Courtesy: Fox Cricket/BCCI
Before the start of play on day one of the second Border-Gavaskar Trophy (BGT) Test match between Australia and India, Mark Howard spoke to Jasprit Bumrah in an exclusive interview at the Adelaide Oval. After wishing the Indian fast bowler on his 31st birthday, Mark Howard asked about the significance of “JB 93” on his shoes, to which Jasprit Bumrah revealed that he picked the number while coming into the national team despite wanting the No. 12 jersey from Yuvraj Singh, but he didn’t do it because of the latter’s seniority.
Over the years, Jasprit Bumrah has evolved into an exceptional cricketer in all formats of the game for India, picking up his 50th Test wicket in 2024 during the first day’s play at the Adelaide Oval. After India were bundled out for just 180 runs in 44.1 overs, the right-arm fast bowler dismissed Usman Khawaja for 13(35), getting him caught at first slip, where Indian captain Rohit Sharma made a difficult catch look simple.
Watch Jasprit Bumrah discuss about why he picked No. 93 here:
Yuvraj Singh had number 12, so due to seniority, I gave him that number: Jasprit Bumrah
In the first Test of the BGT series, Jasprit Bumrah captained India to a famous 295-run win over Australia at the Optus Stadium in Perth, in the absence of Rohit Sharma, to showcase how good a leader he can be. Ahead of the second Test match, Mark Howard interviewed Jasprit Bumrah on behalf of Fox Cricket, wishing him happy 31st birthday before posing a question to him about “JB 93” on his shoes.
The response from Jasprit Bumrah read, “93 was the year I was born. So it’s just that. When I came into the side (Indian cricket team), I wanted the number 12, but at that time, Yuvraj Singh had the number, so (due to) seniority, I gave him that number and chose this number.” With that, it can be safely said that the No. 93 paid huge dividends for Jasprit Bumrah thus far in his cricketing journey, just like the No. 12 did for Yuvraj Singh in his illustrious career.
