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'Felt Really Good': Jasprit Bumrah Reflects Triumphant Return After First T20I

image-llgx0bn0Jasprit Bumrah in action against Ireland (Twitter)

Jasprit Bumrah celebrated his long-awaited comeback into the Indian team with a win and a ‘Player of the Match’ award. For starters, the speedster struck twice within the opening over of the contest to set the tone for a below-par Irish total upfront.

Indian batters ended up overcoming their target as per DLS calculations after rains interrupted play in the seventh over.

During the post-match presentation, Bumrah expressed his excitement of gracing the Indian colours once again and praised his teammates for holding their nerves in deteriorating weather conditions.

Bumrah shrugs off comeback jitters, credits NCA

Jasprit Bumrah sustained a back injury weeks ahead of the 2022 T20 World Cup in Australia last year. The injury prevented him from playing the tournament, and he had to watch the entirety of this year’s IPL from the sidelines as worked towards attaining full recovery at the National Cricket Academy (NCA).

The 29-year-old was finally deemed fit to tour Ireland, and to lead a young Indian team in their three-match T20I assignment. The pace maverick celebrated his return to competitive cricket with two key wickets in his opening over, and eventually finished with figures of 2-24 off his spell.

When asked to reflect his comeback performance, he said:

“Felt very good. So many sessions I did at the NCA and the practice games. Didn't feel like I missed out a lot or I'm doing something new so credit to the staff there. Very happy to be back and always good to contribute.”

Jasprit Bumrah also shrugged off any pre-game nerves, stating that as a leader he was more focused towards the whole team rather than his own comeback. The Indian veteran acknowledged the overcast weather conditions, as it ended up assisting his fellow paceman Arshdeep Singh and Prasidh Krishna.

“Not really, when you're captaining you are thinking more about the whole team and not just your own performance. Very happy that the weather was helpful for the bowlers. In every game you want more and you always search for a perfect game. Credit to them as well for keeping their nerves in a crisis.”

When asked about the competition between youngsters within the Indian team, the comeback man stated:

“Everybody has a lot of belief in their game and I think the IPL also helps them. The bunch that we have is very confident and that's a good sign for our team.”

Leading by a game this series, Jasprit Bumrah and troops will now take field in the second T20I against Ireland. The match will be played out at the Malahide Cricket Club in Dublin on August 20.