Jasprit Bumrah keeps advising me on the yorker: Mukesh Kumar

Mukesh-Kumar. (Photo by Pankaj Nangia/Getty Images)

Pace sensation Mukesh Kumar has grown significantly in the last couple of years. Soon after making his Test debut for India, the cricketer was called up for the ODI and T20I series against West Indies, and since then, he has been in the scheme of things in all three formats of the game.

Up next, in the absence of Mohammed Shami, Mukesh is expected to feature in the five-match Test series against England and after that, the IPL will hold a lot of value, as it can earn him a ticket to the T20 World Cup, which is slated to begin on June 1.

Meanwhile, even though he has done well with the red ball, the white ball seemed to have bothered Mukesh in the past. Speaking about the same, the cricketer stated that star India pacer Jasprit Bumrah keeps advising him on the yorker and other necessary things, which are ‘invaluable’ to him.

“Bumrah bhai keeps advising me on the yorker in particular. He says, ‘Tu bahut acchha yorker daalta hai. Jo kar raha hai, bas wahi karta jaa’ (You bowl the yorker well. Just keep doing what you have been). We talk quite regularly and he gives me other suggestions as well, which are obviously invaluable,” Mukesh Kumar said in an interaction with Telegraph India.

Bumrah bhai was telling me to keep bowling those dot balls in Cape Town: Mukesh

In the second Test against South Africa in Cape Town in 2024, Mukesh picked up four wickets as India went on to win the match by seven wickets. Speaking about the camaraderie between the bowlers, the pacer revealed that every bowler has a different role in the team and stated that Bumrah asked him to bowl many dot balls to create pressure on the Proteas.

“The process is quite similar to what myself, Akash (Deep) and Ishan Porel used to do in Bengal. Here also we discuss our respective roles: who will go on all-out attack and who focuses on keeping things tight with maiden overs. In Cape Town, Bumrahbhai was telling me to keep bowling those dot balls as that would add to their (Proteas) pressure (in the second innings). Such was the situation that I had to bowl those, which eventually proved to be beneficial for the team,” Mukesh added.