People Believe That Lasith Malinga Taught Me The Yorker, But That's Not True: Jasprit Bumrah

Jasprit Bumrah, one of the best pacers in the world today, will go head-to-head against legendary Lasith Malinga, probably the best executioner of yorkers, as India host Sri Lanka in a three-match T20I series

Outlook Web Bureau

Updated on: 3 January 2020 2:17 pm

Yorkers and Jasprit Bumrah are inseparable. He is now considered a complete pacer with veritable bouncers and deceptively slower deliveries, but there's something about his yorkers. And many believed that the Indian bowler learned the craft from Sri Lankan legend Lasith Malinga. (More Cricket News)

Well, according to Bumrah, that wasn't the case. He learned all his cricket, including how to bowl those radar-guided yorkers, watching TV.

"Many people believe that he taught me the yorker, but that’s not true," Bumrah told Hindustan Times.

But the right-arm pacer admitted that he learned so many things from his Mumbai Indians team-mate.

"He did not teach me anything on the field. The things I learned from him are about the mind. How to handle different situations. How to not get angry. How to make a plan for a batsman," Bumrah added.

Bumrah is considered as one of the best pacers in the world today. Despite missing India's home season last year, Jasprit Bumrah remained the top-ranked bowler in ODIs while
occupying the sixth spot in ICC Test bowlers' rankings.

"All my cricket I’ve learned from the TV," Bumrah said. "Even now, I look at videos and I listen to feedback, and then I like to prepare on my own, the way I want to. I try to do the analysis myself. Because on the cricket ground, I will be alone. Nobody’s going to be there to help me so I should be able to help myself."

Bumrah last played for India in a Test match against the West Indies in August-September last year. He then missed the home series against South Africa and Bangladesh and the Windies due to a stress fracture on his lower back.

The 26-year-old will be seen in action during the T20I series against visiting Sri Lanka, starting Sunday at Guwahati.

Last year, he became only the third Indian to scalp a hat-trick in Tests after Harbhajan Singh and Irfan Pathan. He described 2019 as a year of "accomplishments, learning and memories"
on and off the field.

"2019 has been a year of accomplishments, learning, hard work and making memories, on the field and off it too. And on the last day of the year, I'm looking forward to everything that 2020 has to offer!" Bumrah tweeted.