India is a country where cricket runs in the veins of its people. Introduced by the Britishers during the colonial era, India's love affair with cricket continued to blossom even after the end of the British regime.
Cricket had to compete with India's national sport for eyeballs for the larger part of the 20th century. But the historic 1983 World Cup campaign catapulted cricket to such realms of adoration that no sport in the country has reached since then.
Cricket captivated the minds of the elite as well as the commoners alike in India and batters found themselves at the heart of this captivation. Gundappa Viswanath, Sunil Gavaskar, Sachin Tendulkar, and Virat Kohli - every generation of cricket aficionados in India has had a batter to worship.
Therefore, before anyone could realise it, cricket fans in India became obsessed with batters and dismissed bowlers from their presence.
The adulation of these batters is justified as they have earned it over the years through match-defining performances but the lack of it for the bowlers is difficult to comprehend. Bowlers in India have been trying to capture the hearts of fans in the same way as any other athlete playing a sport other than cricket - with little success.
The great Kapil Dev makes for an intriguing case study. The Haryana Hurricane is one of the most celebrated cricketers in the country.
However, despite the great allrounder that he was in his playing days, people rarely talked about his scorching spells as much as they drooled over his 175* which came against Zimbabwe during the 1983 World Cup.
Quite akin to Kapil, India was fortunate to have one of the greatest leg-spinners of all time - Anil Kumble. Despite being India's most successful Test bowler, Kumble never enjoyed the fandom as some of his contemporaries did. Even today his teammates like Sourav Ganguly and VVS Laxman among others have more followers than him on Instagram.
While the dominance of batters over bowlers in India baffles, there is one player who looks poised to snap the age-old tradition - Jasprit Bumrah.
Let's try to dissect what makes Jasprit Bumrah a generational talent on course to reset the yardsticks used to define greatness.
Man who broke India's World Cup hoodoo
India, like many other previous editions, went into the ICC Men's T20 World Cup in the USA and Caribbean as one of the favourites. However, despite the favourites tag, there was an air of doubt surrounding the team as it progressed towards the silverware. Why so?
India had not won a World Cup since the 2011 50-over edition and were chasing an ICC title since their ICC Champions Trophy 2013 triumph.
Multiple knockout finishes had plagued Team India and therefore a sense of doubt had crept into the minds of the Indian fans. While the odds were stacked against India, Bumrah raised his hand and played a monumental role in helping the team end the drought.
The 30-year-old snared 15 wickets in eight games during the marquee event and was adjudged the Player of the Tournament. Interestingly, Bumrah finished as the third-leading wicket-taker in the tournament but was still bestowed with the honour.
The reason was apparent. He recorded the best bowling average (8.26) and the best economy rate (4.17) among bowlers with more than ten wickets in the tournament and more importantly, helped the team seize the clutch moments.
When the going gets tough Bumrah gets going
The relationship between the premier wicket-taker and the captain of a team is a unique one. Former India pacer RP Singh mentioned how easier the life of a captain becomes on the field when he has an asset like Bumrah at his disposal.
"When people will revisit Bumrah's spells a couple of decades later, they will realise what a great bowler he was. I think he is one of the best of his generation," said RP Singh in an exclusive chat with India TV.
"Opening partnerships lay the foundation stone for a big total and bowlers like Bumrah never let those partnerships come to fruition which is why they are the go-to option for a captain," he added.
There are innumerable instances when Bumrah has stepped up and won seemingly unwinnable games for India. The latest that comes to mind was when India found themselves in peril while defending 119 vs Pakistan in the T20 World Cup match in New York in June.
With seven wickets in hand, Pakistan needed 40 off 36 balls and had Mohammad Rizwan, who was well set on 31. Cognizant that the game was almost out of grasp, skipper Rohit Sharma tasked Bumrah to turn the tide in India's favour and he didn't disappoint.
Bumrah outfoxed Rizwan with a well-disguised off-cutter which cannoned into his woodwork. The Indian speed merchant didn't stop there and removed Iftikhar Ahmed too to finish with mind-blowing figures of 3/14. India won the game by six runs and Bumrah added yet another Player of the Match award to his trophy cabinet.
Another occasion when Bumrah helped India snatch victory from the jaws of defeat came in a T20I game against England in Nagpur on January 29, 2017.
Defending just seven off the last over, Bumrah took the Mickey out of Joe Root, Moeen Ali and Jos Buttler as he conceded just two runs and England couldn't fathom what had struck them.
A quiver full of unanswerable arrows
While it is evident that Bumrah is every captain's knight in shining armour. But why Bumrah? Why not anybody else?
The answer lies in Bumrah's repertoire.
A blazing bouncer
While Bumrah may not be the fastest pacer on the international scene, he has a bouncer lethal enough to knock the living daylights out of a batter.
A searing yorker
The yorker has to be that one delivery which Bumrah has perfected over the years, especially during his time as Lasith Malinga's understudy. There are very few pacers in world cricket who can match the precision at which Bumrah dishes out his yorkers.
An indiscernible off-cutter
While Bumrah always had an off-cutter in his arsenal, he now has technical expertise on it. His off-cutters are akin to those stealth aircrafts which deceive enemy radar and inflict carnage.
Control on swing
Bumrah had the innate ability to bring the ball back into right-handers (or to take it away from a southpaw). But when he developed the skill to take it away from the right-handers or bring it back into the lefties, the world became his oyster.
Epitome of resilience
Once French football legend, Raphael Varane famously said, "Unfortunately, injuries are part of the game and you have to adapt, keep faith, trust and never give up."
Bumrah's unavailability for the ICC Men's T20 World Cup 2022 had led to an emotional outburst across social media platforms. Fans were quick to realise that it was a telling blow to India's chances and that's what it turned out to be.
However, it was not the first time India had to do without the services of Bumrah.
Injuries have been a constant throughout Bumrah's career. Here's a timeline that suggests how indefatigable Bumrah has had to be in the face of adversity.
Injury: Fractured left thumb
When: India's tour of Ireland & England 2018 (June to September)
Time spent on the sidelines: Three weeks
Injury: Lower back stress fracture
When: September 2019
Time spent on the sidelines: Three months
Injury: Abdominal strain
When: India's tour of Australia 2020-21 (January)
Time spent on the sidelines: Little over two weeks
Injury: Back
When: September 2022
Time spent on the sidelines: Nine months
The timeline mentioned above clearly indicates that Bumrah met with numerous setbacks but never allowed them to restrain himself and made a roaring comeback to the international circuit.
Attaining the unattained
February 7, 2024, witnessed a watershed moment in India's cricketing journey. It was the day when Bumrah dethroned Ravichandran Ashwin to become No. 1 in the ICC Test bowling rankings - the first Indian pacer to achieve the milestone.
It didn't come across as a surprise as Bumrah is rated very highly even among the legends of yesteryear. Former Australia left-arm seamer Mike Whitney considers Bumrah a "fabulous" bowler and someone who is "as good as any previous legend".
"Bumrah is a fabulous bowler! His strike rate, average and economy are as good as any previous legend," Whitney told India TV. "His 38 Tests have shown he can take wickets regularly and anywhere in the world. He's quick and has magnificent control. He can bowl with the new and old ball and is deadly when 'rapping up the tail'. An unusual approach to the crease but is superbly fit and can bowl all day."
"For India this summer, he is the bowling trump card," Whitney added with reference to the approaching Australian summer which is set to witness the Border-Gavaskar Trophy.
Before Bumrah the previous best ranking achieved by an Indian pacer was number two on the retrospective Test bowlers' table and it belonged to Kapil.
Though Ashwin overtook Bumrah soon, the latest change in the ICC Test bowling rankings has witnessed Bumrah return to the top.
While ICC rankings can be as fickle as weather patterns influenced by La Niña and El Niño these days, the impression left by Bumrah on the minds of kids is indelible and bound to withstand the test of time.
