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Brand Bumrah firing on all cylinders
With virtuoso performances, the speedster is gate-crashing the batters-only endorsement club as brands which stood by him during injury now reap rewards
When Jasprit Bumrah outfoxed Mohammad Rizwan and Shadab Khan in close succession, he stirred up a frenzy last week at Ahmedabad; getting a 1,00,000 plus Indians screaming in joy at the stadium and many millions more sharing the madness in the comfort of their homes.
India’s pace spearhead, arguably the best in the world too, had given ample evidence over the past two months that he had not lost the lethal edge in the year away from the game. The showing against Pakistan was just the kind of virtuoso effort that warmed hearts of fans and comforted his commercial partners too. Now, the market wants a ride on the Bumrah speed train.
Ever since Sachin Tendulkar laid down the marker in the 1990s, batters in India have been classified as the more marketable players. Batting tons counted for far more than 5-fers. Earlier, there was Kapil Dev – star acts were not rewarded handsomely then - but even his brand was shaped more by leading a team of no-hopers to world glory in early career than his bowling prowess.
There were a few Indian fast bowlers; left-armer Zaheer Khan for longevity and S Sreesanth for his eccentric streak who held some endorsement equity. But for different reasons, World Cup winners both; their valuation never soared.
However, Bumrah -- all of 5'9", fast bowler, toe-crusher, stump-rattler -- is promising to gatecrash this batters-only endorsement club. Bumrah endorsed 11 brands before the injury layoff and has added 3 more to his kitty. Known to charge in the range of ₹2 crore per day, his Instagram following (11 million) is next only to Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma, Hardik Pandya and KL Rahul in the current Indian World Cup squad.
“Bumrah is about hope, faith, excitement. If someone can change the market, it's him,” says Nikhil Bardia, head of Sponsorship Sales and Talent at RISE Worldwide, Bumrah’s managers.
With the ball in hand, Bumrah has many tricks up his sleeve, customized for each format of the game. A match-winner, yes but what also counts equally in the commercial world is that Bumrah can bowl fast. He stands for speed - that priceless quality which has been in short supply in Indian cricket. In TV commercials, groceries are promised at Bumrah-speed, the fast bowler sips toofani cola and chews bubblegum to turn spooky moments into exciting ones.
Before he was sidelined by back troubles, the Punjabi-speaking Gujarat player had risen in the ranks to captain India in a Test match in England in 2022. But, forced to undergo surgery which also kept him out of the T20 World Cup in Australia, Bumrah had to lay low. But all his brand partners stood by him.
“We flew down and met a lot of people. On a few occasions, Jasprit got on the phone to explain the situation. He’s a relationship guy and knows if someone’s invested in him, its only right, they know,” said Bardia. “We know some start-ups got impacted. But we worked with them to give them extra value.”
Bumrah returned this August as India captain in the Ireland T20Is, retaining his place as one amongst the leadership group. The strenuous nature of his bowling action prevents him from playing too much cricket. But with his bowling smarts, strength of his will and lethal accuracy, Bumrah remains a showstopper.
“Our long-term goal is that he should be spoken of in the same breath as a batter in the commercial world,” said Bardia. “Not every brand understands this. It takes a lot of work, education. But I am quite confident that the world is maturing,” said Bardia.
“Bumrah’s rise seems to be an antithesis to the highly marketable cricketers - in addition to their cricketing accolades, Dhoni has the captain cool persona and Virat his forceful personality,” said Divya MS, Head of Talent & Influencer Marketing at ITW Consulting. “He’s mostly been signed for his on-field talent which is rare and unique and makes him instantly recognisable, that aids recall.”
Yet, a touch of pizzazz would always help. Fans have yearned to see Bumrah come up with a trademark wicket celebration like his peers. Shaheen Shah Afridi blows a kiss followed by outstretched arms and a look heavenwards. Anrich Nortje roars with closed fists of fury. Many fast bowlers of the past were showmen. Shoaib Akhtar would celebrate with flying wings, Brett Lee the chainsaw.
Since his return, Bumrah has begun to discover his freedom of expression. In the recent match against Afghanistan, Bumrah brought out the Marcus Rashford-inspired ‘temple point’ celebration. Manchester United’s handle on X with 37 million followers didn’t miss it. “Love it, Jasprit,” they posted.
"I had no intention of making it viral or spreading it everywhere," Bumrah had said after the game. "It just came to my mind. I had seen (Marcus) Rashford do it as well on Youtube shorts, so I thought it was cool. There is no backstory behind it, usually I am very tired to celebrate but that is one ocassion that I did celebrate."
After squaring up Pakistan’s Shadab Khan last Saturday, Bumrah demonstrated Akhtar’s flying wings. Once again, the usually modest bowler was just letting loose.
Bardia speaks of heightened interest for Bumrah, but adds ‘his appeal is not event specific' and that 'they want to be selective’. Divya expects a ‘25-30 percent uptick in commercial value’ for the pace ace in the next 12 months. If he continues to steal the show in Cup that matters, who can dispute that.
