Young bowler aping Jasprit Bumrah turns heads

Mahesh Kumar, who was called to the RCB nets by Ashish Nehra in the last IPL season, continues to be the star net bowler for Virat Kohli and Co.

Net bowler Mahesh Kumar at the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru on Wednesday.

Plagued by a shoulder injury, Jasprit Bumrah did not bowl at the nets on Tuesday, but fans at the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium here got to see the next best thing.

Mahesh Kumar, who resembles Bumrah with a jumpy run-up and stiff-arm action, has been bowling at the Royal Challengers Bangalore camp from the last season. He first bowled at the Team India nets in 2017. “The team was impressed, and I have been bowling to India players since then,” he said.

 

The 22-year-old Karnataka lad was then invited to the RCB nets by Ashish Nehra. "Talking to Virat Kohli was special. He asked me to stick to my strengths and not copy anyone,” Mahesh said.

At the end of a training session ahead of the clash against Mumbai Indians on Thursday, Mahesh — an engineering graduate — was gifted a pair of shoes by Nehra.