Jasprit Bumrah, now arguably the best pacer in contemporary cricket, made his Indian Premier League (IPL) debut back in 2013, alongside none other than Sachin Tendulkar. This Ahmedabad-born speedster was just 19 years old when he pulled the MI jersey on for the first time. To make it more surreal, it was Sachin's last ever IPL season, and Bumrah had lots of legends to share the dressing room with. 

Bumrah made an impact on his debut match against Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB), picking up 3 wickets for 32 runs. He took some good wickets: Mayank Agarwal, Virat Kohli, and Karun Nair. Bumrah confessed that he felt a little dwarfed by the aura of the team when he was 19 years old. The presence of these many greats made him a little nervous, but Tendulkar gave him a piece of advice that calmed him down.

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“When I came here, Sachin Tendulkar was still playing. It was his last year. Initially, when a 19-year-old comes into this atmosphere and sees such legends of the game everywhere, the level of cricket is so high and so different from under-19 cricket. I was a little bit overwhelmed," Bumrah said at a promotional event via Sportstar. “But when I played my first game, before starting the game, he told me that, ‘Don’t look at the individual. Bowl to the batsman, not to the name.’ That helped me quite a lot,” he added.

Mumbai Indians Peak at the Right Time in IPL 2025

Fast-forward to IPL 2025, and Bumrah is still an important part of MI’s squad. Despite a terrible start to the season - losing four of their first five matches - the five-time champions have now won six matches in a row to really put themselves back in contention during the business end of the season. 

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"We as a team started a little slowly. But it was good that we peaked at the right time ahead of the business end of the tournament. We feel good at this stage, as we aren’t relying on one person to win us games of cricket," Bumrah said. His comment captures the impact not just of the team’s improvements but also reflects a developed attitude from someone who started as a shy teenager when they first entered the league.