Indian pacer Jasprit Bumrah is rising very quickly, especially after his Test debut. The veteran Indian left-arm pacer Irfan Pathan believes that the Test cricket is developing Bumrah hugely.
The no.1-ranked ODI bowler Jasprit Bumrah is now the no.3-ranked Test bowler who has played only 12 Tests. After playing 12 Tests since his debut in January 2018, Bumrah has taken 62 wickets with an average of 19.24.
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In the recent Test series against the host side Windies, Bumrah claimed 13 wickets, including two five-wicket hauls. In the second and final Test of that series, the right-arm pacer claimed a hat-trick and became the third Indian bowler to claim a Test hat-trick.
Irfan Pathan, who was the second Indian bowler to claim a Test hat-trick, feels that the Test cricket is helping Bumrah to become a more dangerous bowler. Pathan believes that the different challenges in Test cricket help the bowlers to learn many things.
The left-arm pacer told India Today, “He has developed the away swinger while playing international cricket. And now he bowls it with greater control. That’s thanks to Test cricket. When you play Test cricket, you are exposed to the challenge of bowling in different situations – with the new ball, in the second session with the old ball, again with different balls in the final session.
“It comes down to at least three to four spells in a day. That’s how you learn so much about yourself. Yes, you have coaches to guide you but as a bowler, you learn to use your own brain. That’s what we see with Bumrah.”
When your action is repeated again and again, you become a master of your art – Irfan Pathan
Irfan Pathan also revealed how Jasprit Bumrah is now able to move the ball both ways.
Pathan added, “Earlier when he first came into international cricket, he used to fall a little to the left side. Now he is more upright, so he is in better balance. That’s how he has been able to move the ball both ways. That’s his biggest strength as well. The other good thing is his action hasn’t changed at all. When your action is repeated again and again, you become a master of your art.”
Now Jasprit Bumrah is the best bowler in the world – Irfan Pathan
Apart from 12 Tests, Jasprit Bumrah has also played in 58 ODIs and 42 T20Is where he has taken 103 and 51 wickets respectively. Irfan Pathan believes Bumrah is the best bowler in the present world cricket.
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Pathan claimed, “Now he is the best bowler in the world. Even if the rankings did not say so. To be able to bowl with this pace with such a short run up, he is more effective.”
Pathan has further claimed that India is lucky to get the pacer like Jasprit Bumrah who continues the same sharpness everytime.
Pathan said, “He is someone who bowls with the old ball, new ball, white ball, red ball, against set batsman or the new one with the same sharpness. We are very lucky to have this kind of bowler in our ranks. He makes the bowling unit look that much better.”
Before the Test series on the Caribbean soil, Jasprit Bumrah performed brilliantly in the ICC Cricket World Cup 2019 too. After playing nine matches in the CWC 2019, Bumrah managed 18 wickets (average 20.61 and economy rate 4.41). He finished that tournament as the leading wicket-taker for India and joint fifth most wicket-taker overall.