Premier India pacer Jasprit Bumrah doesn’t see his overs as gold, rather a ‘responsibility’ to perform for his team. The 30-year-old, who has been retained by Mumbai Indians as the top pick also cited his stint with the franchise as a “complete journey”, as he came to the team as a 19-year-old teenager back in the day, and now he himself is a parent to a son, Angad.
Bumrah also feels that it is now his responsibility to nurture the youngsters in the franchise, after being picked ahead of Rohit Sharma, Hardik Pandya and Suryakumar Yadav as the top retention.
When Bumrah entered Mumbai Indians, he had the backing of senior pro Lasith Malinga, and it is fair to say, that the Indian pacer learnt a lot of tricks from the Sri Lanka veteran. Bumrah and Malinga formed quite a combination for Mumbai Indians, and the duo were nearly impossible to get away at the death overs.
“It feels good. I came here as a 19-year-old teenager and now I’m going to turn 31. I have a son, so it’s been a complete journey. I’m happy that the journey is continuing and yeah, no better feeling. When I came, all the legends of the game were here and you know, I used to ask a lot of questions. So now, slowly the role is changing and a lot of youngsters are coming into our team, who are eight-nine years younger than me. I always feel happy to help because I got a lot of help when I started,” Bumrah said in a video posted by Mumbai Indians.
‘Winning mentality is always there’
Bumrah also said that Mumbai Indians know how to win championships. Mumbai Indians, along with Chennai Super Kings, have won the tournament, the most number of times — five occasions. Mumbai Indians first won an IPL title in 2013, and then the franchise went on to win the IPL in 2015, 2017, 2019 and 2020.
“The winning mentality is always there because you’re playing sport to win. If you are just there to participate, it doesn’t really land up well. So for me, I have a lot of belief in my ability. That’s always been the case, when I was a child, I didn’t want to be just any cricketer, I wanted to contribute more. I wanted to do special things. So I don’t looked at my overs as gold, I look at my overs as a responsibility,” said Bumrah.
“We have been successful in the past and we know how to win championships. It feels good to know that the crowd is behind you, that experience of playing in Wankhede is always great, that energy, that vibe is a sight to see,” he added.
Mumbai Indians have retained five players — Jasprit Bumrah, Hardik Pandya, Suryakumar Yadav, Rohit Sharma and Tilak Varma. Hardik Pandya will continue to lead the franchise in the upcoming IPL.
Last year, Hardik Pandya had replaced Rohit Sharma as the captain, and the fans did not take too kindly to the move. Hardik Pandya was repeatedly booed at all stadiums, and even the Wankhede crowd did not spare him.
