A hero who gives his all for the team. A traitor who cares more about himself than his nation. Bumrah hero anti-hero
We are nothing without him. We are better off without him.
His back hurts when his country needs him. He bends his back when his IPL team calls on him.
To Jasprit Bumrah these must seem the best of times, and the worst of times, and he himself, a character only Dickens could have conjured up. As the England tour progressed and it became clear to fans that the World’s No.1 bowler would actually play only 3 out of 5 Tests (as he had announced pre-tour), disgruntled Indians on social media, a group that is more fanatic than fan, went for the jugular. Overnight, Bumrah went from hero to anti-hero, deified to vilified, patriot to traitor. All without him having done anything, other than follow medical advice.
So what gives in this love-hate relationship between Indian cricket fans and Jasprit Bumrah? Where does Bumrah actually stand between the two narratives? Is he a hero or an anti-hero? Bumrah hero anti-hero
A Captain’s Dream
Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma, Shubman Gill. Ask any Indian Test captain since Jasprit Bumrah’s debut about their first thought when the chips are down. And you’ll get the same answer – hand the ball to Jasprit. He delivers. We don’t know how he will do it, but we just know he will.
Bumrah’s Test career is peppered with moments that border on the theatrical – acts of bowling sorcery that have magically transformed matches, turned more than one series on its head, and determined destinies. He dwells in the realm of the extraordinary, the unreal, and for the hapless batter nervously awaiting his fate 22-yards away, the unplayable.
Trent Bridge, 2018. India needs a breakthrough after a batting collapse has left them defending their dignity just as much as a score. Enter Bumrah. Elbow bandaged, eyes ablaze, he blows England away with a five-wicket haul. It is India’s solitary Test win of that summer.
Melbourne, 2018. Jasprit Bumrah delivers a career-best 6 for 33, including an unplayable slower ball to dismiss Shaun Marsh. It’s a spell that hands the visitors a decisive victory, one that will lead to India’s first ever series win Down Under, after 71-years of untiring effort.
Lord’s, 2021. England is stonewalling, desperate to save the Test. Bumrah, battered with bouncers earlier, comes back to break a partnership. He unleashes a spell brimming with pace, aggression, and spitting Greek Fire. Within overs, the stubborn tail is dismissed. India wins.
PROUD JASPRIT BUMRAH ABOUT LORD’s HONOURS BOARD. 🐐 pic.twitter.com/MK7YMKBPbj
— Johns. (@CricCrazyJohns) July 11, 2025
Vizag, 2024. England has unexpectedly taken a 1-0 lead at Ranchi and are ready to extend it at Vizag. Ollie Pope walks into bat. His 196 had been the difference between the two sides at Ranchi, and he looks set to carry on from where he left. Bumrah hero anti-hero
CASTLED! ⚡️⚡️
Jasprit Bumrah wraps things up in Vizag as #TeamIndia win the 2nd Test and level the series 1⃣-1⃣
@jhajhriya52478#TeamIndia | #INDvENG | #INDvENG pic.twitter.com/OcUBvs1x6S— Mukesh Jhajhriya (@jat_mukesh52479) February 5, 2024
Jasprit Bumrah gives an exaggerated shrug of his two shoulders at the start of his bowling mark, approaches the crease in a stuttering run, and with an impossible extended arm, sends down an unplayable yorker that doesn’t merely shatter Pope’s three stumps, but sends two of them cartwheeling.
Ollie Pope stands there scarcely able to believe his eyes. From this point, he’s a spent force. Joe Root’s wicket follows immediately after. Also to Bumrah. England collapses, loses all the remaining matches, and the series. Bumrah’s yorker to Pope has changed the course a series will take. Not for the first time, nor the last. Bumrah hero anti-hero
A Flawed Narrative
Social media at its best is a glue that brings the world together, at its worst, a hyperbolic echo chamber that sucks energy out with every toxic post. And no one knows better than Jasprit Bumrah that the journey from deification to vilification is an infinitesimally short one. Bumrah hero anti-hero
On one hand, #BumrahHero trends every time he rips through a top-order. Memes immortalize his toe-crushing yorkers. The highlight reels run on a loop. On the other, a single missed Test and the knives are out. The accusation? Bumrah preserves himself for IPL riches, treating Tests as a side gig.
The reality is that bowling at 140kph+, especially on unresponsive Indian or English tracks, is a task that bends bodies and spirits. Bumrah’s workload has long been managed, with good reason. Fast bowlers are not machines, and anyone who understands the sport, knows this. Even Jimmy Anderson, who played a record 180+ Tests, missed plenty of matches to allow him an extended career.
The IPL-Test debate is simply a ludicrously obvious red herring put out there by influencers seeking followers and clicks. The IPL is a 10-week sprint; a Test season, a year-round marathon of travel, nets, hours in the field, and long spells.
The mindless narrative ignores the fact that Bumrah bowls four overs a match in the IPL, every few days. In a Test match he can be asked to bowl 40-50 overs within a five-day span. And in a 5-Test series, repeat that week after week with only a few days rest. The human body, especially with the strain his hyperextended action puts on Bumrah’s back, can only take so much.
Bumrah remains India’s best hope whenever the big moments beckon. He has proven this on every continent, in every condition. What Mohammad Siraj has done in this just concluded series is heroic, and it, as he is at pains to point out, is inspired by Bumrah’s commitment and impact. If anything, his absence from the odd Test is a reminder of Bumrah’s value, not evidence of misplaced priorities.
The lure of instant outrage is strong, but the game is greater than its hashtags. Bumrah’s resume is littered with match-winning spells and self-sacrifice for the Indian team. His IPL exploits may earn him headlines, but his Test heroics are his legacy.
Genius is fragile. It doesn’t last forever. Nurture it, enjoy it, revel in it. Don’t knock it. The next time another toxic Twitter storm threatens to take you along, remember those Trent Bridge in-swingers, the Lord’s bouncers, the Vizag yorkers. Feel blessed that Jasprit Bumrah bleeds blue, and rejoice that he is all ours.
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