Jasprit Bumrah fired back at his critics after his heroic display for India in the Leeds Test match against England, as he took a five-wicket haul against England in the first innings of the series opener in the 2025 Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy.

The 31-year-old was a class apart from his peers, with bowlers from both sides looking out of sorts on a placid track with a record-breaking display. Despite four catches being dropped from his bowling, and also a wicket on a no-ball, Bumrah not just got the milestone but also ensured India got a vital first innings lead of six runs.

Bumrah finished with figures of 5-83 and addressed the media in the post-day press conference. On being asked about him being the subject of intense speculation over recent months, Bumrah gave an emotional reply stating that people have been telling him that his career will finish soon for more than a decade.

"Log jo likhte hai vo toh mere haath main hai nahi. Main kisiko seekh dene ki koshish toh kar nahi raha ki mere baare main aaise likho. (What people are writing is not in my hands. I am not trying to teach anyone what to write about me) Everybody is free to write whatever they want. I understand that in our country, cricket is very popular. I understand with my name, viewership will increase. I do understand, but at the end of the day it does not matter.

"Agar vo baat mere dimaag mein aagayi toh main believe karne lagunga. I want ki main jo believe karta hu vo cheez dictate karegi. Koi aur jo chahta hai mujhe us tarah khelna chaiye, main vaisa nahi hu. Mujhe hamesha se India ke liye khelna tha. Main apne belief pe aaya hu.har format apne belief pe khela hu. mereko logo ne sirf na hi bola hai. '6 machine khelego. 8 machine khelego.' ginte ginte mere 10 saal complete hone ko aaye hai international cricket main. IPL 12-13 saal se khel raha hu. wait karte raho. main nahi sochne vala us cheez ke baare mein. main apna kaam karte rahunga. har 3-4 machine main aajayega 'ab jayega ab jayega. jab take bhagvaan ne likha hai tab tak khelunga. apna best preparation karta hu fir main bhagvaan pe chod data hu. (If that thing comes in mind, I will start to believe. I want what I believe that things dictates. What other people want me to play, I am not like that. I always wanted to play for India. I came with my belief. I played all formats on my belief. People always told me no. 'He will play six months. He will play eight months.' It has been almost 10 years of me playing international cricket. I have been playing IPL for 12-13 years. Keep waiting. Every four months it comes, 'now he will go.' I will play cricket till god has written for him. I do my best preparation and leave everything to god)," Bumrah added.

Bumrah made his ODI and T20I debut in 2016 while getting his Test capt in 2018. He has already established himself as one of the world's finest all-format pacers in history and arguably as India's greatest fast-bowler of all time.

The 31-year-old was the favourite to be named captain after Rohit Sharma's retirement after being his deputy for a number of years in the longest format. However, Bumrah stated that he denied the top job in order to ensure he can manage his workload and not to let down the team's interests.