Indian cricket team pacer Jasprit Bumrah revealed he does not take praise or criticism very seriously. Bumrah, who has as much modesty in him as his extraordinary bowling skills, attributed India’s run to the World Cup semi-finals to team effort after the Men in Blue beat Sri Lanka by seven wickets in their final group game on Saturday.

“I don’t take praise or criticism seriously. The only focus for me is on my preparation, my execution and what I can do for the team,” said Bumrah after becoming the second fastest Indian bowler to reach 100 wickets in One-Day Internationals.

Bumrah was keen to share the plaudits with the rest of the attack, even though he was the undoubted star of the bowling show during the win.

The 25-year-old from Ahmedabad joined New Zealand’s Lockie Ferguson, Pakistan’s Mohammad Amir and England’s Jofra Archer on third place in the list of leading wicket-takers at the ongoing tournament with 17 wickets after claiming 3/37 from his 10 overs at Headingley.

“Everybody’s taking a lot of responsibility so that’s very good. When you have extra responsibility, then you try even harder and your execution is good, so that’s a very good sign for us,” said Bumrah.

“In most of our World Cup games we’ve only had five bowlers that are bowling and it’s been going like this throughout. Everybody’s had a good run here. It’s been a good campaign for us, everybody’s chipped in with wickets, and with the bat also, so it’s been a case of so far, so good,” he added.

Bumrah gave an equally understated response when he was asked how it felt to be receiving heaps of praise as the linchpin of India’s attack in his first World Cup.

“You see Hardik Pandya taking wickets, you see Mohammed Shami taking wickets and I’ve also taken wickets, so that’s the positive for us going forward.

“Everybody’s had a good run here. It’s been a good campaign for us, everybody has chipped in with wickets and with the bat.

“There’s a healthy competition. It’s a good headache to have when everyone’s performing and everyone’s in good nick and that’s something you love to have going into a crucial game like next week’s semi-final,” he added.

(with PTI inputs)