Jasprit Bumrah has said Rohit Sharma had backed him during the early stages of his Indian Premier League (IPL) career at Mumbai Indians (MI), which helped him develop confidence and evolve as a bowler. Bumrah started playing for five-time champions MI after getting picked by the franchise in 2013.

India’s premier fast bowler Jasprit Bumrah revealed Rohit Sharma, India’s newly named all-format captain, had given him the freedom he wanted during his early stages in his career at Mumbai Indians (MI). Bumrah joined record-breaking five-time champions in 2013, but became a regular starter for the franchise after making debut for India.

Speaking to Ravichandran Ashwin’s Youtube show, Bumrah explained how his relationship with Rohit played a big role in his career.

“”It’s been very good (Relationship) since the early days. When I came into the side, Ricky Ponting was the captain but I was not playing regularly. But under Rohit, I did. He had a lot of confidence in me, he instilled confidence,” Bumrah stated.

“He saw me bowling in the nets and the skills that I have. He always backed me, told me to believe in myself. Whenever in the initial stages as well, he had a lot of trust in me. He would give me the important overs. It’s been the same relationship.

“Now we have reached a stage where he doesn’t even tell me things. He will say ‘you set the field on your own, if you have any changes, tell me, I will do that’. He has had that trust because I have made things work. Somedays, things might not go well, but he always has kept the atmosphere in our team very simple and calm,” he continued.

Further, Bumrah admitted that it helped him to become a much improved bowler.

“Under him (Rohit), I have got the freedom to do whatever I want. That has really helped me,” he added.

Bumrah also lauded Shane Bond, MI’s bowling coach, for helping him learn new things by going out of his comfort zone during his early days at the franchise.

“When I went there, Shane Bond and the Mumbai Indians set-up taught me how to plan and analyse for different batters. When I started, I had 2-3 deliveries. I did not know what field to have when. I used to say ‘I am going to bowl this delivery, you set the field accordingly because I did not know where the ball would good because my accuracy was still in development. Shane Bond pushed me out of my comfort zone and try new things. He put me under pressure, saying the things I have not done,” he concluded.