One of the newer stars of the Indian team, Jasprit Bumrah is someone who is building quite the reputation as a death bowler. A talented seamer, he rose to prominence during the IPL with his unorthodox action intriguing batsmen and analysts.
However, he didn’t have any time to prepare for his debut and he revealed this side on the popular chat show, What the Duck 2. He talks about how he was called for the fifth ODI in Australia – A series where India was already losing 4-0. Taking a long flight from Delhi to Sydney, Bumrah was under the impression that he would be needed just to carry drinks on the field.
The replacement who made it:
As he reached Australia, tired from a long flight, he felt happy as the practice session they were supposed to have got cancelled. At 10 AM, he arrived and after the 12 PM session got cancelled, he had time to rest and get himself refreshed.
When the day of the ODI approached, Ravi Shastri approached Bumrah and asked him if he was fresh and ready. When Bumrah replied in the affirmative, he was drafted into the first team a day after he arrived.
Recalling the events that followed the team meeting the next day, Bumrah said: “So, then Ravi Shastri was the team director, so he came and asked me, ‘Are you fresh?’ I said, ‘Yes, I am fresh.’ ‘So ready?’”
He says he was completely taken aback and things were going so fast for him. He walked up to Dhoni for advice and MS just calmly told him, “Do what you know.”
Good debut:
Bumrah then came onto the pitch to bowl – without having bowled a single ball in practice. Bhuvneshwar’s injury just before the game meant that he had to take the onus on his debut and he didn’t disappoint.
He was the most economical bowler for the country, conceding just 40 runs and picking up 2 wickets as India chased a massive 331. Soon, he was selected in the T20 squad too and performed exceptionally, receiving praise from Dhoni.
Since then, there has been no turning back for the young bowler from Gujarat who went on to establish himself as a first team regular.
