Playing tennis-ball cricket in his formative years has helped him bowl his yorkers with good control, said Mumbai Indians pacer Jasprit Bumrah here today.
“With only one ball you cannot be successful. I try to mix my pace and try to use yorkers. I used to play tennis ball cricket quite a lot before playing serious cricket. Over there you bowl yorkers. That could be the reason I bowl yorkers. But it’s difficult to bowl and I have to practice continuously,” said Bumrah on the eve of the Mumbai Indians match against table toppers Kolkata Knight Riders.
With his slightly unorthodox bowling action just before delivering the ball, Bumrah has picked up eight wickets from 11 games this season and played a good supporting role to top wicket-taker Mitchell McClenaghan of New Zealand.
The 22-year-old feels Mumbai Indians’ bowling attack has done well despite the absence of their pace spearhead Lasith Malinga, who is out of the tournament with a leg injury.
“He’s a world class bowler. We will miss him. But as a bowling group, we have been doing well. Mitchell McClenaghan has been doing very well, Tim Southee too,” he pointed out.
Bumrah, who grabbed the fans’ attention with his good show during India’s tour of Australia for the ODIs and T20s earlier this year, said that the time he spent in the Indian dressing room has done him a world of good.
“From the Australia tour I learned a lot, and from Sri Lanka (tour) and Asia Cup (in Bangladesh) too. I have learnt a lot from the Indian team. Many senior players were there with me. I look to learn from everyone. In T20 format I have played many international games and am trying to carry it into IPL.”