The former Australian captain, Ricky Ponting, has lauded the premier pacer of the current Indian side, Jasprit Bumrah, as the best bowler across formats in world cricket for the latter’s versatile skill set with the ball in different periods of the game.
Jasprit Bumrah finished the recently concluded T20 World Cup 2024 as the second-highest wicket-taker of the event, with 15 wickets in eight innings at an average of under nine and a strike rate of below 12, with an economy rate of just 4.17, which was a phenomenal feat as he won the ‘Player of the series’ award.
Since the end of the victorious campaign for the Blue Brigade in the United States of America and the Caribbean, the Ahmedabad-born has been given a break by the national selectors as they want the pacer to be in full shape and rhythm during the acid test in the five-match series at the Border-Gavaskar Trophy 2024-25 at the end of the year.
“Jasprit Bumrah has been the best multi-format bowler for the last five or six years”- Ricky Ponting
The former legend of the game, Ricky Ponting, has praised the ace Indian bowler, Jasprit Bumrah, for making such an incredible comeback in the game despite going through a career-threatening injury that kept him out of action for such a long time, as he also missed the 2022 T20 World Cup, where the Rohit Sharma-led side ended their journey in the semifinal.
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Ponting felt the question after that injury was whether he would be able to make a strong comeback in the game before he addressed the 30-year-old speedster as the best multi-format bowler of the current generation for the last five to six years.
“There might have been some fears a couple of years ago when the injuries come in and ‘would he come back the same?’, but I think he’s come back better.” Ricky Ponting expressed in the recent episode of the ICC Review. “I’ve said it for a long time, he’s probably been the best multi-format bowler there’s been in world cricket for the last five or six years.”
The veteran, since making his debut in 2016, has picked up 149 wickets in the 50-over format in 89 games at an average of under 24 and a strike rate of 30.7, with the help of a couple of five-wicket hauls, sharing an economy of 4.59.
In the shortest format of the game, Jasprit Bumrah has collected 89 scalps in 70 games at an average of under 18 and an economy of just over six, with the best figures of 3/7. In the red-ball format of the game, the Gujarat bowler has notched up 159 wickets in just 36 games at an average of under 21, with the help of ten five-wicket hauls.
“If I watch what he did in the T20 World Cup – the pace is still there, there’s nothing that’s changed with the accuracy or what he can deliver. The skillset is all the same.” Ponting shaded light. “He’s getting better year on year. So, he would rank right up there. So when you’ve got that skillset and the consistency that he has, then you’re going to be a great player.”
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The experienced batter also mentioned that the best way to judge a bowler is to ask the opposition to measure the caliber of the bowler.
“And when you talk to opposition batsmen about him (Jasprit Bumrah) particular, it’s always, ‘No, he’s a nightmare! You never know what’s going to happen. One’s going to swing, one’s going to seam, he’s going to bowl an in-swinger, he’s going to bowl an out-swinger. And the consistency is there.” Ricky concluded that Jasprit Bumrah brings compassion to Glenn McGrath and James Anderson as the latter two have maintained their longevity with excellence.