Parthiv Patel made a startling revelation, saying he had pitched the idea of bringing Jasprit Bumrah on board to Virat Kohli at RCB, his former captain, but Virat adamantly refused to give him even a chance.
Ye Bumrah-Vumrah kya karenge: Parthiv Patel remembers Virat Kohli’s words at IPL 2014 (AP Photo)
HIGHLIGHTS
- Parthiv said Kohli declined the suggestion to look for RCB at Bumrah
- Parthiv said he suggested Kohli watch Bumrah in IPL 2014
- Bumrah was the leader of India’s pace attack across formats
Virat Kohli had apparently brushed aside a suggestion by former Royal Challengers Bangalore team-mate Parthiv Patel in 2014 to watch Jasprit Bumrah. Kohli had taken over as RCB captain in 2013 and continued to lead until 2021 without ever winning a trophy. Parthiv, which has since been retired from all formats of the game, was once an important part of the RCB setup.
Parthiv Patel, a former Indian wicketkeeper, said he mentioned Jasprit Bumrah to Virat Kohli but the RCB skipper at the time seemed uninterested. Interestingly, Bumrah had debuted for the Mumbai Indians in the Indian Premier League back in 2013 and his first wicket happened to be that of Virat Kohli.
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“In 2014, when I was at RCB, I told Kohli that there was this bowler called Bumrah. look at him Virat answered and said: ‘Chhor na yaar. Ye Bumrah-Vumrah kya karenge?’ (Leave it. What will such players do?” Parthiv said on Criccbuzz.
Parthiv Patel knew what he was talking about. As captain of Jasprit Bumrah in the Gujarat Ranji Trophy team, Patel had seen the pacesetter evolve and cause many problems for the batsmen.
“When he was first picked, Bumrah played Ranji Trophy for the first 2-3 years. 2013 was his first year and 2014 didn’t have a good season. 2015 was so bad that there was talk that he might have to be sent home mid-season. But he slowly started to improve and the Mumbai Indians really supported him. It was his own hard work and that support that really brought out the best in him,” said Parthiv Patel.
As Bumrah continued to impress with his pace and cunning in the IPL over the years, he was selected to be part of the India squad under Virat Kohli. He made his Test debut in South Africa in 2018 and has been the pace attack leader in all formats for India ever since.
In the recent Bangalore Test against Sri Lanka, Jasprit Bumrah scored a five-wicket move to hasten the visitors’ collapse on a difficult field. Jasprit Bumrah, one of the top fast bowlers in the world, has 123 wickets in 29 Tests, 113 wickets in 70 ODIs, and 67 wickets in 57 T20Is.
