Former India all-rounder Yuvraj Singh revealed that he once asked a teenage Jasprit Bumrah to leave a Mumbai Indians (MI) net session in 2013 because the young quick was bowling too fast for him to handle.
Speaking on the Overlap Cricket YouTube channel, the former left-hander recalled the time when he was trying to rebuild his career after beating cancer. Bumrah, then a relatively unknown 19-year-old, had just joined the MI set-up and was already touching uncomfortable speeds in the nets.
“When I was trying to comeback and he was 19 years old, he was bowling rapid quick in the nets. It was 2013 and I was like I want this kid out the nets. Stop bowling to me because I was just recovering from cancer and I was trying to get back to cricket,” Yuvraj said on the Overlap Cricket.
Yuvraj had finished his cancer treatment in March 2012 and had spent most of the next two years trying to reclaim his place in the India setup, first playing for the Pune Warriors in 2013 before the Royal Challengers Bengaluru bought him for INR 14 crore in 2014.
He also broke down the specific problem Bumrah posed, even at that age.
“I mean he definitely had a long run up. I don’t think he had much skills back then, but he was quick, he was extremely quick and with his action, you know, he got this deceptive bounce. It just keeps getting on your ribs all the time,” the 44-year-old added.
The numbers since then have validated Yuvraj’s early read into the right-arm pacer. Bumrah has gone on to take 234 wickets in Tests at an average of under 20, 149 ODI wickets at an economy rate of under five, and 183 Indian Premier League (IPL) wickets for the five-time champions, establishing himself as one of the most consistent all-format bowlers of his generation.
“It’s been 3 matches, and Bumrah hasn’t picked up a wicket”
Bumrah, however, has made a slow start to the 2026 IPL campaign, going wicketless in his first three outings for the Mumbai-based outfit.Â
