'I Should Not Be A One-Trick Pony'

'Whenever I've had bad days, I've watched videos the next day to see what didn't work, why it didn't work.'

After a match-winning performance against the Royal Challengers Bengaluru, Mumbai Indians speedster Jasprit Bumrah said bowling is tough in the shortest format of the game and a bowler should not be a one-trick pony.

'I'm very happy with the outcome. But I will not say I had always thought of taking a five-for. The wicket was sticking in the first 10 overs. I observed that quickly and tried to use it to my advantage. One of those days where things went in my favour and catches went to hand. Very happy with the contribution,' Bumrah said in the post-match presentation.

'In this format, it's anyway very harsh on the bowlers so you have to have all kinds of skills. This is what I train for. Come this situation, I should have different options,' he added.

'I should not be a one-trick pony, and can't just rely on yorkers because there will be days where my execution is off so I can rely on other deliveries. Everyone is doing research and data, so people start to line you up.'

• SCORECARD

'Bowling is tough because you will have to take a beating, you will have to have bad days to learn from it. What I've done in the past, whenever I've had bad days, I've watched videos the next day to see what didn't work, why it didn't work, what is the way I've been playing,' Bumrah explained.

'All of these things, you have to be with the curve. Nowadays, you just cannot come on the day and say, 'Okay, I'll do this, maybe this will work.' For me, preparation is always the key. When you prepare hard, you put yourself under pressure in the nets. You bowl to batters in the nets who hit big sixes and find out how you react to pressure.

'Then you start finding answers. That is very very important for me -- to keep pushing yourself in training. Then on game day, you have answers that are 'okay, when I had similar pressure in training, I had answers.

'I do my research and see where the batter is strong. Sometimes the wicket is sticky, but you don't always need to bowl the yorker. You can use the bouncer, you can use the slower ball. So you don't need to use all the tricks in one day.

'You must understand where the game is going, and what the wicket is. There's no ego in this format. Even if you can bowl 145 kph, but the wicket demands slower balls, you have to do that. All of these things are important. It's not just a one-trick pony -- aim at the stumps and go pole hunting.'

• IPL 2024