinga as a part of the Mumbai Indians franchise and has grown into an indispensable asset for the Indian team in the limited-overs format.

Having been a consistent performer in the domestic circuit, Bumrah has been a menace to the batsmen at the Ranji level since his debut. His quick-arm action has made his variations almost indiscernible - starting from his slower deliveries to his reverse-swinging yorkers at the death. An injury kept him out of action for a while in the 2014/15 seasons but he returned and continued to perform unaffected by the injury break. A national call-up seemed to be just around the corner.

The inevitable call came at last as Bumrah travelled with the Indian team to Australia as an injury-replacement for Mohammad Shami, eventually making his debut in the dead rubber at the Sydney Cricket Ground. He has delivered consistent performances in coloured clothing and has since become an irreplaceable asset for his captain, consistently holding his nerve and becoming MS Dhoni's bowling counterpart as a last-over specialist for India. He went on to perform commendably for a young fast bowler in India's next world events - the ICC Champions' Trophy in 2017, where he only took 4 wickets in 5 matches, but conceded at an economy rate of just 5 runs an over, particularly impressive for a death overs' specialist.

Only one question remained. Can Bumrah become an effective Test bowler? He has shown appetite and ability for red-ball cricket, bowling Gujarat to their maiden Ranji Trophy title, in 2016-17. However, the Kookaburra ball posed a whole new challenge. He was handed the elusive Test cap in January 2018 in South Africa, and showed his adaptability with his skiddy nippers and unpredictable scrambled-seamers, proving to be the find of the tour for India - in other words, a good start in Tests for the versatile Bumrah.

In the season to follow, Bumrah's reputation would grow staggeringly as he would take Test cricket by storm in just his first year in whites. With sensational performances in England and Australia, he broke the record for the most wickets taken in overseas Tests by an Indian bowler in a single year.

Bumrah was India’s talismanic bowler at the 2019 ODI World Cup, ending as his team’s leading wicket-taker with 18 scalps to his name. Shortly after the World Cup, Bumrah took a Test hat-trick against West Indies in Kingston, Jamaica. The workload of being a three format player finally started affecting Bumrah, as he suffered a stress fracture to his back and missed the bulk of the white ball 2021 and 2022 cricket seasons. He missed two T20I World Cups for India, but starred for India in Tests as he was the leading wicket-taker in the 2021 tour to England. Bumrah also got a chance to captain India in the 5th Test against England where he scored 29 runs in an over off Stuart Broad, which remains a record in Test cricket.

Bumrah made a full recovery in 2023, right in time for the ODI World Cup. He was superb in that tournament too as India stormed their way into the final, before being outplayed by Australia. In 2024, he troubled England with reverse sweep and some toe crushing yorkers in the Test series which India won 4-1. Bumrah was selected for the 2024 T20I World Cup as well. He produced match winning performances against Pakistan in the group stage and against South Africa in the final, as India won both those games from losing positions to end their trophy drought since 2013. He produced two balls of the tournament in that final - one to dismiss Hendricks and one to dismiss Marco Jansen, and was rightly named as Player of the Series in that World Cup.

Later in that year, Bumrah got a chance to lead India once again for the first Test against Australia in Perth. He produced a fast bowling spell for the years in Perth as India registered one of their most iconic away wins to start the series on a winning note. A fast bowler with freakish accuracy, a lethal yorker and a calm mind that revels at the biggest stage, Jasprit Bumrah has undoubtedly already become one of India’s best ever to play the game. The real question is how far can this smiling assassin go with a good chunk of his cricketing career still ahead of him.

IPL through the years

One of the many things the IPL can boast of is being a feeder system of emerging talent. It provides a platform for unheard players to make themselves known, to throw their hat in the ring as far as national reckoning goes. And no one exemplifies this better than Jasprit Bumrah, probably the IPL's biggest gift to Indian cricket.

Bumrah built his reputation by being different. A short run-up followed by a snappy bowling action with his arms rigid as bones, where it seems like everything could go wrong, right up until the point when it doesn't. His reliability is what surprisingly started to stand out amid the mayhem of the IPL. Under the guidance of a death-bowling expert like Lasith Malinga, Bumrah flourished. He made his debut in the 2013 edition of the competition, where he barely got much game time, but would quickly go on to become a regular in the MI playing eleven in the seasons to follow, surprising batsmen with the pace he generated off his wrist.

By 2017, he had established himself as the team's go-to bowler, even ahead of Malinga, evidenced by the decision to give him the responsibility of a Super Over against the Gujarat Lions, where he justified the call by defending 12 runs against Brendon McCullum and Aaron Finch. In that same year, Bumrah bowled MI into the finals through a match-winning spell of 3/7 in three overs in the second Qualifier against KKR, and then played a big part in clinching the trophy for Mumbai just when it seemed that Pune would cruise home.

It came as no surprise that Bumrah was one of the three players to be retained by MI for 2018. And he repaid the faith by finishing the season as the team's top wicket-taker, with an economy of under 7 - the first time he'd done that.

In the 2019 season, Bumrah was the leading wicket-taker with 19 wickets as Mumbai won a thrilling final against Chennai Super Kings. Bumrah was in sublime form in the 2020 Covid season as well, picking up 27 wickets. He was the second highest wicket-taker of the tournament, behind only Kagiso Rabada. Mumbai Indians defended their IPL title that season.

Bumrah was the leading wicket-taker for Mumbai in the 2021 and 2022 season as well, but the team’s performances were subpar and MI failed to make it to the playoffs. In 2023, Bumrah was ruled out of the IPL due to a back injury. He was back at his best in the 2024 season, picking 20 wickets and ending as MI’s leading wicket-taker for the season. Bumrah got his 150th IPL wicket in the 2024 season in a game against Delhi Capitals, where he finished with figures of 5/21.

In IPL 2025, Jasprit Bumrah led the bowling attack for Mumbai Indians with authority, picking up 18 wickets at an excellent economy of around 6.7. Entrusted with the toughest phases, especially at the death, he remained MI’s most reliable match-winner, combining control with wicket-taking ability.

Bumrah is expected to continue as Mumbai Indians’ strike bowler and leader of the attack, delivering in crunch moments while mentoring a younger bowling unit.