"In order to be irreplaceable, one must always be different."
I am a 90s kid, when cricket was awesome and fierce. I have seen Ambrose owning Aussies in their backyard. I have witnessed Aqib Javed demolishing India at Sharjah. These two are my all time favourite quick bowlers, but Waqar was someone else, something else (read it like Oliver Queen of Green Arrow). He was the one who moulded my young mind and stamped the fact that yorkers are the invincible balls bowled in cricket. No offense to Wasim who also had a mean yorker, but the banana inswing yorkers of Waqar were unparalleled.
There were a few who came after Waqar who tried to emulate his art of bowling yorkers, like Shoaib Akhtar, Shane O'Connor(I don't know if people remember him, but he had a decent yorker), Geoff Allot etc but the rightful heir debuted in 2004 and his name was Lasith Malinga. Malinga revolutionized the yorker.
As far as India is concerned, the best yorkers I have seen were from Anil Kumble and Manoj Prabhakar(sometimes). We have had decent fast bowlers but we never had an out an out tearaway fast bowler who could terrorise the batsman like Waqar did. But by Sachin's grace, everything changed on 6th December 1993, in Ahmedabad, when a Sikhni gave birth to a special kid and he was named Jasprit Bumrah. He lost his father at a tender age and was brought up by a single mother, who was a school Principal and a disciplinarian. No wonder Jassi is a focused and disciplined lad.
What caught everybody's eyeballs was Bumrah's queer action. This lad was a trophy hunter from day one. He made his T20 debut for Gujarat in 2012-13 in Syed Mushtaq Ali trophy and helped his team win the title with a man of the match performance in the final. He was instantly picked up by Mumbai Indians for the 2013 edition. He didn't play all the matches, but MI won their first title that year and they haven't looked back since.
Many thought he isn't cut out for the best format, but he is the first Asian bowler to take a 5-fer in Australia, SA and England in a calender year. This has ruffled many feathers. For the first time ever, there is an Indian fast bowler, of whom the world is envious of. Pakistanis call him a "Polio patient", but Sohail Tanvir was a totally normal kid. Aussies call him "chucker". This is the term they used for a bowler who ended up with 1300+ wickets.
India is a formidable team now, courtesy Jassi. We can't thank him enough. Now we can proudly brag about our fast bowlers. Happy Birthday Jasprit Jasbirsingh Bumrah. May you live long and prosper.
Vijayi Bhavah! Ayushmaan Bhavah!
Jassi Jaisa Koi Nahi!
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