Jasprit Bumrah credited the IPL for his development as a cricketer, after he was called up as a replacement for Mohammed Shami in India's T20 squad for the series against Australia.
The Gujarat-lad plays for the Mumbai Indians in the IPL, and made his debut in 2013 against the Royal Challengers Bangalore, where he took three for 32. Bumrah said with every IPL, he has learnt a lot and the tournament has helped him improve his bowling.
"IPL means learning process for me. The first year, 2013, when the first time Mumbai Indians became the champions, such big players were there, Sachin [Tendulkar] was there, Ricky Ponting was even there," Bumrah told ESPNCricinfo.
"So I learned how to prepare for such big games because I had never played even a first-class game before that. So I learned how to handle situations. In 2014 I was [one of] the main bowlers, I learned how to carry your form, at what situation what you have to do when you have to play for a longer period of time."
The 22-year-old youngster has an unorthodox bowling action, which can deceive the batsmen at times. He recently claimed a five-for in the Vijay Hazare Trophy final, helping Gujarat clinch their first ever title.
Bumrah's domestic performances caught the eye of the selectors, and as a result he gained the vote of confidence from them. The youngster also credited Sri Lanka and Mumbai Indians pacer Lasith Malinga for giving him the right advice, especially when it comes to those trademark yorkers.
"Malinga told me you have good yorkers, but you still need to control the yorkers. You have to continuously practice because it is a skill which is very difficult to master," Bumrah added.
Bumrah has been retained by the Mumbai Indians franchise for the upcoming edition of the IPL, which will be held just after the ICC World T20 2016.
