মালিঙ্গার সান্নিধ্য ক্ষুরধার করেছে বুমরাকে, উত্তরবঙ্গে এসে অকপট জন্টি

একটি ক্রিকেট কোচিং ক্যাম্পের সূচনায় শিলিগুড়িতে ঝটিকা সফরে জন্টি রোডস ৷ সেখানে জসপ্রীত বুমরার ভূয়সী প্রশংসা প্রাক্তন ক্রিকেটারের ৷

Transcript

00:00I am obviously very happy. I spent five months in India and I spent six months in South Africa,

00:06so India and South African cricket is obviously close to my heart.

00:10Tough for India now in Australia, but for me as a South African,

00:14and especially seeing where South African cricket was two or three years ago,

00:18where we were middle of the table or sixth or seventh in the Test Championship or the Test standings.

00:24So to be able to qualify for the World Test Championship final,

00:28I think it's an incredible feat by the South African players, the captain, the coach,

00:33and it's really good to see.

00:35Because if you look at our squad of international stars in Test cricket,

00:40we don't have a whole bunch, but obviously South Africa plays really well as a team

00:45in pretty tough and pressurised situations.

00:47So yes, very happy.

00:50People lose matches, what are you trying to say?

00:53What are you asking?

00:56Not a good team? Not a bad team? What, Pakistan? It's not possible?

01:02Why do you ask?

01:08I saw Bumrah for the first time when he came to Mumbai Indians as a very young man,

01:12and the scouting under John Wright was exceptional.

01:17Akshay Patel and Bumrah came together in their first season of IPL,

01:23and everyone thought he was just an awkward kid with a rather strange, unique bowling action.

01:28And I think we saw how Lasith Malinga had decimated batting teams

01:34because of the uniqueness of his action.

01:36And Bumrah, even though he's not a Malinga, it's slightly different.

01:39And the amazing thing about working with Bumrah, as a fielding coach,

01:44it was a bit frustrating to start with.

01:46He wasn't the best fielder, but he worked at it.

01:48But just his growth as a bowler, every game, every practice, he looked to improve, learn something.

01:54And he had one of the masters of the game, Malinga, as a mentor in the team for Mumbai Indians.

02:03Young players are given an opportunity, but do they take it? Bumrah took it.

02:07So that for me was a sign of somebody who wanted to go far.

02:12Because every time he came down to a practice session, or every time he watched a game,

02:17he didn't play many matches in his first season,

02:19he was learning about his own game from his own performance and from other people's performance.

02:25So that's always a mark of somebody who's going to go far.

02:28Someone who wants to get better every time they come down to practice, or they're involved in a game.

02:33So yeah, I've seen his progress from up close.

02:36And he's a special player, and he's unique.

02:40And I think that's also why he's a very awkward customer to deal with.

02:44He's not the customary pace or technique that you're accustomed to facing day in and day out as a cricket player.