Leave it, what will he do: Virat Kohli had brushed away suggestion to try Jasprit Bumrah for RCB
India Today
Parthiv Patel made startling revelation and said that he had suggested the idea of getting Jasprit Bumrah on board to Virat Kohli at RCB, his former captain, but Virat had outrightly refused to even give him a chance.
Virat Kohli had apparently brushed away a suggestion from former Royal Challengers Bangalore teammate Parthiv Patel to take a look at Jasprit Bumrah back in 2014. Kohli had taken over as RCB captain in 2013 and continued to lead till 2021 without ever winning a trophy. Parthiv, who has now retired from all formats of the game, was once an important part of the RCB set-up.
Parthiv Patel, a former India wicketkeeper, said he had mentioned Jasprit Bumrah to Virat Kohli but the then RCB skipper did not seem interested. Interestingly, Bumrah had already debuted for Mumbai Indians in the 2013 Indian Premier League and his first wicket happened to be that of Virat Kohli.
"In 2014, when I was at RCB, I told Kohli there's this bowler named Bumrah. Have a look at him. Virat replied saying 'Chhor na yaar. Ye Bumrah-Vumrah kya karenge?' (Leave it. What will such players do?" Parthiv said on Cricbuzz.
Parthiv Patel knew what he was talking about. As Jasprit Bumrah's captain in the Gujarat Ranji Trophy team, Patel had seen the pacer evolve and cause plenty of problems for batsmen.
"When he was first picked, Bumrah played Ranji Trophy for the first 2-3 years. 2013 was his first year, and he didn't have a good season in 2014. In 2015, it was so bad that there were discussions going on that he might have to be sent back home mid-season. But, he slowly began improving and Mumbai Indians really backed him. It was his own hard work and such backing that really brought out the best in him," Parthiv Patel said.
Over the years, as Bumrah continued to impress with his pace and guile in the IPL, he was selected to be a part of the India squad under Virat Kohli. He made his Test debut in South Africa in 2018 and has since been the leader of the pace attack across formats for India.
In the recent Bangalore Test against Sri Lanka, Jasprit Bumrah took a five-wicket haul to hasten the visitors' collapse on a tricky pitch. One of the best fast bowlers in the world, Jasprit Bumrah has 123 wickets in 29 Tests, 113 wickets in 70 ODIs and 67 wickets in 57 T20Is.
