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Jasprit Bumrah: Lasith Malinga taught me how and when to use yorkers

India's new bowling sensation Jasprit Bumrah has credited Mumbai Indian's team mate Lasith Malinga for his ability to bowl yorkers.

Jaspreet Bumrah was given the Indian cap in 3rd ODI against Australia © Getty Images
Jaspreet Bumrah was given the Indian cap in the 5th ODI against Australia © Getty Images

Jasprit Bumrah who was drafted into the Indian team in the series against Australia, after Mohammed Shami was unfit for participation in the One-Day International and Twenty20 (T20) series. Bumrah performed exceptionally well picking up 6 wickets in 3 matches(T20Is), has manged to become one of the internal part of India’s bowling attack for the upcoming ICC World T20 2016. Bumrah who was in news for his unorthodox action and ability to bowl in the death overs, spoke on his prominence in the world of cricket.Bumrah was thankful to Sri Lanka’s fast bowler Lasith Malinga, who is his Mumbai Indian team-mate in the Indian Premier League (IPL) for the knowledge of bowling perfect yorkers. Live Cricket Scorecard: India vs Sri Lanka 2015-16, 1st T20I at Pune

Bumrah felt that he was under a lot of pressure before to perform. He added,” I knew if I bowl to my strengths I will make an impact. But at the same time, it was crucial for me to hold my nerves and not be over-enthusiastic. I won’t deny that there was pressure but I enjoyed myself and fortunately I contributed in India’s win.” Bumrah was called in to replace Shammi giving him very less time to prepare, said he was well experienced playing in Australian conditions when he toured with India ‘A’, spoke exclusively to Times of India(TOI). ALSO READ: Jasprit Bumrah: I don’t want success or failure to change me

Bumrah said,” I was in the India ‘A’ side when we toured Australia in 2014 and had bowled to a lot of their Test batsmen. That experience stood me in good stead. The pitches in Australia have also changed and are no longer pacy.They are conducive to batting. So my mind set was to bowl line and length effectively like the way I would perform for Gujarat.”

After impressing everyone with his ability to bowl yorkers, Bumrah credited MI team-mate Malinga. Bumrah explained, ” I used to bowl yorkers from an early stage with tennis balls. But it was at Mumbai Indians (MI) nets where I learnt to develop it as a lethal weapon. Lasith Malinga is a proponent of the art and was impressed with me. He taught me how and when to use yorkers. He would tell me how to vary the pace of the yorker and not to be predictable. In fact, I learnt to bowl the slow yorker from him.” ALSO READ: Jasprit Bumrah’s impressive run in Australia draws praise from former India coach John Wright

On been asked does having an unorthodox action does he have a advantage over the batsmen, Bumrah said,”It certainly does because the batsmen remain confused and they take some time to figure out my release. It gives me the freedom to catch batsmen by surprise and bowl anywhere. But the action also has its own weakness. With this action, I need to focus a lot on my fitness because it puts a lot of stress on my knees.”

Going into the bio-mechanic”s of bowling it has been proved that using left-arm will help him generate pace, he added, ” See, I never received proper training as such and learnt my cricket by watching TV. This action came to me naturally and as long as it is giving me results, I am happy. I also feel if I can bowl accurately, the pace is not mandatory.” Having said that he also added that he is not thinking about the future that will the batsmen manage to make out his bowling style.

“Back in 2014, I injured my left knee badly. I feared I will never be able to bowl fast. But I made a strong comeback.That phase made me mentally tough. I know that there might be a day when batsmen would figure out my action. So then, I will be ready to make adjustments. But now, I am not thinking much about the future,” he stated.

Finally when asked about how he is is preparing for the series against Sri Lanka and ICC World T20, Bumrah said it will a challenge and pressure on him to do good.

“By playing in the IPL, I have a fair idea of the strengths and weaknesses of the batsmen. So I will be ready to prove myself. Playing in India will be a different challenge and there will be pressure on me. So the aim is to cement my place in the side by performing to my strengths. I am only going to let the ball do the talking,” Bumrah concluded.

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