Former Australia captain Michael Clarke has lauded Jasprit Bumrah on becoming the new no.1 ranked bowler in Tests in the recent ICC rankings. Bumrah became the first Indian pacer and the fourth from his country to hold the top spot on the ICC Test Rankings for bowlers.
Bumrah returned to cricketing action last year in 2023 after spending a year out with back surgery and rehab. He then led the Indian pacer attack in the Asia Cup 2023 and the ICC World Cup 2023. Currently, he is the leading wicket-taker in the ongoing India v England Test series with 15 wickets in 2 Tests.
He picked 9 of those in India’s 106-run win in the second Test in Vizag, where he also completed 150 Test wickets. For his efforts, Bumrah was also named the Player of the Match.
He is also the second Asian and fourth cricketer to be ranked No.1 in all three formats of the game after Matthew Hayden, Ricky Ponting, and Virat Kohli.
Heaping praise on the 30-year-old pacer, Clarke called Bumrah a "freak" because of his ability to make the ball talk even on flat and turning pitches which are not helpful for the fast bowlers at all.
"Bumrah, what can you say... He is a freak, Bumrah. His skills in conditions that are never conducive for fast bowling, he is a freak," Clarke told ESPNCricinfo.
Clarke also shared his insights on the ongoing India-England Test series and reckoned that India will be tough to beat now that they have leveled the series.
Meanwhile, Clarke also spoke on Virat Kohli, who had missed the first two Tests of the ongoing series due to personal reasons. It has been reported that Kohli might not be available for the rest of the matches in the series as well.
"It's been a great series, I love that it's 5 Test matches. England winning that first Test was brilliant, and they had their opportunities in the second as well but India showed their class. Virat Kohli not being a part of that Indian team, you'd think now after they've got a victory in the 2nd Test... If he comes back in, I think India is going to be very tough to beat," he added.
Clarke also rated Kohli as the best across formats of the game.
"Virat Kohli is the best player ever across all three formats," Clarke told ESPN Australia in a separate interview.
