NEW DELHI: Jasprit Bumrah troubling opposition batters with his pace and precision is no secret, but the star India pacer is just as ruthless against his own teammates in the nets. KL Rahul revealed that trying to hit Bumrah in practice is risky, because he will always come back with something to remind you who's the boss.
Rahul has enjoyed some strong outings against Bumrah in the IPL, a fact host Jatin Sapru pointed out during their conversation on the Humans of Bombay YouTube channel. But Rahul quickly brushed it aside with a dose of humour, joking that he didn't want to provoke Bumrah into responding aggressively in their next nets session.
"I will not agree because he'll break my head in the next net. He'll break my head or break my toe in the next session. So, I'm not saying anything. No comments," Rahul said.
When asked whether Bumrah gets annoyed when someone takes him on in the nets, Rahul replied, "Very, very angry. But first of all, it's not easy to hit him in the net; very few people can do it."
"He's the hardest bowler to hit, to hit for sure. Now I think at least we play him day in and day out, so you're used to his action and release point a little bit, but if you're just facing him as an opposition from a different country it's just very difficult to pick him firstly - defend against him, then to even think of scoring against him becomes that much more harder," the Indian batter added.
The Indian opener added that each time he middles a shot off Bumrah in the nets, the pacer immediately shifts gears and sharpens his intensity, turning the session into a fierce battle. Rahul said he often defuses the moment with a light-hearted comment praising Bumrah's skill, just to keep the mood relaxed.
"Vo toh daant peesta hi rehta hai (He keeps grinding their teeth all the time), every time where you can see his face and his nerves and everything, just like, you know, he's ready for a fight... Sometimes you have to tell him, Bumrah, same team bro, it's okay. Wickets from nets won't get counted, so then he laughs. I play that card with him saying, "Boss, you're unplayable, you're just too good, don't worry, bowl slowly," Rahul concluded.
