What made playing with Bumrah unique

Yahoo

7 days ago

I first faced Jasprit Bumrah in a club match when he was still a teenager, long before he became my India team-mate.
There were other bowlers playing in the game who had played first-class cricket but he was just different.
These days, as we have seen through the current Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy, he is a complete bowler, but back then the main thing about him was his pace. He was rapid.
Throughout the following years he began to make his name in the Indian Premier League but before he played his first Test in Cape Town in South Africa in 2018, there were still a lot of question marks around him in India.
His action was unique, people questioned whether he would be able to swing the red ball or if he had the consistency and control for the longer format.
He may have only taken four wickets in that first Test but he answered all of those questions.
I remember standing at first slip with Virat Kohli next to me at second and Shikhar Dhawan at third. We were all saying how it just felt unlike any of the other bowlers.
We had Mohammed Shami, Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Hardik Pandya playing in that game but again he felt different. Shami was quick but Bumrah was quicker.
I stood at first slip a lot to Bumrah in my career. It was totally unique.
Much is made about the angle created by his action and his position wide on the crease being difficult for batters but it is tricky for slip fielders too.
The angles he creates means the wicketkeeper has to stand almost behind the stumps against right-handers, rather than on a fourth stump line. That meant I had to move further over to close the gap.
It always felt like you are seeing him jog in from straight on. When you add in his skiddy trajectory everything just felt quicker.
Bumrah would never shout at a slip fielder for dropping a catch – he is too nice a guy for that – but we did joke with him.
Off the field Jasprit is an introvert. He spends a lot of time in his room. It is not in a bad way. He just enjoys his own company.
There was a group of us – myself, Shubman Gill, Rishabh Pant and former wicketkeeper Wriddhiman Saha – who would always be playing Fifa on the PlayStation while on tour and whenever we invited Jasprit it was hard work getting him there.
In the end we had to joke that we wouldn't take any catches off his bowling if he didn't come.
Bumrah needed the help of a good partner when playing Fifa - as a gamer he's not up to much - but it was on his first tour of England in 2018 when he went up another level as a bowler.
By the time we went to Australia the following winter we realised he was our wildcard that would play for India a very long time. He was instrumental as we won in Australia for the first time.
You may remember on that tour of England a hooping inswinger he bowled to Keaton Jennings who was out lbw without playing a shot. England's batters just could not read his swing and, using the Dukes ball for the first time, when he got it to move, it moved a long way.
If I had bowled a ball like that one to Jennings I would have been running around celebrating and talking about it for ages. Jasprit stayed cool and didn't ever brag.
He just gets on with the next delivery.
In the dressing room he is always watching the game. Most fast bowlers come off the field and relax with their feet up. He does relax but he always has an eye on the field.
When I used to sit next to him he would always be giving an input on what our batters or the opposition could be doing differently, which is why he was viewed as a candidate to be captain before India appointed Shubman Gill.
Most people talk about Bumrah's skills with the ball, his angle or his action but his biggest strength is often overlooked.
He has a brilliant cricket brain which comes from his time in the IPL. There he worked with people like former Sri Lanka bowler Lasith Malinga and has gained the skills to outsmart a batter.
His first instinct is always to bowl his best ball but if a batter gets in he knows all of their strengths and weaknesses. He has taken the skills from white-ball cricket to become the complete Test bowler.
One of my favourite moments on that England tour in 2018 came in Southampton when Jasprit helped me get through to a hundred in the first innings.
I was on 96 when he came out at number 11 and I have to admit I did not think I would get there but he walked in and said "I will defend. I don't know if I will survive but I will do my best".
I ended up finishing on 132 not out as we put on 46 for the last wicket.
That day sums him up because whether batting or bowling he is a very competitive cricketer.
When it comes to his bowling, no matter the situation of the game, he always wants and believes he can get a wicket.
Ultimately, he is the perfect team man.
Cheteshwar Pujara was speaking to BBC Sport's Matthew Henry
Get cricket news sent straight to your phone