Jasprit Bumrah- The boy who still hates to be hit

It was business as usual on Friday at the modest Royal Cricket Academy just a few kilometres away from the Narendra Modi Stadium where the academyrsquos most famous son Jasprit Bumrah will be playing the biggest match of his life in less than 48 hoursVeteran coach Kishore Trivedi 77 is teaching a bunch of 50odd kids the finer nuances of the game very patiently but authoritatively nonetheless On the wall of the academy are two big posters featuring Bumrah and Trivedirsquos sonrsquos Siddharth a prominent Gujarat pacer who also went on to play for Rajasthan Royals in the IPL before recently taking up a coaching role with the Manipur team Bumrahrsquos childhood coach Kishore Trivedi at the Royal Cricket Academy in Arsquobad yesterday where a young Bumrah honed his skills as a teenager PicAshwin Ferro right Jasprit Bumrah is ecstatic after claiming the wicket of NZrsquos Glenn Phillips at Wankhede on Wednesday PicGetty ImagesThe entire cricket crazy Indian population will be feeling the nervous as twotime world champions India prepare to face fivetime winners Australia in the World Cup final on Sunday but Trivedi is calm and confident ldquoI have no doubt that Jasprit will do well in the final He has been playing well throughout the tournament and his final performance will be the cherry on the cakerdquo Trivedi told midday with a bright smile despite the tiring day he has just spent at the academymdasha routine he has been following for over three decadesImpressive comebackBumrah who was injured for almost a year before this World Cup has picked an impressive 18 wickets from 10 matches at a tournamentleading economy rate of 398 Bumrah was always a miserly bowler revealed Trivedi ldquoHe came to me at the age of 15 and his unique action stood out But even back then he hated to be hit If a batsman tried to do so he would bowl the next one a lot quicker The academy boys would always complain to me saying they donrsquot want to face him as hersquos too fastThey felt that he threw the ball and that his action was illegal I had to convince them that itrsquos not illegal but just oddrdquo recalled Trivedi going on to add that Bumrahrsquos action had nothing to do his injury ldquoJasprit has been bowling like that since he was a kid so if he didnrsquot break down then how can the action suddenly hurt him The injury is due to his workload He plays all three formats regularly and modern cricket over a period of time can be extremely unforgivingrdquoTeenage years are known to be full of mischief but Bumrah was the studious kind ldquoHis mother was the viceprincipal of a school so thatrsquos where he got his discipline from But he was always one of the hardest workers at practice and particularly enjoyed bowling yorkers I would place an object close to the stumps at yorkerlength and make him hit it consistently I would make him train for close to an hour extra daily on this yorker aspect and he would sincerely comply Today his yorkers are unplayablerdquo said Trivedi a former Ranji Trophy offspinner for SaurashtraInterestingly Bumrahrsquos disciplinarian mum almost curtailed her sonrsquos career ldquoOne day Jaspritrsquos mother came to me complaining that his marks are dropping because hersquos playing cricket the whole day lsquoHe is all I have Bumrahrsquos father passed away when he was very young and I want him to achieve something big in lifersquo she saidJasprit used to get 8090 per cent grades and wanted this to continue but it was impossible because he was spending three to four hours on the ground daily for his cricket So I made her understand that she should not focus on his marks as long as he is passing the year I told her to let him get 4050 per cent marks but give his 100 per cent to cricket I insisted we do this for two years and if he doesnrsquot progress as a cricketer then he can focus fully on his academics Thankfully in two years he began playing district and statelevel tournaments and progressed to the U19 events and finally John Wright former India coach spotted him for Mumbai Indians Jasprit has not looked back sincerdquo explained TrivedilsquoHappy as long as hersquos succeedingrsquoBumrah sure hasnrsquot looked back so much so that he hasnrsquot even spoken to Trivedi for over two years now The coach may not openly admit it but he does miss exchanging notes with his super star student ldquoThe international cricket calendar is a busy one so I understand Jasprit has a lot of commitments As a coach Irsquomhappy as long as hersquos succeedingrdquo concluded Trivedi18No of wickets claimed by Jasprit Bumrah in 10 matches of the ongoing World Cup