Harbhajan heaped effusive praise on Bumrah for a majestic spell on Day 2 in Jamaica.
Virat Kohli's "gut feeling" paid off for Jasprit Bumrah or he wouldn't have been able to take a maiden Test hat-trick on Day 2 of the ongoing Jamaica Test against West Indies, said veteran off-spinner, Harbhajan Singh.
The skipper decided to go for a prudent review to overturn umpire Paul Reiffel's not out LBW decision for Roston Chase and pave way for his team's spearhead to become only the third Indian bowler behind Harbhajan himself and Irfan Pathan to get a Test match hat-trick.
"This hat-trick belongs to Virat as much as it belongs to Bumrah. The bowler wasn't convinced but the skipper had a gut feeling. What if Virat wouldn't have gone for that DRS? It was a brilliant call by the skipper which complemented his magnificent effort," Harbhajan told PTI on Sunday (September 1).
Bumrah earlier picked up the wickets of Darren Bravo and Shamarh Brooks to be on the cusp of a hat-trick, and further scalped Kraigg Brathwaite, John Campbell and Jason Holder in an outstanding spell of 6/16.
The 25-year-old helped India reduce West Indies to 87/7 in response to its very strong first innings total of 416 by stumps on Day 2.
"Indian cricket is blessed to have a match winner like Bumrah. This hat-trick will only help his legend grow but even without that he is an incredible performer. I mean 5 wickets in 7 overs in last game and 6 wickets in 9 overs in this game. You can't ask for more. He is a rare diamond."
"A hat-trick is always a praiseworthy feat but if it happens in Test cricket, it's all the more creditable," added Harbhajan. "In ODIs, you are always in with a chance in the death overs -- say from 47th to 50th when batsmen are attacking. If they attack you will always fancy your chances of a bowled or a catch in the deep."
"But in Test matches, it is a different ball game. The batsmen are not always attacking. The defence will be tighter and their skill comes into play. Look at Bumrah's deliveries. The length and how it was tailing in. That's pure skills," he concluded.
(Inputs from PTI)