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Ravichandran Ashwin dubbed Jasprit Bumrah the ‘cheat code’ after the pacer led Mumbai Indians to a win over Gujarat Titans in the Eliminator.
Former India spinner Ravichandran Ashwin dubbed Jasprit Bumrah the ‘cheat code’ after the pacer led Mumbai Indians to a win over Gujarat Titans in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025 Eliminator. Mumbai Indians, the five-time champions, progressed to Qualifier 2 after registering a 20-run win in Mullanpur. For the majority of the contest, the Shubman Gill-led side threatened to chase down 229 but Jasprit Bumrah came up with a brilliant four-over spell, conceding just 27 runs at an economy of less than seven runs per over.
Washington Sundar and Sai Sudharsan put on 84 runs for the third wicket. It was Bumrah who ended the crucial partnership as he rattled the stumps of Sundar in the 14th over, dismissing him for 48. The left-handed batter had no answers to a toe-crushing yorker and as a result, he was sent back to the pavilion.
Lauding Bumrah, Ashwin said that the pacer sometimes makes the captain look better than he actually is. Speaking at the post-match presentation, Mumbai Indians captain Hardik Pandya also admitted to being in a position of luxury by having a bowler like Bumrah in the team.
“This game could have gone even closer if Jasprit Bumrah’s over didn’t happen. The asking rate was like 12, 13, 14 but he gave like 7 or 8 runs in his last two overs. Rahul Tewatia hit him for a six but still, the way he came back and gave one run in the next two balls, that defines Bumrah. I had tweeted during the T20 World Cup that Bumrah is a cheat code in today’s T20 cricket. Have you ever played this road rash, NFS game? It’s a cheat code,” Ashwin said on his YouTube channel ‘Ash Ki Baat’.
“If you play these games, you can enter a code, and you can run faster. You can beat everyone else. It’s a cheat code. In today’s world, as a captain, sometimes I feel Jasprit Bumrah makes a captain look better than they actually are. The way he nails those yorkers, changes up his slower balls, all that said and done, I think Mumbai also went to yorkers very early,” he added.Bumrah has been the standout performer for Mumbai Indians in the IPL 2025 season, taking 18 wickets. Time and time again, he has stood up for the franchise when the team has been in a difficult position.
However, Ashwin urged fans not to compare him with Wasim Akram and Malcolm Marshall as he is not a fan of comparing cricketers from different generations.
“I have never seen Malcolm Marshall’s bowling. But, I have heard a lot about him. I have seen Wasim Akram’s bowling. He has given nightmares to the Indian team. But, this comparison across generations is a very wrong thing to do. In today’s world, in Indian cricket, in the landscape in which we consider batsmen to be great people, I am so, so happy,” said Ashwin.
“I am talking in my own language because everyone sees this. Otherwise, I would have been a little more free-flowing. I am so, so, so happy for Jasprit Bumrah. Jasprit Bumrah has definitely given phillip for Indian fast bowlers to run in a long way and bowl with smartness, with solid execution. Jasprit Bumrah, the bowler, has won. But, what he has done to the community of bowling in India, especially fast bowling, is another topic altogether,” he added.
Mumbai Indians will now take on Punjab Kings in Qualifier 2 at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad on Sunday, June 1. Shubman Gill-led Gujarat Titans were knocked out of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025 season after losing the Eliminator against Hardik Pandya‘s Mumbai Indians by 20 runs at the Maharaja Yadavindra Singh International Cricket Stadium in Mullanpur. After the defeat in the crucial encounter, emotions got the better of the families of Gujarat Titans’ players and several of them were seen crying.
Gujarat Titans head coach Ashish Nehra’s son was seen crying inconsolably in the stands after the last ball was bowled, and the Mumbai Indians sealed a 20-run win.Several others in the stands were trying to console Ashish Nehra’s son who was unable to control his tears. The families of the other players were also left distraught after the loss in the Eliminator in Mullanpur.
Even Shubman Gill’s sister Shahneel was seen in tears and she had to be consoled by the other members seated in the stands for the contest between Gujarat Titans and Mumbai Indians.
