Since making his international debut in a T20I series in Australia in the beginning of 2016, Jasprit Bumrah has advanced to take the helm of India’s pace attack in all forms. Bumrah’s unconventional action has only enhanced his abilities and stature while expanding his toolbox of skills. Bumrah gained notoriety for his yorker and has since improved it, as well as his capacity to swing the ball both ways. But what inspired him as a child to go on to become one of the top pacers in the world?
The 28-year-old claimed that while never being forced to make a decision, his family did not “get” cricket and did not view it as a viable profession, which motivated him to demonstrate what he was capable of. “There were other sports that I played for fun, but it was always cricket for me. I was very clear about what I wanted to do,” Bumrah said. “My family was not able to understand that playing cricket professionally was a viable career path because my family was academically inclined, but it was always about cricket for me,” he stated.
“My mother was never firm in saying to me, ‘This is what you have to do’, but she did want me to have a career that would give me security. But that’s about it. She did not force anything on me, never told me I had to become a doctor or engineer,” he explained. “My family didn’t understand cricket and they didn’t have a lot of belief in what I was doing. That perhaps stoked anger inside me, a feeling of ‘I’m going to show the world what I can do!'” Bumrah added. Bumrah’s back injury, which occurred just before the start of the 2022 T20 World Cup in Australia, is a major setback for India because the pacer was slated to be a crucial member of the Rohit Sharma-led team.
