Jasprit Bumrah is having the best T20 year of his career, having won the T20 World Cup and the Player of the Tournament award. In T20 matches this year, he has maintained an exceptional economy rate of 5.64 across 21 matches. This includes his performance in the IPL 2024 season, which saw the highest scoring rate in IPL history. Despite this high-scoring environment, Bumrah managed an economy rate of 6.48, significantly outperforming other pacers who averaged slightly over 10 runs per over in the same matches.

A key factor in Bumrah's success this year has been his improved powerplay (PP) bowling. He's achieved more swing and seam movement than ever before, coupled with great control and accuracy. While his PP economy rate of 6 and bowling strike rate of 21 might not appear drastically different from previous years, the context is crucial. Given that other pacers conceded nearly 9 runs per over in the PP on IPL's standardized pitches, Bumrah's performance ranks as one of the best new ball seasons in IPL history.

His success can be attributed to several factors:

1. Increased Swing and Seam: Bumrah averaged 1.34 degrees of swing and extracted 0.75 degrees of seam movement. This was partially aided by Wankhede Stadium in 2024 offering 0.63 degrees of seam movement on average.

   

   

2. Improved Swing Variety: Density plots show that Bumrah significantly increased his ability to swing the ball both ways in 2024 compared to 2013-21. The 2024 data shows more frequent occurrences of both outswing and inswing.

   

   The reason why he was compelled to switch to become a swing bowler can also be seen in the below plot. After recovering from a stress fracture, he appears to have lost confidence in his ability to hit the deck hard, resulting in a noticeable reduction in his preference for hard, short, and bouncer-length deliveries.

   

3. Enhanced Line Accuracy: Bumrah's line accuracy has markedly improved over the years. From a scattered approach in 2013-2015, he progressed to a more focused middle and off-stump line by 2016-2022. In 2024, his accuracy further improved, with most deliveries concentrated around the middle stump. Bumrah's greatness lies in the fact that he has maintained this high level of accuracy even after transitioning to swing bowling with the white ball. Many cricketers consider controlling swing with a white ball to be particularly challenging, making Bumrah's consistent accuracy even more impressive.

   

In Addition, Jasprit Bumrah's death bowling strategy in IPL has evolved significantly, with a marked increase in yorker attempts since 2019. By 2024, nearly 55% of his post-powerplay deliveries were yorker attempts. This shift coincides with his most effective death bowling seasons.

In 2017, working with India's trainer Shankar Basu, Bumrah increased his bowling pace. This allowed him to better package his slower ball and rely more on high-pace, back-of-length deliveries.

Around 2019, Bumrah further reduced use of slower balls. Several factors likely contributed to this change:

1. Reaching his physical peak, evidenced by increased bowling speed.

2. Dew becoming a significant factor in matches.

3. Changes in the IPL landscape, including an increase in quality pace power-hitters, more batting-friendly pitches, and other pacers' variations being hit for boundaries more frequently. This is reflected in higher run rates on slower "length" (6-8m) balls.

   

4. The effectiveness of Bumrah's full toss, providing returns comparable to slower balls, has enabled him to focus on and frequently attempt yorkers.

   

   Bumrah's full tosses have become unexpectedly effective, with batters scoring only 5.76 runs per over against them since 2022, compared to the average 11 runs per over for full tosses. The effectiveness of Bumrah's full tosses and yorkers stems from his unique release point, which is 46cm further than other pacers, combined with the lift on his deliveries. This results in the ball actually hitting the bat harder. Consequently, a 140 km/h delivery from Bumrah could hit the bat like a 143-145 km/h delivery from other bowlers. Ball tracking data shows that 145+ km/h full tosses generally go at around 7.8 runs per over, significantly lower than the average of 11 runs per over for full tosses.

   

   In 2024, Jasprit Bumrah has redefined the boundaries of T20 cricket. His extraordinary command over swing, seam, and yorker deliveries, combined with pinpoint accuracy, has made him a beacon of excellence. This year, his journey is particularly poignant, as it follows a career-threatening injury that kept him away from the game for nearly a year. Bumrah’s triumphant return, marked by unwavering dedication and relentless evolution reaffirms why he is one of the most revered and feared players in cricket.