I don’t try to over-teach: Bumrah on mentoring India’s young pacers

PTI, Jun 1, 2024, 12:15 PM IST

Considered a mentor for the new crop of Indian fast bowlers, pace spearhead Jasprit Bumrah says he never tries to ”over-teach” the younger lot and steps in to help only when asked, to avoid burdening them with information.

The 30-year-old Bumrah would be a key player for India in the T20 World Cup, starting here on Saturday and he would also be expected to be a guiding force for India’s pace battery, featuring the relatively younger and less experienced Mohammed Siraj and Arshdeep Singh.

”You don’t try to over-teach. That is something that I have learned,” Bumrah told the ICC’s official website for the T20 World Cup.

”Because whenever people need help, I let them have their own questions… Because you don’t want to give too much information,” he said.

Bumrah said it is important for youngsters to know their path without being burdened with an overkill of information.

”It’s not like they have just been lucky and they land here. So that is what I try to do. I do pass on certain information that I have gained over from my experience,” he said.

”But I don’t try to burden them with (over) information. Because that is a part of the journey as well. That you have to find your own ways and solutions,” he added.

Bumrah has battled a nagging back injury for the past couple of years and it even kept him out of the 2022 T20 World Cup but he has managed to fight through and enjoyed a brilliant run in the 2023 ODI showpiece. He snared 20 wickets at an average of 18.65 with an economy of just about four in that event. The reticent bowler said his focus since coming back has been to simply enjoy his game.

”Because (certain) things will go my way. (Certain) things will not go my way,” he said.

”All of these things will be a part of my process. So I have just realised that I started playing this sport. Because I love this sport. And I will focus on that rather than the end result.

”So in that aspect you reduce your pressure. And you enjoy the sport. When you focus on those things. Rather than the things you cannot control,” he added.

Bumrah has 74 T20 International wickets, which puts him third in India’s all-time list. He is widely perceived to be the best among the current lot of international pacers when it comes to consistently bowling yorkers.

Australian great Brett Lee has even gone to the extent of saying that Bumrah is the only pacer in the world who is executing the yorker correctly right now.

Bumrah said his consistent yorkers are a result of years of practice.

”So I played a lot of tennis-ball, rubber-ball cricket when I was growing up. I used to play a lot with my friends in summer camps,” he said.

”…I used to think that this is the only way to get wickets. Because I was a fan of fast bowling. I was really fascinated by what I saw on the television. So I tried to replicate that. Is it (tennis-ball cricket) a secret (to bowling yorkers) or not? I don’t know,” Bumrah wondered.

”But repetition surely is. Because I have kept this delivery. I still practice it. I keep on practicing it. Because every skill that you develop, you have to practice it and make it stronger. So I think a combination of both would be the answer.” India are in Group A of the T20 World Cup, along with Pakistan, Ireland, Canada, and the USA. They will begin their campaign against Ireland on June 5.