Former India head coach John Wright has narrated the fascinating story of how India's ace pacer Jasprit Bumrah was discovered by Mumbai Indians' scouting team over a decade ago.
Bumrah, the No. 1 ranked Test bowler, starred with the ball in India’s 295-run victory over Australia in the first Border-Gavaskar Trophy Test at Perth last week.
Leading the Indian team in the absence of regular skipper Rohit Sharma, Bumrah made the Aussie batters dance to his tunes as he returned with eight-wicket haul (8-72) in the match.
Earlier this year, the right-arm quick also played a key role in India’s second T20 World Cup triumph.
"I saw this kid with an unusual action trying to bowl 12 consecutive yorkers. I thought, 'Bloody hell, I've never seen that before.' And he was quick," Wright recalled in an interview with The Times.
Wright then approached Gujarat's captain Parthiv Patel for insight. "Parthiv said, 'That's Boom.' We signed him straight away; back then, you didn't have to go through an auction," Wright revealed.
To test his skills, Wright made the young Bumrah bowl to the legendary Sachin Tendulkar during practice sessions. "After the session, Sachin came to me and said, 'John, who is that kid? He's really hard to pick up.' That moment felt like a triumph," Wright recalled.
Despite his promising start, Bumrah faced obstacles in his early seasons, getting only a handful of opportunities as he fine-tuned his skills on the sidelines.
"People forget that he didn't play much initially. It wasn't an overnight success," Wright noted.
Bumrah's suggest at MI paved the way for his India selection. He became India’s first-choice fast bowler in white-ball cricket soon after his debut in January 2016.
Bumrah received his maiden Test cap two years later and instantly made an impact in red-ball cricket.
Wright's role in Bumrah's rise shows MI’s exceptional talent-scouting system. "He's a great kid and very clever," Wright said of his star find.
Jasprit Bumrah has represented India in 42 Tests, 89 ODIs and 70 T20Is so far, claiming a total of 422 wickets across formats.
