Jasprit Bumrah reveals a radical change he made to excel at cricket

As we talk about the modern-day fast bowlers who have been wreaking havoc across the cricketing fabric, Jasprit Bumrah undoubtedly can be frontman of this exotic band swinging through the city. Known for those nasty rib-breakers and those agonizing toe-crushers, Bumrah has always been a troublesome moniker for any batter at the other end.

Despite being a towering fast bowler, if there is something that Bumrah has learnt over the years, it is to stay humble, maintain one’s feet on the ground and be in the right headspace. In so many years of international cricket, not even for once has he been seen losing his temper or dishing out foul words. Well, you can keep the duel with Anderson for a later-day discussion.

This, however, wasn’t always the scene. There have been spectacles where he would get all hyped up and probably even attack the greatest, with zero regards for sportsmanship. However, with time, with the passing years and with experience, we all change. We all learn and what eventually comes out is the best possible version of ourselves. Jasprit Bumrah is no exception to this age-old maxim.

Talking about this interesting change with Jamie Alter in an interview with GQ India, Bumrah was heard saying, “No, I was not always like this. In fact, when I started playing cricket it was the other way around. I was a little too aggressive, always on the go, always sitting on the edge... I could get angry really quickly. But then I realized that moving further if my emotions are not kept in check, then there's going to be a lot of variation in my results.”

He further added, “I quickly understood that if this was the game that I always wanted to excel in, I needed to figure out how to control my emotions. Stability really helps. I learnt that on the go; obviously you learn from experiences, you make mistakes. I chose to look at these experiences and then asked myself how I could get the best out of these situations.”

Much to India’s woes, if reports are to br believed, Bumrah is likely to miss the T20 World Cup as he is suffering from a stress fracture in his back even though a concrete confirmation is still being awaited. He was ruled out of the ongoing South Africa series with Mohammed Siraj being summoned as his replacement.