“Once in a generation bowler,” Ian Bishop heaps praise on Indian pace spearhead Jasprit Bumrah

Indian pacer Jasprit Bumrah has been bowling exceptionally well since his return to international cricket after back surgery.

The right-arm quick played a key role in India’s 2023 Asia Cup win and had the batters dancing to his tune in the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup last year.

Bumrah continued his brilliance in Test cricket during the tour of South Africa and in the home matches against England. He was among the leading wicket-takers in IPL 2024, claiming 20 scalps in 13 matches at an economy rate of 6.48.

Now, Bumrah is plying his trade in the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2024, which will take place in the US and West Indies. He produced two Player-of-the-Match performances in India’s three Group A matches.

Having witnessed his magic over the years, former West Indies fast bowler Ian Bishop has described Jasprit Bumrah as a rare talent that comes to the fore only once in a generation.

Bishop emphasized that Bumrah’s reputation often deters opposing batters from attacking him during matches.

“Jasprit Bumrah is a bowler of a generation and said sometimes opposition players don’t seem to target him because of his reputation,” PTI Bisschop quoted.

The highlight of Bumrah’s brilliance in the group stages was his incredible spell against Pakistan. He was exceptional in the powerplay and in the death overs and returned with figures of 3 for 14 in four overs to help India restrict the arch-rivals to 113/7 while defending the 120-run target.

The Bishop further praised the Indian pace spearhead: “Jasprit is smart, communicates well. He has speed, but also knows better than many bowlers where to use his variation.”

“You hear him say it’s not every day I go stump hunting – there are days I go for a yorker, days I bowl a wide yorker; there are days when I judge the conditions and put my slower ball into the field throw or use my bouncer’.

“There are other ingredients as well. He has that unique action where the ball comes to you much faster. And that’s part of the reason why sometimes those full throws don’t break because they’re racing towards you.

“Of course, when you develop that reputation… when I bowled with Curtly Ambrose, Matthew (Hayden) never put a foot wrong against Curtly because of his reputation, but he would want to beat me. This guy is a generational bowler,” he explained.

Jasprit Bumrah will next be seen in action in India’s first Super 8 match against Afghanistan in Barbados on June 20.