Ever wondered what it must feel like to return sensational figures of three for 18 in 3.5 overs in a T20 game and still end up on the losing side? To lead the bowling charts with 18 wickets at a ridiculous economy rate of 6.20 in a tournament where 200 has been breached 32 times in 55 matches and still find your team one place off the bottom of the points table? Just ask Jasprit Bumrah.
The pacer supreme has single-handedly kept the stocks of the bowlers flying high. True, there is a logjam behind him in the list of leading wicket-takers in IPL 2024 — Harshal Patel has 17, Varun Chakaravarthy 16, Arshdeep Singh has 15 and so does T. Natarajan 15, who briefly had the temerity to snatch the Purple Cap, if only for 24 hours — but no one has quite enthralled and entranced like Bumrah, no one has asked probing questions more consistently, no one has forced batsmen to rethink their aggressive designs ball after excellent ball.
What makes Bumrah so special has been the topic of discussion for nearly a decade now. The natural hyperextension of his right elbow enables him to deliver the ball from a few inches further than anyone else, which makes length-picking extremely difficult. His high-arm action and the ability to produce different deliveries without any discernible change in action place numerous demands on batsmen, even on the flattest of decks. His speed through the air ensures that even on benign surfaces, he can seldom be taken lightly. His magnificent yorker has been dissected in detail and apart from a plethora of slower deliveries, he also possesses a mean bouncer which he uses sparingly, but to great effect.
