Bumrah's Retirement Reveal Ahead Of Eng Tests: "Journey Won't Always Go On"

Jasprit Bumrah is currently in action in the IPL 2025 for Mumbai Indians. After the T20 franchise league, the star fast bowler will be in action in the five-Test series against England. While it has been officially declared that Jasprit Bumrah will not be part of all the Tests, Bumrah's returns will be crucial. "Playing in England is always a different challenge," Bumrah told former Australia captain Michael Clarke on the Beyond23 cricket YouTube channel. 

"I always love bowling with the Dukes ball," he said. "But I don't know how much the Dukes ball is doing right now because there's always constant changes to the ball. But the weather, the swinging conditions. And then when the ball becomes soft, there's always a challenge. So I always look forward to playing in England."

Bumrah is seen as a modern day great by former cricketers. After 45 Tests, Bumrah has 205 scalps. While statistically he may not be among the top bowlers historically, his profound impact over the last few years have made him the bowling spearhead.  The 31-year-old has played 45 Tests, 89 ODIs and 70 T20Is so far for the country besides appearing in 143 IPL matches for Mumbai Indians.

"This is a sport that I fell in love with. I went to Australia this time, and a lot of youngsters came up to me and tried to copy my [bowling] action. Which is surreal because I used to do that. So yeah, this journey will not always go on, but whenever it ends, I want to give it back to the sport. Because whatever I have and whatever I have learnt in life is through this sport. Thankful to the journey that I have had," Bumrah told former Australia captain Michael Clarke on the Beyond23 Cricket Podcast.

"It is tough for any individual to keep playing everything for so long. I have been doing it for a while. But eventually, you have to understand where your body is going and what the important tournaments are, so you have to be a little selective and smart about how you use your body. Obviously, as a cricketer, I would never want to leave anything and always keep on going," added Bumrah.

"At this moment, I am ok. But I don't set goals such as this is the number I should be at. I look at it one day at a time. The journey is going good so far, but the day I realise that the drive is gone or the effort is not there or my body is not holding up, that is the time when you make the decision."

However, Bumrah termed the desire to represent India in the Los Angeles Olympics in 2028 as a motivating factor for him. Cricket will be a part of LA 2028, a first for the sport since 1900.

"The journey's going good so far. The day I realise that the drive is gone or the effort is not there and my body's not holding up, that is a decision when you take that time.

"I've heard that there's cricket in the Olympics, so that is something that I'm looking forward to. Who would have thought cricket as an Olympic sport? So, that is something that is really exciting to me. But I don't set goals because whenever I've set goals, I've never been able to fulfil them," he added.

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