Being a professional sportsperson is an arduous task. Yes, it does bring a lot of fame and name but it also opens you up to this harsh world of critics and fanatics. Not everyone can take criticism in their stride properly. But Indian pacer, Jasprit Bumrah said he doesn’t pay heed to what people think, write and say about him and his action. The top Indian pacer opened up on a variety of things in an interview with TOI.
He gleefully went on to recall the wonderful year that 2018 was for him and also how small joys mean the world to him. He said, “Debut in Cape Town, a series win in Australia – what can be more wonderful than that? Now that I look back, small things that happened between spells, between innings, how wonderfully I got to learn with each passing game. The first innings in Cape Town for instance, I bowled, learnt what kind of line was required there, what the conditions demanded. And then coming back in the second innings keeping those aspects in mind, doing what was required – that is what I cherish.”
Bumrah also revealed how he surprised the English team in the UK, last year. “The third Test in England, Trent Bridge. I had missed the first two Tests and was making a comeback and there was so much talk already – in the England camp – they’d seen some videos, there was some analysis and all they did and there were experts there who said ‘this guy has only one type of delivery’, etc.
“Some claimed I only had an away delivery for left-handers. I said fine, if this is what they’re thinking, then I have a bit of an advantage here. Because they don’t know that I have an out-swinger as well. I remember I was bowling to Keaton Jennings and I started with two away deliveries. I teased him by moving slightly over the wicket before bringing one back in slightly. It turned out to be just enough. Small joys are the best ones, said Bumrah.