Over the years, Mumbai Indians have laid the platform for many stars. Moulding raw talent through the sinews of cut-throat competitive cricket, they have given budding talent the requisite exposure to challenge their own boundaries both technically and psychologically. The new prince of Indian fast bowling Jasprit Bumrah is one of them. He was first spotted during the 2013 season. At the time, yet to make his First-class or List A debut he was known for his slingy action and the ability to bowl yorkers at will. Bumrah’s rise from a domestic prospect to an international sensation is an inspirational one. An epitome of grit, he kept growing as a bowler, adding variety and consistency to his game. Invariably staking his claim as one of India’s best bowlers. A captain’s go-to bowler who by the virtue of his ability to keep it clinical in the death overs has become a genuine match winner.

Born in Gujarat, Bumrah idolized Lasith Malinga and Zaheer Khan in his early age. Bumrah followed his dream and was ready to move mountains to achieve it. The pacer grabbed eyeballs during the 2013 IPL season when he made his debut for Mumbai Indians. John Wright spotted him at an early age and drafted him into the squad. Against a star-studded Royal Challengers Bangalore batting line-up, Bumrah picked three wickets including the big scalp of Virat Kohli – his current national team captain. Since then, Bumrah has looked unstoppable.

Bumrah kept making giant strides as he then went on to make his First-class debut in the upcoming season. Unfortunately, just as he was doing well, he suffered a knee injury in 2014 and was out for a few months. Determined not to let this get the better of him, he kept working hard on his fitness. A year later, he received a call-up thanks to a successful domestic 2015-16 season. Bumrah was his state side’s second-highest wicket-taker during that season. In the Vijay Hazare Trophy, he topped the bowling charts with a 5-fer in the final against Delhi, thus giving Gujarat its maiden one-day title.

The right-arm pacer improved game by game and was in contention for a national call-up. An injury to Mohammed Shami meant Bumrah took the flight to Australia and once again, he raised eyebrows in his debut series. India whitewashed Australia 3-0 in the T20Is and Bumrah finished as the highest wicket-taker with 6 to his credit. MS Dhoni called him the “find of the tour.” But that was just the start of it all.

Bumrah finished the year with 28 wickets – breaking the record for most wickets taken by any bowler in a calendar year in T20Is. A feat that spoke volumes for his talent! To make a mark like he did in his very first year is a commendable achievement.

His unusual bowling action, the knack of bowling yorkers at will coupled with the odd bounce and the tutelage of his hero, Lasith Malinga worked wonders for the young man. Under the Sri Lankan great, Bumrah evolved into one of the most lethal limited overs bowlers in the world. This year however, was the year when Bumrah truly has started breaking into the higher echelons of World Cricket.

During training, Bumrah would bounce fellow pacer Mitchell Johnson in the nets, “Usually when you are coming out of under-19 cricket, you know you think you have pace so you try to experiment in on bowlers otherwise if you hit the batsmen they don’t like it,” Bumrah remarked. Johnson though, would praise the young Indian, “It was a good ball and I was very impressed by Bumrah, and at that age and he has come a long way.”

Bumrah would also underline the influence of Malinga on him, “He’s a great influence for me in the side. To bowl consistent yorkers, you need practice and he’s always helped me.” While Mumbai Indians’ bowling coach Shane Bond moulded him into one of the most dangerous seamers around.

Naturally, he has his peers and coaches raving about his talent. Mumbai Indians skipper Rohit Sharma lavished praise on Bumrah, “He knows what his capabilities are. He has got all the abilities to be the number one bowler in the world, for sure.”

Bowling coach Shane Bond was in awe of Bumrah’s talent, “He is a world class white-ball bowler and has a reputation as a death bowler. He does bowl good yorkers.” When Bumrah bowls well, Bond is a happy man. “It makes me look good when he bowls the way he does. He is probably the best in our team to bowl the pressure overs, because he has got skills and temperament to do so,” remarked the Kiwi after Bumrah’s outstanding 2017 IPL season.

When you’re bowling at the death, it really is tough for the bowlers but Bumrah enjoys the challenge. He loves to contribute to the team as much as he can and enjoys any role given to him. With his huge success already in limited overs in international cricket, Bumrah has a truly bright future ahead of him. With age on his side, provided he keeps a level head, he has the potential to be the benchmark for the art of death bowling for the next decade. As Shane Bond said, “I think he will definitely play Test cricket and can be a world-class bowler across all formats.” He is definitely one to keep an eye on and one could only hope he can maintain the consistency and keep evolving as a cricketer. It would be only fair to say that in Jasprit Bumrah, Mumbai Indians as well as the national team have a really special talent on their hands.