Mumbai Indians’ (MI) Director of Cricket Operations Zaheer Khan has on Monday (April 12) said that Jasprit Bumrah is the defending champions’ “trump card” and the captain Rohit Sharma must use him “in an aggressive manner” whenever the team really needs in the game.
In the first game of the ongoing Indian Premier League (IPL 2021), Mumbai Indians (MI) bowled just one over from Bumrah at the start of the game against Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) and then only returned after 10 overs when Glenn Maxwell and Virat Kohli took the game from the defending champions and eventually they suffered a two-wicket loss in their opening game in Chennai.
On being asked about Bumrah not bowling enough at the start of the innings against the RCB, former Indian pacer, however, didn’t say clearly that Rohit should have played him earlier, but said the speedster is such a bowler who can turn the game in their favor at any stage and he should be used at such stages when the team looks in danger like last week against the RCB.
Zaheer during a virtual press conference on Monday: “Bumrah is your trump card, when you have a trump card, then you have to use it in an aggressive manner when you really need it. That is how the process revolves around Jasprit, he can turn the game around at any stage.”
He further said that the IPL 2020 was a tipping point in Ishan Kishan's career and the left-handed batsman has just flourished from there. He had recently made his T20I debut for India against England.
Read Also: IPL 2021: Shahrukh Khan lauds Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) on their 100th IPL win
Hailing the youngster, Zaheer said: “Ishan Kishan is looking assured, he is looking calmer. When you are growing as a cricketer, you are trying to make that impact at the highest level, you have that tipping point.
The last year was a tipping point for Ishan when he played that knock against RCB, he just flourished from there, he is in the same zone, he is going about his business, he is making sure that he is continuing his processes and spending enough time in the nets.”
He signed off by saying, “Well, I think giving them the freedom to express themselves is very important. As a setup, we encourage that and we encourage each and every individual to bring out their original self in the middle. When you do not have that clatter of thought, you are able to express yourself freely.
We do have healthy discussions around what they can add to their game, as cricketers, you always look to evolve yourself to try and understand the game better. We try hard, we are lucky enough to have a squad in hand that keeps pushing the boundaries.”
(With ANI Inputs)
