Parthiv Patel says he recommended Jasprit Bumrah to RCB at 2014 IPL mega auction

Former India wicketkeeper-batter Parthiv Patel said he recommended Jasprit Bumrah to Royal Challengers Bengaluru during the 2014 Indian Premier League mega auction, and that RCB chose not to act on his suggestion.

Royal Challengers Bengaluru fielded several high-profile players over the years and secured their first IPL title in 2025 after an 18-year wait; Jasprit Bumrah, by contrast, had made his IPL debut for Mumbai Indians in 2013 and developed into a central figure in Mumbai’s bowling attack and for India across formats. Patel said RCB did not pick Bumrah in the early years despite his recommendation.

Patel, who represented RCB in 2014, recounted the episode in an interview with former India cricketer Aakash Chopra and confirmed his intervention directly: “I had recommended Jasprit Bumrah to RCB in 2014.”

He described the circumstances at the auction in his own words: “In the 2014 mega auction, I was picked on the first day, around lunch time. When I received a message from them (RCB), I told them, there is a player here, look into him. Perhaps the way I told them wasn’t right,” Parthiv said.

According to Patel, the franchise’s assessment at the time was that Bumrah was not worth signing. He quoted the response he received: “They didn’t think that he could be worth buying at that stage. That is okay. Reply waisa tha ki, ‘yeh Bumrah-wumrah kya kar lenge’,” he said.

The article notes that Bumrah was subsequently acquired by Mumbai Indians at that auction. A social media excerpt included in the coverage read: “Bumrah and Kohli would’ve played together for RCB…Parthiv’s recommendation didn’t find takers at RCB then. Mumbai Indians snapped him at the auction and the rest, as they say, is history.”

The full interview with Parthiv Patel is available to stream now, the report said: Full podcast streaming NOW. YouTube. Facebook. Spotify. For further updates, Khel Now advised following its channels on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and YouTube or using its Android and iOS apps and community links on WhatsApp and Telegram.