Virat Kohli Said, “What Will Bumrah Do”: Ex-RCB Player Claims

Former India wicket-keeper and ex-RCB (Royal Challengers Bangalore) player Parthiv Patel has revealed that he had pitched the idea of getting Jasprit Bumrah on board in 2014 to Virat Kohli, his former captain, but Kohli refused to even give Bumrah a chance to play for RCB.

Kohli had taken over as RCB captaincy in 2013 and continued to lead till 2021. RCB never won the trophy of IPL under Kohli’s captaincy. Parthiv has now retired from all formats of the game. He was once an important part of the RCB team. Parthiv was once Bumrah’s captain in the Gujarat domestic team. Parthiv had seen the pacer evolve during IPL (Indian Premier League) seasons.

Parthiv said on Cricbuzz, “In 2014 when I was at RCB, I told Kohli there’s this bowler named Bumrah. Kohli replied ‘Chhor na yaar. Ye Bumrah-Vumrah kya karenge?’ (Leave it. What will such players do?)”

Jasprit Bumrah

Today, Bumrah is an integral part of Indian cricket. In 2018, Bumrah was handed his Test debut and in less than three years, he established himself as one of India’s best bowlers. Since 2018, he has been the leader of the pace attack across all formats of cricket for India.

According to India today, Bumrah has 123 wickets in 29 Tests, 113 wickets in 70 ODIs and 67 wickets in 57 T20Is. He is the first Asian bowler to take 5 wickets in test innings in South Africa, England and Australia during the same calendar year. He came into the limelight through incredible performances for the IPL franchise Mumbai Indians (MI).

Over the years, he has impressed everyone both in international cricket and the IPL. He had shown a glimpse of his talent first in the Ranji Trophy while playing in 2012-13. Former England cricket captain Michael Vaughan also praised Bumrah for his performance. He said, “Bumrah is the best in the world at the moment across all formats.”