Team India’s premiere pacer Jasprit Bumrah has been earning plaudits from all corners after leading his side to a crushing 295-run win over Australia in the 1st Test in Perth. Leading India for only the second time ever in a Test match, Bumrah made a mockery out of the Australian batting line-up, registering a sensational match figures of 8/72. Former England captain Nasser Hussain feels Bumrah’s achievements aren’t celebrated like they should be just because he is a bowler.
While speaking on Sky Sports, Hussain also called out the bias surrounding the batters, who according to him get more headlines even when bowlers like Bumrah outperform them on the pitch.
“He has that slower ball, the yorker, the bouncer… I was thinking before the game, he was doing the press conference and I was watching, that all of the focus was on Kohli, and Rohit Sharma not being there, balance of the Indian side, Steve Smith, whether these great players will get runs. And I thought, they don’t really talk about Bumrah. Maybe it’s (because) he is a bowler. Batters are highlighted so much more,” said Hussain.
Bumrah’s current career average of 20.06 is the second-best among bowlers who have taken at least 150 Test wickets, only behing former England pacer Sydney Barnes, who played between 1901 and 1914 and took 189 wickets at an average of 16.43.
“Bumrah’s stats, he is up there with Sydney Barnes isn’t he? He has popped under 20 over quite a long period of time, it is incredible. He is the best all-format bowler in the world bar none,” he added.
Meanwhile, Indian skipper Rohit Sharma started practising in the nets as he joined the team in Australia for the Border-Gavaskar Trophy after the birth of his second child.
He is all set to feature in the pink-ball practice match in Canberra, before officially resuming his duties as captain in the Adelaide Day-Night Test.
(With ANI Inputs)
