Arguably among the best in his trade across cricketing generations, star India speedster Jasprit Bumrah will ring in his 30th birthday on Tuesday.
Also arguably the greatest speed merchant that India has ever produced, Bumrah, since making his debut against Australia in Sydney under the leadership of the talismanic Mahendra Singh Dhoni, has become a mainstay for India across all three formats. As many would say, Bumrah is to India's bowling what Virat Kohli is to batting. With his unique action and a wide repertoire of skills, Bumrah, or 'Boom Boom' as he is nicknamed, has terrorised the best of formats across all three formats over the last eight years. Apart from his exploits with the ball, Bumrah has also demonstrated his leadership skills as he ably led the Indian team in Tests and T20Is. Coming into the ODI World Cup this year after a long injury lay-off, Bumrah showed what the Indians had been missing in their bowling while he was on the sidelines. Bowling with the same nip and fire as he did when he first burst onto the scene, Bumrah was in his element with the new ball as much as he was in the death overs. Rolling back the years, 'Boom Boom' scalped 20 wickets in 11 matches at an economy rate of 4.06. Giving the hosts crucial breakthroughs in the opening overs and later returning to put the proverbial choke on batting line-ups, Bumrah was sharp, incisive and effective. His best figures at the quadrennial showpiece were 4/39. After making his ODI debut against Australia, Bumrah went on to pick 149 wickets in the 50-over format, representing the country in 89 matches. His career economy rate in the 50-over format reads an impressive 4.6. His first ODI scalp was former Australia captain Steven Smith. The 30-year-old played his debut Test against South Africa in January 2018. After impressing one and all in his inaugural Test, Bumrah went on to pick up 128 wickets across 58 innings in the red-ball format at an economy rate of 2.69. Bumrah's first scalp in the longest format of the game was former South Africa skipper AB de Villiers. The wiry speedster also built a legendary aura around himself in the game's shortest format after making his T20I debut against Australia in January 2016. In the shortest format, Bumrah took 74 wickets in 61 matches. His maiden scalp in T20Is was Australian opener David Warner. Born in Ahmedabad, the pacer made his debut in the Indian Premier League (IPL) for the Mumbai Indians (MI). His inaugural IPL match came against the Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) in 2013 and he has since appeared in 120 matches for the Mumbai franchise, picking up 145 wickets and proving his mettle in the death overs. His maiden IPL wicket came in the form of former India skipper Virat Kohli. He became only the second Indian pacer after former World Cup-winning captain Kapil Dev to hold the Numero Uno spot among ODI bowlers while also leading India in the red-ball format. Bumrah was also the highest wicket-taker for India in the 2019 World Cup, scalping 18 wickets at an economy rate of 4.41 in 9 matches. (ANI)
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