'So I Did It...,' Bumrah Explains Unique Celebration Vs Afghanistan 

image-lnmpckp6Ind vs Afg in World Cup 2023 (X.com)

Jasprit Bumrah was once again India's man to provide an early breakthrough and derail the opposition's start at the ICC World Cup 2023. As Afghanistan threatened to put Indian seamers under the pump on a flat track in Delhi on Wednesday (October 11), the ace speedster came up with the wicket that Rohit Sharma & company had to wait for nearly seven years. 

Even as Bumrah and his new-ball partner Mohammed Siraj got the ball to swing around, Afghan openers Rahmanullah Gurbaz and Ibrahim Zadran raced along to 32 without a wicket, finding the sweet spot of the willow for their boundaries. Zadran hit four fours and was timing the ball superbly. 

Bumrah got the well-set right-hander out for 22 off 28 deliveries with a peach of a delivery that shaped up to swing into the right-hander from wide of the crease but straightened after pitching to take the outside edge for wicketkeeper KL Rahul to take an impressive catch. 

The moment the great Indian pacer dismissed his man, he was seen grinning to himself with a finger pointed towards his head. Bumrah had showcased his smarts and was happy about it. However, football fans could instantly pick out that the bowler had replicated the famous celebrations of one of the popular soccer players. 

Bumrah Explains Rare Celebrations After First Wicket 

That footballer happens to be Manchester United star Marcus Rashford and the celebration Rashford's famous 'temple point' move, which Bumrah would've obviously seen having been one of the leading Indian cricketers who love their football and are seen indulging in the sport before every cricket match. 

Bumrah explained, however, he had never planned to replicate Rashford on the field after a breakthrough and that the reaction following the Zadran wicket was purely instinctive.

The premier quick binned claims of his celebrations being a tribute to Rashford, saying he just "felt" he could indulge in the 'temple point' move and wasn't thinking about the famous footballer when he did it. 

"Nothing like that. I just felt like it, so I did it," he told the press when asked if it was a tribute to the Manchester United footballer. 

Bumrah produced one of his best World Cup spells at the Feroz Shah Kotla ground in Delhi, finishing with exceptional figures of 4/39 off his 10 overs on a flat track where the inexperienced Afghanistan side piled on 272/8 before they were handsomely chased down by Rohit's men in just 35 overs.