You have heard, I am assuming, and will hear many versions of this phrase during the World Cup. 

It is inevitable.

Because even those who understand cricket can’t say much about the guy’s bowling. 

As writers and critics, it gives us immense pleasure to say smart things. To use terms of cricket, for cricket. To come up with interesting metaphors.

But Bumrah’s bowling doesn’t leave much scope for that because it is complete in itself, near-perfect on some occasions. So we leave it at that – Bumrah yorker.

Bumrah yorkers have been the highlight of this World Cup, the yorkers he thinks are ‘decent‘. 

Decent. Okay. This is decent?

And this?

I don’t know if he realises but by calling his bowling ‘decent’, Bumrah has forced us to shift the parameters for excellence in our heads, and now, most things won’t make the cut (damn you, guy). 

However, the ‘decency’ of his bowling is not what that makes him the best bowler in the world (as we have seen in several cases, even excellence doesn’t). 

What makes Bumrah the best is his consistency. His habit of turning up, match after match, knowing that he is not getting as many wickets as his peers, and still doing what he is supposed to do. 

He is the best because he doesn’t care about being the best.

It shows in his game, too. 

Jasprit Bumrah comes and everything stops: The opposition’s innings, the conversations on the field and our heartbeat on some occasions. Between the time the ball leaves his hand and lands near the batsman’s foot, everything comes to a standstill.

I think we are getting a bit addicted to that feeling but as Indian cricket fans, we are not accustomed to it.

Not trying to downplay the efforts of bowlers who have previously played for the country, but this combination of speed, rhythm, accuracy and consistence is something we only saw in Australians or Pakistanis back in the day.

Jasprit Bumrah has changed that. Of course, there has been considerable help from bowlers like Shami, Yuzvendra and Bhuvneshwar but in my opinion, he is a bit ahead of them all.

Thanks to them, thanks to him – India is now in the semi-finals and one of the biggest pleasures of it, is that we will be able to see some more of those Bumrah yorkers.