Virat Kohli On Challenge Of Facing Jasprit Bumrah: Indian Cricket Team and Royal Challengers Bengaluru star batter says he looks forward to facing Jasprit Bumrah on the field in the upcoming IPL 2025 and says that whenever the two face each other, the intensity is off the charts.
Kohli and Bumrah are two of the biggest names in Indian and world cricket. So naturally, they are two of the most exciting players in the Indian Premier League. Virat is the former captain and now veteran marquee batter of RCB, the team that is one of the most popular in the league despite having never won the title. On the other hand, Jasprit is the ace bowler of the Mumbai Indians, the five-time IPL winner.
For some time, Bumrah has been one of the best bowlers in world cricket. He upped his game even more in the last year and has now become the best cricketer in the world at the moment, even winning the ICC Men’s Cricketer of the Year award. In IPL 2024, a season where par scores of 200+ and MI finished 10th on the table, the 31-year-old bowler took 20 wickets in 13 games with a low economy of 6.48.
Then, in the 2024 T20 World Cup, he took 15 wickets in eight games, had clutch performances in big matches, had an economy of 4.17 and an average of 8.26, and was named the Player of the Tournament. Finally, in the 2024-25 Border-Gavaskar Trophy, despite India losing the series 3-1 to Australia, Bumrah took 32 wickets and was awarded the POTT once again.
As for Kohli, his legacy in his international career does not need repeating. Arguably the greatest batter of his generation, the former Indian Cricket Team captain is also probably the greatest IPL batsman of all time. He is the only player to have played all 17 seasons so far for the same team. He is also the highest run scorer in league history, having scored 8004 runs in 244 innings with an average of 38.66 and a strike rate of 131.97. He has also won the Orange Cap on two occasions.
It is widely believed that Jasprit Bumrah and Virat Kohli are two of the best Indian cricketers in the 21st century. The two have also had great battles in the IPL. In the 95 balls Bumrah has bowled to Kohli in the league, the RCB batter has scored 140 runs at a strike rate of 147.4, has an average of 28, has scored 15 fours and 5 sixes, and has been dismissed on five occasions.
Virat Kohli On Challenge Of Facing Jasprit Bumrah
In a recent appearance at the RCB Innovation Lab Indian Sports Summit powered by Leaders, Virat Kohli opened up about the challenge of facing Jasprit Bumrah, a challenge that only the IPL provides for him.
“No doubt about the fact that Jasprit is the best bowler in the world, all the formats. He’s gotten me out a few times in the IPL, and I’ve had success against him in the IPL. So whenever I say things like, ‘Okay, it’s going to be fun.’. Because we don’t get to do that in the nets. Even in the nets, it’s like playing a match. The intensity is like we play a match in the IPL,” he said.
Kohli went on to describe how every ball against Bumrah is a mind game and how a face-off between the two is very intense, saying,
“We’re always like, every ball is like a mind game for runs and he always wants to get me out and I try not to get out to him. You can sense that match intensity. So, today he is probably the marker that I keep when I play in the nets regularly; that is the most enjoyable and toughest challenge.”
Kohli will look to win his and his franchise’s first title when the Royal Challengers Bengaluru kick off their IPL 2025 campaign in the opening match against defending champions Kolkata Knight Riders on Saturday, March 22, in Kolkata’s Eden Gardens.
Check Out: Virat Kohli On Challenge Of Facing Jasprit Bumrah
Get the Latest Cricket Updates at IceCric.News. Also, Follow Our Social Media for Live Updates – Facebook & Instagram.
