The fascinating story of Jasprit Bumrah and his famous yorkers

Bowling in the death is a tormenting job and MS Dhoni has been waiting for a long time for a bowler whose forte itself is his ability to bowl pin point yorkers. But, with the arrival of the young Jasprit Bumrah, the search finally came to an end for Captain Cool.

His bowling action is naturally unorthodox. Stiff body, both hands almost parallel, hyper extension of the shoulder meant that his hands are straight as an arrow, an unusual release point with a strong jerk of the wrists. But, every success story has a fascinating behind the scenes build up to it. And, the 22-year-old speedster also has an extraordinary story behind his choice to become a fast bowler, his famous action and effective yorkers.

Jasprit Bumrah belongs to a modest family and grew up with his mother Daljeet and sister Juhika. He saw ups and downs in his life right since a young age. Jasprit, unfortunately, lost his father Jasbir Singh who succumbed to Hepatitis B when he was just seven years old. His mother Daljeet shouldered the family burden and brought up the brother sister duo Juhika and Jasprit on her own.

So how did he learn to hurl those difficult to handle yorkers? Summers are obviously hot in Indian and Jasprit would prefer bowling inside his house instead to going out in the harsh sun. However, the constant thudding sound of the ball made while he bowled at the wall disturbed his mothers afternoon nap.

So his mother came up with one condition, she told him he could only bowl at the walls if he found a way to keep the noise down. Thus, in order to find a way to avoid disturbing his mothers sleep, Jasprit came up with the unique idea of bowling at the floor skirting, the place where the wall meets the floor. He kept playing that way, and his mother barely realized. This new ‘home-grown’ technique indirectly is primarily the reason behind his success as a fast bowler.

A couple of years later, he grew interest in cricket and Jasprit spoke to his mother about his dream of playing the game. His mother still remembers the day the 14-year-old Jasprit came up with a request. “He said he wanted to become a cricketer. I was surprised of course and initially said, there are so many kids playing cricket and that it would not be easy. But he said, please keep faith in me. Being a single parent, I was a bit apprehensive but how could I have said no. At school, I keep telling parents that every child has a dream and we should give them a chance.”

It is a strong fact that if you have to be successful in the shortest format as a bowler you must have a good yorker in your arsenal.

From there on began the cricketing journey. He left an impression in every camp he attended in Gujarat and soon, made it to the MRF Pace Foundation and the zonal camp of the National Cricket Academy.

He was picked for Gujarat U-19 and his eyeball grabbing performances made Gujarat pick him for Syed Mushtaq Ali T20 championship at Pune in 2012. This was the turning point of his life. Former India coach John Wright, who was scouting for the IPL team Mumbai Indians, had flown into the city. The teenager with his unorthodox action made Wright take notice of him.

“There was something about his action and the momentum he generated just as he was about to deliver the ball,” Wright would say later.

Soon Bumrah was surprised with a Mumbai Indians contract which brought him in the company of cricket heavyweights like Sachin Tendulkar, Ricky Ponting and Anil Kumble, Lasith Malinga and Mitchell Johnson.

He made his Mumbai Indian debut against Royal Challengers Bangalore and ended up with 3/32 in the match including the wicket of Virat Kohli. He learnt more about fast bowling practicing with Sri Lankan Lasith Malinga, who asked him to focus on his variation while honing his basics.

Bumrah has a unique action. Throughout his growing years, no one tried to alter of modify his action. Even Glen McGrath at the MRF told him this was a good action and not to change it.

Jasprit Bumrah soon was selected in the Indian team on the back of his performance in the Vijay Hazare trophy 2015 and landed in Australia, making his T20 debut. He impressed in Australia which made Dhoni name him ‘the find of the tour’. He continued to impress and is now MS Dhoni’s preferred choice to bowl in the tense death overs. Bumrah has surely earned a reputation of his own and is now India’s death over specialist.

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