BGT 2024-25: Jasprit Bumrah, the reluctant superstar

The 31-year-old's meteoric rise to becoming India’s first bonafide bowling superstar marks a pivotal shift in a nation traditionally obsessed with batting legends.

Melbourne: It's India's first practice session at the Melbourne Cricket Ground, and there are a fair few Indian team supporters on a Saturday morning. 

A fan, in his late teens, hesitantly approaches a group of Indian cricket journalists and politely inquires if Jasprit Bumrah has come for the practice. When the journos nod in affirmity, he flashes a radiant smile, says a quick thank you and hustles back to watch the "nets".

On the way back to the apartment after the Indian practice, an Indian Uber driver, upon knowing why we are in Australia, gives his two bits on Bumrah. "Uss bande ne toh Australians ki dil jeet li hai (the man has won the hearts of Australians)." 

Cut to the day (Tuesday), India are having their final practice before the Boxing Day Test. And the crowd has gathered in bigger numbers. Half an hour into India's "nets", Bumrah ambles in after a long look at the pitch in the main ground. The crowd immediately breaks into loud cheers as Bumrah, seemingly uncomfortable at the attention, keeps his head down and walks towards head coach Gautam Gambhir. 

It's the same routine when he comes to bowl and then to bat. He vigorously nods under his helmet in disapproval as the crowd breaks into a Bumrah chant.

"This is what I don't like," he mumbles before taking the guard.

Bumrah’s discomfort with the spotlight is an intriguing aspect of his persona. Yet, the attention is inevitable, given his transformative impact on matches. For decades, Indian cricket has been synonymous with batting heroics. Bumrah’s emergence challenges that paradigm.  

His unique bowling action, relentless accuracy, and ability to deliver under pressure have elevated him to a pedestal not often occupied by bowlers in India.

Australian pacer Shaun Abbott is clearly in awe of Bumrah and describes the pacer as 'unreal' and 'master at work.'      

"It's hard to find the accolades that fully appreciate what he does for the Indian cricket team," he says. "You know, watching him, as a fellow fast bowler, every ball just looks like he's going to take a wicket. Now regardless of it, slightly in different action, you know, where he delivers the ball from. 

"He swings it both ways, has any delivery on tap, the accuracy, the pace... He just ticks all the boxes, session after session. Every time he bowls it just feels like he's taking wickets. There's not been one time that he's bowled in this series where he hasn't been putting pressure on the Australian batsmen. I'll take my hat off to him, it's been unreal. We're seeing a master at work."

Rohit, having captained Bumrah for long at Mumbai Indians, agrees he couldn't have been more fortunate to have a bowler like him.

He practically won the T20 World Cup for him with a death-bowling show for the ages and is largely responsible for India's 1-1 position in the ongoing Border-Gavaskar Trophy series.

In this series alone, the right-arm quick has taken 21 wickets at an average of 10.90. To put Bumrah's unreal numbers into perspective, the next-best bowler for the series is Mitchell Starc with 14 wickets and a second-best average of 22.85 for bowlers with 10 or more wickets. In fact, his average of 17.15 runs for each of his 53 wickets in Australia is the second-best ever for bowlers with 50 or more wickets.  

"It's very easy not to say anything," Rohit gushes about his trump card. "He knows exactly what he is doing, how he operates. He has got so much belief in his skill set that there's not much discussion that we need to have with him. I have been watching him for a long time.  I have captained him for a long time. I know how he thinks, what he is trying to do. It makes it a little easier for me not to think too much while he is bowling.

"Whether he gets wickets or not, he is so confident with his skill set that the conversations that happen during the game gives me the confidence that I know what the guy is trying to do. When he is in that form, the job of the other bowlers also becomes a little easier. All they need to do is just try and maintain that pressure, to be honest."

Not a single media conference concludes without a question or two being asked about the Indian pace spearhead, a fact not lost on the Indian skipper. 

"It's nice to just see that a lot of people from the opposition camp talk about him, how we need to handle him and stuff like that. The impact that he has had on the series so far is massive. I hope he continues to do that because these two games are very, very important for us." 

Bumrah’s meteoric rise to becoming India’s first bona fide bowling superstar marks a pivotal shift in a nation traditionally obsessed with batting legends. The narrative of Indian cricket, long dominated by the dazzling exploits of an array of world-class batters, has found a compelling new protagonist in Bumrah -- a disruptor in every sense.