It’s quite similar to that of Sachin Tendulkar’s childhood story. At the Shivaji Park, Ramakant Achrekar used to give batting practice to a young boy with a single stump behind him and a little coin was placed above the stump. Achrekar Sir instructed the kid not to get out and if he became successful to remain not out, the coin would have been given to him as a token of appreciation. The young boy had gathered a lot of coins till he went on to play for India in the International cricket. He is none other than the great Sachin Tendulkar.
Jasprit Bumrah, similarly, got awarded by his childhood coach Mr. Kishore Trivedi for being perfect at practice. In a recent chat with CrickerSoccer.com, Kishore Trivedi, who runs Royal Cricket Coaching Camp at Ahmedabad Nirman High School, disclosed the early story of Bumrah and revealed how his student was eager to get established in test cricket.
Here are the excerpts:
CricketSoccer (CS): What was your impression when you first saw Jasprit Bumrah?
Kishore Trivedi (KT): He was a very lean and thin boy. His mother used to be a teacher with the same Nirman High School, where I run the Academy. She brought Bumrah to me and told to train him in cricket. The first thing that did impress me was his pace and strange bowling action. It was very unusual. He had a slinging action. And he used to generate a lot of pace. Many asked me to change his action a bit as he may get injured with this unusual action. But I decided that this boy should continue with his natural action. Today I feel that my decision was correct as it’s his exceptional action that makes the life of the batsmen difficult.
CS: What was special about Bumrah at that time?
KT: He had raw pace. And he was very eager to learn. As a coach, what pleased me most was the fact that he always followed my instructions and worked very hard. With the slinging action, he was very difficult to pick and I never saw a batsman play his deliveries with ease. He is tall and can generate the extra amount of bounce from any surface. That is the USP about his bowling.
CS: His yorkers are deadly. How did he develop it?
KT: In my camp, I used to keep a bottle cap on the good length area and in the blockholes. Jasprit used to bowl accurately on those areas since the age of 14 and had no hesitation in bowling to right and left-handers. He used to vary his line and length accordingly. At my coaching camp, there were players from different age groups and Jasprit was so capable that he used to practice with the senior team. The senior players used to literally get scared of his pace. The bowlers used to bowl long spells and at the end of the day, Jasprit and others used to practice Yorkers for a continuous period of 30-40 minutes. It was a daily routine for all the players. At the end of the day, whoever used to hit the maximum number of yorkers, I used to treat them with burgers, pizza etc.
CS: How would you describe his transformation from T20s to Test cricket?
KT: Jasprit has always been a Test material. He never liked to be clubbed as a T20 specialist. He always dreamt to be a part of the Indian test team. He was eager to prove himself in Test cricket. He has all the qualities of a good Test bowler. Jasprit has a very slim physique and I still get surprised how he generates that amount of pace. Outswingers used to be his main weapon. But in last one year, he has learnt to bowl off cutters, the ball which comes in sharply. It makes me proud that gradually Jasprit is becoming the spearhead of the Indian pace attack. Jasprit is still in contact with me and he often asks me for tips. He reviews his performance with me.
CS: In England, he is looking deadly with the red ball. Batsmen like Alastair Cook and Joe Root are struggling against him. Your thoughts.
KT: He is such a bowler who doesn’t depend much on the nature of the pitch. He can be dangerous in any condition. In England, he is sticking to the basics and that’s why looking more confident. The batsman must find difficulties to play him. The more matches he will play, more matured, he is going to be. He is a quick learner. The way Virat Kohli and coach Ravi Shastri show faith in his skill and ability, it only makes him a better bowler.
