The fire inside is burning all the time – Jasprit Bumrah talks about his motivation to succeed

Jasprit Bumrah has been India’s premier pace bowler ever since he burst on to the scene with Mumbai Indians in the IPL. Since making his debut for the national side in 2016, Bumrah has become a match-winner and is now among the heavyweights in the dressing room. Bumrah is also among the finest fast-bowlers in the world and arguably, the very best.

He is Virat Kohli’s go-to bowler in all formats and more often than not, Bumrah delivers. Be it in the form of taking wickets or keeping a check on the run-rate, Bumrah is exceptional at what he does. Despite the pace unit having senior cricketers in Mohammad Shami, Ishant Sharma, Umesh Yadav, and Bhuvneshwar Kumar, it is 27-year-old who’s undoubtedly the leader of the attack.

Talking to ICC exclusively, Bumrah discussed the evolution in his cricket career and how he has grown over the years.

“So basically, what I try to do is, I channelise my anger. When I started as a youngster, I used to get angry left, right and center and I used to do all types of gimmicks which didn’t really help my game a lot,” he said.

“So, over the years, I played a lot of international cricket, I realised what works for me. So, I am smiling but the fire inside is burning all the time. I don’t try to show it all the time but this is the way that helps me to succeed and with that controlled aggression, I try to take my game forward,” he added.

Ever since his first appearance on the international scene, Jasprit Bumrah’s unique bowling action has always attracted the interest of everyone. It has managed to deceive batsmen as well who find the ball coming to them quicker and have lesser time to react to it. Indian bowling coach Bharat Arun has worked closely with the fast-bowler over the years and has helped him develop as a cricketer.

“The secret behind Jasprit is his uniqueness has been maintained. We have not tried and meddle with his bowling action. Because of his action batsmen pick up a little late that’s what makes him so special,” Bharat Arun said during a chat with ICC.