Former Indian cricketer-turned-commentator, Sanjay Manjrekar, doesn’t think Indian speedster Jasprit Bumrah has reached the level to be put in the same league with the Pakistan legend Wasim Akram and late West Indies great Malcolm Marshall.
Bumrah is arguably the best bowler in the world across all formats at the moment. The pacer is outstanding with the new ball, at the death, and is able to swing both the red and white balls to trouble the best of the business, but still, Manjrekar feels he hasn’t reached the level to be compared with Akram and Marshall.
Explaining the reason behind his take, Manjrekar mentioned that Bumrah is yet to prove himself at home in Test cricket, whereas Akram and Marshall dominated the game over a long period of time, in all conditions, saying they are all-time greats.
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Manjrekar told Sports18: “Not yet, the potential is there but the problem with comparisons is that Wasim Akram and Malcolm Marshall, these are the guys who have done it over a long period of time and done it in all conditions. These are all-time greats, and we experts are very hard people to please.”
The commentator continued, “Interestingly, if you look at Bumrah and if you see the number of Test matches he has played in India, hardly any. So taking no credit away from him, because India tends to rest him in certain games, but that test is still there for Bumrah.”
On being asked whether Bumrah is currently the best in world cricket, Manjrekar said: “Absolutely. I was just thinking, currently on form when you look at India's best batter in Test cricket - Rishabh Pant, and Bumrah - your current No. 1 best bowler in maybe all formats, and both these guys are so out of the box with their technique.”
He concluded, “The day he arrived on the T20 scene, that is how he rose to recognition, you could see that this is a smart guy. His background is also typical of guys who are very street-smart in the way they bowl, these are products of competitive soft-ball cricket. He knows where to put the ball to each batter.”
