In his first season with the Mumbai Indians (MI) in the 2013 Indian Premier League (IPL), Jasprit Bumrah played with Sachin Tendulkar. Twelve years later, the Ahmedabad native is regarded as one of the best pacers in history.
Bumrah ended with stats of 3/32 in his IPL debut match against Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB). He took out Karun Nair, Virat Kohli, and Mayank Agarwal.
Given that he was up against some of the sport’s biggest names, Bumrah said that he was a little nervous before the match. He was able to relax, though, after the renowned Tendulkar offered him some wise counsel.
Sachin Tendulkar was still playing when I arrived. It was his final year. The level of cricket is so high and so different from under-19 cricket when a 19-year-old first enters this environment and is surrounded by such game legends. “I was a little overwhelmed,” Bumrah admitted during a Sportstar promotional event.
“But when I played my first game, before starting the game, he told me that ‘Don’t look at the individual. Bowl to the batsman, not to the name.’ That helped me quite a lot,” he added.
Jasprit Bumrah feels MI have peaked at the right time in IPL 2025
Mumbai Indians started IPL 2025 on a disappointing note as they lost four out of their first five matches. However, they have been on a phenomenal six-match winning streak since then. Bumrah opined that the five-time champions have peaked at the correct time in the tournament.
“We, as a team, started a bit slow. But ahead of the business end of the tournament, we peaked at the right time. It’s a very good sign for us as we are not dependent on one individual to win us the game,” the fast bowler said.
The Hardik Pandya-led side is set to face Gujarat Titans at the iconic Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai on Tuesday, May 6.
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