India fast-bowler Jasprit Bumrah heaped praise on India vice-captain Rohit Sharma for his astronomical rise in international cricket. Bumrah took baby steps under the leadership of Rohit at Mumbai Indians in the Indian Premier League (IPL) and from there, he has gone on to become the number one ranked bowler in the world (ODIs).
Bumrah feels that Rohit gave him ample space to try out things during his initial years in the IPL and also stated that Rohit likes to back his players and that is a reassuring factor for any young cricketer.
“He’s seen me before I was an India player and he’s seeing me now. He’s seen phases that I’ve been through. The thing with Rohit is that he has never been different with me.” Bumrah was quoted as saying by The Times of India.
“He used to back me with a lot of space then and he does it now. He’ll come, ask me what I see or believe in, set the field accordingly and then keeps backing me up all the time. Some days it works, some days it doesn’t but it’s always so reassuring.”
Bumrah also revealed how he managed to master his trademark yorkers that has bamboozled some of the best batsmen in the world. The speedster said that he works hard on intricate details of the game and that has helped him gain control over his yorkers.
“As a kid, with the tennis ball, you can bowl only one kind of delivery. There is length in question, no bouncers. There is only one ball that you have to practice. At that point, I played for fun,” said Bumrah.
“But later, when you start playing serious cricket, you realise the importance of that delivery. It still takes the same amount of hard work to get it right during a match situation. I do spend enough hours now trying to get all the little things correct,” he added.