A record-breaking 2016 was how Jasprit Bumrah introduced himself to the world last year when he created a record of taking most wickets in a calendar year in T20Is. It was his first year in international cricket and he didn’t take long to impress one and all. He picked up 28 wickets in 2016 and holds the record for taking the most wickets in a calendar year. It was just the start of something big. Now in his second year of international cricket and after playing a mere 21 games, he is already into the top five ICC bowling rankings in ODIs.

Bumrah was the leading wicket-taker for us in the 2017 season. He kept taking wickets at a consistent rate and stamped his authority everywhere. His 20 scalps were extremely crucial for us in our title-winning campaign. He was an instrumental asset and was our go-to bowler at the death. He kept on rising and matured as a bowler and he showed nerves of steel when the time came to replicate his domestic form at the international level.

After the Champions Trophy this year, he was given a rest for the West Indies series. He played a few games for his local team before returning to the Sri Lanka tour. He didn’t show any signs of rustiness whatsoever and returned to the series in style. It was his first trip to the island nation and he had a great first outing. He started off the first ODI with a 2/22 at an economy rate of under-4 an over. Sri Lanka perhaps didn’t know they will get to face more of a dangerous Bumrah than this.

He came back even stronger in the second ODI and took a 4-for. The Lankans had no answer to the Yorker-specialist who was simply wreaking havoc with the ball. In the third ODI, he grabbed his maiden 5-wicket haul in ODIs when the Indian team clinched the series, and Bumrah was the Man of the Match. He finished the series with two more wickets each in the remaining games and thus, holds the record for taking most wickets in a bilateral ODI series of maximum 5 matches.

His 15 wickets in the series earned him the Player of the Series award and a rise in the ICC ODI bowlers ranking. Bumrah’s previous best position was 24th in June this year and he announced himself in the top 5 in style. He moved up by 27 places to take the fourth spot in the rankings. With enormous success in the shorter formats already, it’s only a matter of time before he dons the Test cap. When it was asked about his Test dream after his brilliant performance in the series, he said: “nothing like that, it is a dream to play Test cricket and I am waiting for that opportunity.” He didn’t stop praising Malinga though, “It has been a long journey with him and I have learnt a lot from him. Hopefully, I will continue to do so. I just want to learn from him and keep on getting better.” His approach was simple in a record-breaking series for him, “I was focusing on my preparations. It was good to get a break and come fresh into the series.”

It has been a remarkable rise for Jasprit Bumrah and we all wish him to only get better and win more matches for his team. With his consistency throughout the short career so far, it simply proves he is here to stay.