Former India player Ravi Shastri lauded Jasprit Bumrah for his ability to know about the opposition batter’s strengths and weaknesses. He compared the speedster with legendary West Indies pacer Malcolm Marshall. Bumrah has been sensational for India in the ongoing Border-Gavaskar Trophy 2024-25.
Bumrah has picked up 21 wickets in three Tests at an average of 10.90 in the five-match Test series against Australia. He was named the Player of the Match for his eight wickets in the series opener at the Optus Stadium in Perth. Bumrah dismissed four batters in the second game, while he accumulated 9 scalps in Brisbane.
“He reads the game well when it comes to batters. Malcolm Marshall was the best bowler I faced and Bumrah is like him. Marshall was renowned for reading the strengths and weaknesses of the batters,” Ravi Shastri told Fox Cricket.a
“He is closing on 200 Test wickets with 100 coming in India. The ball starts reversing in India because of the rough conditions. If he doesn’t take wickets with the new ball, he becomes dangerous in the end.
Bumrah recently surpassed Kapil Dev’s tally of most wickets for India in Australia. He has 53 wickets, two more than the 1983 World Cup-winning captain. The right-arm seamer needs one more wicket to become the most successful Indian bowlers at the Melbourne Cricket Ground. He is currently tied with Anil Kumble, who took 15 wickets.
Bumrah will be key to the team’s chances in the Boxing Day Test, set to start on December 26. He will hope for better support from Mohammed Siraj and Akash Deep.
With the series tied at 1-1, both India and Australia will be looking forward to win the contest.