Be it international cricket or the Indian Premier League, India fast bowler Jasprit Bumrah has been fast-tracked everywhere primarily because of his unique offerings. Bumrah, whose first taste of international cricket had come during the tour of Australia in 2016, managed to impress the then captain MS Dhoni to the extent that he labeled him the “find of the tour”.
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Having not played a lot against Bumrah until then, Dhoni wasn’t aware of Bumrah’s death-bowling skills. As a result, he advised him to not bowl yorkers in the slog overs. Bumrah, who paid no heed to Dhoni’s suggestion, perfectly executed his plans. Therefore, enticing Dhoni’s attention on a tour where India lost the ODI series 1-4 but won the T20Is 3-0.
Jasprit Bumrah Was Labeled ‘Find Of The Tour’ By MS Dhoni In 2016
Not even part of India’s ODI squad, Bumrah’s fortune had propelled him to a sudden debut in the format. Named as a replacement for pacer Mohammed Shami in the T20I squad, Bumrah found his name in the ODI squad as well because of pacer Bhuvneshwar Kumar‘s injury. On ODI debut, Bumrah’s bowling figure of 10-0-40-2 had registered the start of something special at the Sydney Cricket Ground.
Bumrah then emerged as the highest wicket-taker of the T20I series with six wickets in three matches at an economy and strike rate of 8.95 and 11.50 respectively. Addressing the reporters in a press conference after whitewashing Australia, Dhoni didn’t refrain from speaking highly of Bumrah throwing light on his ability to execute perfect yorkers at the right time.
“The find [of the tour] for me was [Jasprit] Bumrah. He’s looking really good, and even today he bowled the yorkers well. And I’ve always said that to be successful in the shorter format, you have to execute the yorkers.”
In the first T20I, Bumrah bowled a couple of overs in the powerplay and the remaining in the death. He managed to dismiss batter David Warner on just the fifth delivery that he bowled. Following powerplay figures of 2-0-12-1, he finished the match with figures of 3.3-0-23-3. While he couldn’t achieve similar success in the other two matches, his potential was there to be seen in front of everyone.
Jasprit Bumrah, Who Played 93 Matches For India Alongside MS Dhoni, Played 29 Under Him in 2016
Bumrah, who made his debut in both the white-ball formats under Dhoni in 2016, played as many as 29 times under him the same year. In what was Dhoni’s last year as an Indian captain, Bumrah playing over two dozen matches under arguably India’s most successful captain laid a solid foundation for his career.
Bumrah, who led India for the first time in a Test match against England last year, drew inspiration from Dhoni. He remembered how a conversation with Dhoni helped him to be confident before captaining at the highest level.
“I remember speaking to MS [Dhoni], and he told me that he never captained any side before he led India for the first time. Now, he is remembered as one of the most successful captains of all time,” Bumrah had said.
You’ve been a friend and a guide on the field and off it. I’ve learnt so many valuable lessons by simply watching you be & I am glad I got to be a part of your professional journey. Congratulations on an illustrious career, Mahi Bhai, thank you for the memories. @msdhoni pic.twitter.com/UaycpTq8LV
— Jasprit Bumrah (@Jaspritbumrah93) August 15, 2020
In 29 limited-overs international matches under Dhoni, Bumrah scalped 45 wickets at an economy and strike rate of 5.24 and 19.70 respectively. Overall, Bumrah played in a total of 93 matches with Dhoni also in the Indian XI dismissing 146 batters at an economy and strike rate of 4.95 and 25.30 respectively.
