Can’t stay a one-trick pony, says Bumrah
PALLEKELE: Jasprit Bumrah shares much more than a unique bowling action with Lasith Malinga. And he acknowledged the Sri Lankan’s contribution in his development after a match-winning haul in the third ODI on Sunday.
The Gujarat bowler has come on in leaps and bounds in the last two years, and has been outstanding in this series. Bumrah took his maiden five-wicket ODI haul, claiming 5/27.
It restricted Sri Lanka to 217/9 before Rohit Sharma’s unbeaten 124 and his century stand with MS Dhoni handed India a sixwicket win and the series.
Bumrah has often tweaked his bowling to suit the team’s needs. He has come on first change, as he did in the first ODI in Dambulla, or open the attack and bowl effectively in the death overs as he has done since.
MALINGA’S HELP
Named Man-of-theMatch, Bumrah said Malinga, his team mate with IPL champions Mumbai Indians, had guided him a lot.
“It is not a general performance which is always valuable. He was in Mumbai Indians when I joined in 2013 as a 19-year-old kid who had not played first-class cricket. So, learning from him is always valuable. Over a period it has helped me quite a lot. And in international cricket, you also talk to a lot of seniors. That is also helpful,” he told reporters.
Asked whether he used any tricks taught by Malinga on Sunday, where he struck with deliveries fast, slow and moving off the seam, he said: “As a bowler you have to constantly learn new things. This is my first visit to Sri Lanka So, it is a challenge. I look to do that by asking seniors, what experience they have gained playing here.” “The last wicket (for the second ODI) was on the slower side. This one (on Sunday), the ball was seaming a bit. That was to our advantage. It was a good day, so it worked to my advantage.” Bumrah is working on variations in the nets in Sri Lanka, and said merely reproducing what is in his arsenal may not always help.
NO ONE-TRICK PONY
“After a point, nowadays with technology coming into cricket, people start to analyse. So, only one or two tricks, people will start to line you up. The different things you do early on, people don’t know. But once they watch the video and start to plan, they know what to expect.
“You keep on evolving. If you are just a one trick pony, that won’t work. If you have to play for a long time, you have to evolve, play according to the wickets and players, and take the experience forward.
“Net practice is very important. If you are going to bowl with the new ball, you bowl with it. You bowl to openers and ask them what lengths are effective on these kind of wickets. Preparation has always been important.”
He hailed Rohit Sharma for guiding India home after early loss of wickets. “It was a great innings. We were in trouble, so he needed to take responsibility and he did that.”