India pace spearhead Jasprit Bumrah highlights IPL's role in making youngsters confident

Dubai [UAE], September 28 (ANI): India's pace spearhead Jasprit Bumrah outlined the role of the Indian Premier League (IPL) in building confidence among youngsters to play against top-tier teams, ensuring the future remains "ominous."

A massive chasm expanded in the T20I side after stalwarts Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, and Ravindra Jadeja bid adieu to the format together after the fabled T20 World Cup title-winning run last year in Barbados. Along with the troika, Rahul Dravid's tenure as the head coach came to an end, and Gautam Gambhir was handed the task of rebuilding the side as India ushered in a new era.

While Gambhir's Test record remains up for debate, his numbers in T20Is truly reflect India's transformation into a complete nightmare. In 21 fixtures, India has emerged victorious in 17, lost two, and tied two as well. Bumrah attributed the role of cash-rich IPL for providing the young crop with the much-needed confidence.

"The team is looking ominous. I think at this moment, you don't look at reputation because I think IPL has helped a lot because all the youngsters in our team are very, very confident and they know they're very good," Bumrah said while speaking to broadcasters before the match.

One of the prominent aspects of the Indian team since Gambhir's arrival has been the infusion of young blood and blending it with experience. Abhishek Sharma, Varun Chakravarthy, Harshit Rana, Shubman Gill, Sanju Samson and others have been deployed in the shortest format of cricket to turn the Indian side into a fearless one.

"All the other players that I see, they've played 5-7 games, but they're so confident. They know they're really good. They've played against the best bowling line-ups. They've dominated them. So I think that really helps to get them confidence, and then they take the game forward as it comes. I think that's the key," he added.

Following the conclusion of the Asia Cup, India will tour Australia for a white-ball series, comprising three ODIs and five T20Is. The series will begin with the ODI leg on October 19. (ANI)

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