‘Bowl to the batsman, not to the name’ – Jasprit Bumrah reveals Sachin Tendulkar’s advice ahead of MI debut

Sachin-Tendulkar-and-Jasprit-Bumrah. (Photo source: X)

Jasprit Bumrah played alongside Sachin Tendulkar in his debut season for the Mumbai Indians (MI) in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2013. 12 years later, the Ahmedabad-born is hailed as one of the finest pacers to have played the game.

Bumrah made his IPL debut against Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) and finished with figures of 3/32. He bagged the wickets of Mayank Agarwal, Virat Kohli, and Karun Nair.

Bumrah admitted that he was a bit anxious ahead of this encounter, as he was competing against some of the stalwarts of the sport. However, the legendary Tendulkar gave him a brilliant piece of advice that helped in calming his nerves.

“When I came here, Sachin Tendulkar was still playing. It was his last year. Initially, when a 19-year-old comes into this atmosphere and sees such legends of the game everywhere, the level of cricket is so high and so different from under-19 cricket. I was a little overwhelmed,” Bumrah said at a promotional event via Sportstar.

“But when I played my first game, before starting the game, he told me that ‘Don’t look at the individual. Bowl to the batsman, not to the name.’ That helped me quite a lot,” he added.

Jasprit Bumrah feels MI have peaked at the right time in IPL 2025

Mumbai Indians started IPL 2025 on a disappointing note as they lost four out of their first five matches. However, they have been on a phenomenal six-match winning streak since then. Bumrah opined that the five-time champions have peaked at the correct time in the tournament.

“We, as a team, started a bit slow. But ahead of the business end of the tournament, we peaked at the right time. It’s a very good sign for us as we are not dependent on one individual to win us the game,” the fast bowler said.

The Hardik Pandya-led side is set to face Gujarat Titans at the iconic Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai on Tuesday, May 6.

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