When he came into the side, he was a teenager. He was a natural talent who didn’t know how to make use of it. He had yorkers. Short, length ball everything, but he lacked the self-confidence to execute them all.
Spotted by John Wright, he had no idea what he is going to be in years to come. He had a lot in common with Malinga. Starting from unorthodox action, the ability to bowl yorkers, pace, variations. Even they had similar characters. Men of few words.
While living in a world where he was all alone, Malinga would have thought he had a company when he first saw Bumrah. He knew there is something special about Bumrah the moment he saw him. It was easy for him to relate with a bowler who literally has to go through the same routine. He started taking care of him. He knew Bumrah needs some tweaking. The young kid was in the good hands of Malinga at one side and Shane Bond on the other.
Malinga made Bumrah a better bowler by training with him, building that confidence, making him believe on himself no matter what the situation is. Most importantly, how to get into the opponent’s mind. Something Malinga did all these years. He has been that bowler the whole team relied on. Even the batsmen used to plan their innings by playing out Malinga until it is super necessary. He used to be the shadow for the team and the bowlers.
As the years went by, the master knew he needs to hang the boots soon. So, he passed on the baton to Bumrah who was too young to realize. The master had to go through a lot in terms of his international career. When least expected, he became the mentor for the team. It was all new. Now, the student who is having success wherever he goes knew he had to play for his master as well. So, the efforts doubled, the outcome doubled.
The master who is in no mood to give up his career that easily, suddenly came up from the Ashes to get into the team, even became the captain. He was not as effective as he used to be still, half of his skills are enough to destroy his opponents. He soon returned to the team to play with his student who from an unknown talent has become the world’s best.
He knew he is not the same anymore. His pace was dropped, he was taken for plenty which doesn’t happen daily. When the master thought he lost it all, his student realized he had to play for his master once again. The man who protected the team and other bowlers all these years was protected by his student that day. Despite not being able to do well initially, the master was proud of his student and his growth. The master did take a bit of inspiration from his student and he still was proud of it. He did better in the final over where he took the match till the final delivery after giving away a six in the first ball. He had all the skills to prevent a boundary in the free-hit if the final delivery was given a no-ball.
With years more to come, Bumrah certainly will smash records and will better his master but he will always be grateful for all the lessons he has taught him over the years. If not for him, Bumrah wouldn’t have become the best.
