It feels good that the captain has so much of confidence in me: Jasprit Bumrah

Jasprit Bumrah, India’s go-to bowler in the limited-overs format bowled magnificently to register match-winning figures of 2/28 against South Africa. Captain Virat Kohli, had a headache before stepping into the tournament to deal with in terms of selecting the playing XI.

While veterans like Ravichandran Ashwin and Mohammed Shami warmed the bench, the skipper showed confidence in young Bumrah despite the fact that he was alien to English pitches. The 23-year-old, in return, credits Kohli for giving him the freedom to express himself.

Confidence of the captain

“It feels good that the captain has so much of confidence in you that he gives you freedom to do whatever you want. When this happens, a youngster like me can express himself and show what he is capable of,” Man of the Match Bumrah said at a mixed zone interaction after team’s win against South Africa.

Though he has picked up only 2 wickets in the tournament so far, he has an economy rate of 4.77, and that is commendable for someone who usually bowls a full quota of 10 overs. Interestingly, because he is the ‘death overs specialist’, he bowls a majority of his overs towards death, when the batsmen usually choose the aerial route. However, Bumrah is against being labelled as slog overs specialist.

“You know, we don’t focus on these things. You can’t just be labelled as ‘death bowler’ or a swing bowler (in case of Bhuvneshwar Kumar), whenever you are given the ball, you have to contribute. You bowl according to situations – whether at the death or at the beginning. The aim is to stick to a plan and execute it,” Bumrah expressed his reservations being deemed as a ‘one trick pony’.

Good performances are a mixture of youth and experience

Being the youngest in the team along with Hardik Pandya, he looks up to the seniors in the team who have encouraged his growth and presence in the team since his debut. The 23-year-old mentioned that the inputs of experienced players has been helpful for him.

“I take inputs from our senior bowlers who have played a lot in these conditions. Our coach (Anil Kumble), Mahi Bhai, Virat gives us tips on what are the conditions, discuss plans. It’s of great help,” Bumrah said.

Bhuvneshwar Kumar, who is the “new-ball bowler” in the side is known for his ability to swing the ball. However, despite overcast conditions, he said that there was no swing in any of the three matches India played. Bumrah also agreed that there is no swing available for bowlers on tracks which have benefitted the batsmen more.

“I don’t know as this is my first visit to England. I have not played here earlier but whatever I heard the ball swings here quite a lot. But so far there has not been any swing available. Bowlers have to adapt all the time. We focus on other options – to contain the batters.”

“The conditions were favouring the batsmen and wickets are also stable. You can’t bowl full and try to swing the ball. You have to contain the batsman and it worked in our favour. So even if I don’t get wickets, somebody else will get wickets. That was the basic plan, to bowl good, hard lengths,” he said.

On being part of a good fielding unit

The Yorker specialist, over the last few months, has grown not only as a bowler but also as a fielder. Initially, he was seen dropping easy catches and missing out on run outs but his improvisation is evident and it was only fitting that he did so while playing for a side that is now one of the best fielding sides in cricket, as displayed in their performance against Proteas.

“We have worked hard on our fielding and we always want to improve. First match was a little low on fielding aspect but we are working hard. It was a good day that we got few run outs as well,” the Gujarat lad concluded.