With the likes of Mohammed Shami, Ishant Sharma, Umesh Yadav and Bhuvneshwar Kumar present in the Indian team it was looking quite tough for any pacer to break into the Indian team. But Jasprit Bumrah not only became a regular in the team he has also become MS Dhoni’s go-to man in the limited-overs cricket.
He made his debut earlier this year in Australia but has become India’s most consistent performer in the bowling department.
In such a short career so far, the right-arm pacer has already registered his name in the record books. He now has 28 wickets for India in 21 T20Is in 2016 and he went past former Australia quick Dirk Nannes’ record of taking the highest number of wickets in the shortest format of the game in a calendar year.
Apart from his impressive performances, what makes Bumrah so effective is his ability to bowl yorkers and short deliveries at will, something that Indian pacers have traditionally struggled to do consistently.
And so it was not surprising when legendary Australian pacer Brett Lee said that Bumrah impressed him the most during recent times.
“I like Jasprit Bumrah. His action is unique. I think he can definitely get a lot faster if he fixes up his front arm. His current technique works for him, though. Not many can try and copy his action. Bumrah is a bit like Thommo (Jeff Thomson). I like Bumrah’s aggression.”
The former pacer was one of the fastest bowlers of all time. His career was marred by injuries but he never compromised with pace.
“If your top speed is 148kmph, you have to try to hit that mark every time you bowl. And that’s what I did throughout my career,” said Lee.
Lee is currently in India as the mentor of Kanchi Warriors in the Tamil Nadu Premier League.
He also commented on India’s batting sensation Virat Kohli and said that the dashing batting would have hit him all over the park.
“He would have hit me all over the park had we faced each other. At this moment, he is the world’s best batsman. I love his controlled aggression. It’s in your face, but not over the top. He puts his team ahead of everything else,” Lee said.