Bumrah's boom in the IPL

Jasprit Bumrah's bowling coach in Mumbai Indians, Shane Bond, predicts he'll be a world-class bowler across formats. Rohit Sharma, his skipper, doesn't want to pressurise him by calling him the world's best. But his exploits in the IPL was a major factor in his team's title triumph.

If Jasprit Bumrah can carry his good form to England, it would boost India's chances of defending the Champions Trophy.

Over the last seven weeks, in the Indian Premier League (IPL), Jasprit Bumrah hardly put a foot wrong. He bamboozled Aaron Finch and Brendon McCullum — two of the all-time T20 greats — during the Super Over he bowled against Gujarat Lions. He crushed the Kolkata Knight Riders top-order in a virtual semifinal when he was handed the new ball for the first time in the tournament. He followed it up with a sterling show in the final against Rising Pune Supergiant, accouting for the dangerous Mahendra Singh Dhoni and not letting Steven Smith run away with the game in the 17th and the 19th over.

No wonder then that Bumrah eclipsed Lasith Malinga as Mumbai Indians's (MI) death-overs specialist during its victorious IPL campaign. Shane Bond, the MI bowling coach, is confident that Bumrah will soon be a force to reckon with even in Test cricket.

“We had to twist our bowling attack based on Bum's bowling at the back end. We started to use Malinga in the middle overs in a defensive role and add a leg-spinner to give us the attacking option as well,” said Bond, minutes after the victorious squad arrived in Mumbai and before heading to the owners' palatial bungalow for a grand celebration.

“When you start to base your bowling attack around a bowler like Jasprit, that shows his quality as well. I think he will definitely play Test cricket and he can be a world-class bowler across all formats.”

Rohit Sharma, who became the first captain to lift three IPL trophies and also achieved a rare distinction of being a part of four IPL triumphs (he was with Deccan Chargers when it won the IPL in 2009), refrained from putting Bumrah under pressure.

“I would prefer not to say that he is the world's No. 1 bowler or the best bowler. Right now, we all know that he is bowling at his best and I would like him to continue doing that. I don't want to say anything that would add pressure on him,” said Sharma.

“He knows what his capabilities are and he has shown it throughout the tournament as well. He came in and bowled that Super Over – probably to the best T20 batters, (Brendon) McCullum and (Aaron) Finch – and defended 11 runs. He definitely has the ability to be the No. 1 bowler, that's for sure.”

If Bumrah, who headed to Ahmedabad from Hyderabad to spend a couple of nights at home before joining India's Champions Trophy squad in Mumbai on Wednesday, can continue in the same vein in England next week, it would boost India's chances of defending the coveted trophy.