Team India enjoyed the No. 1 ranking in Test cricket for more than three years and the main reason behind their success was the performances of the fast bowling unit.
The pace battery, featuring Ishant Sharma, Mohammad Shami, Jasprit Bumrah and Umesh Yadav, did a fantastic job in both home and away conditions.
The rise of India’s fast bowling stocks has also caught the attention of former Australia skipper Allan Border, who is particularly impressed with Bumrah – the spearhead of Indian attack across three formats.
Having made his international debut in January 2016, Bumrah has come a long way. He holds the No. 2 position in ICC ODI rankings for bowlers and occupies the 9th position in Test bowling rankings.
In 2018-19, Bumrah played an instrumental role in India’s first-ever Test series victory on Australian soil with 21 wickets to his name. He then decimated the Caribbean batting line-up in India’s first World Test Championship assignment, claiming 13 wickets at a phenomenal average of 9.23 including a hat-trick.
“It’s incredible, his rise through the ranks just out of probably IPL. It started there and he has just taken the world of cricket by storm. He has an unusual action, everyone thought he is going to struggle with injuries and things like that. He has had a little bit of a niggle of late,” Border said during a discussion on Australia’s Cricket Network.
“He is the real deal, isn’t he? He just has the awkward action but he bowls at good pace, so not the classical way of doing things. It is very much an Indian thing really, they just let the kids develop their own styles.”
Over the years, Indian cricket was known more for their spinners but the scenario has now changed with Virat Kohli’s side now possessing great bench strength of fast bowling talents.
Commenting on the same, Border said it was about time India’s pacers ruled the roost.
“India really needed to develop some fast bowlers, didn’t they? Every time they toured anywhere, they were presented with grassy pitches, pace-friendly pitches. So the days of playing three or four spinners are long gone,” Border remarked. “Bumrah is an interesting one, because he has the shuffling run-up to the crease and really just explodes out of the hand. He can get some serious pace too; he can go to 140-plus.”
(Inputs from Hindustan Times)
