Former Australian wicketkeeper Brad Haddin praised Indian fast bowling spearhead Jasprit Bumrah by discussing his performances in comparison to the legendary Ashes series of Australian spinner Shane Warne against England in 2005. Bumrah had a phenomenal Border-Gavaskar Trophy season, picking up 32 wickets in five matches, the most by any Indian in an away series at an average of 13.06 and a best of 6/76. He had three five-wicket hauls to his name and was declared the ‘Player of the Series.’ It was a Herculean effort from him to keep up with India in pursuit of the trophy.
On the Willow Talk podcast, Haddin elaborated, “We have seen Bumrah in all his grades, the peculiarity of his action, and how great an influence he had on all the batters in the Australian team. It’s in the same conversation as Warney’s 2005 Ashes “If he’s not in Australia, it would probably win 5-0.”
“Witnessing that greatness, by the time he retires, we will be talking about him in the same breath as McGrath and Wasim Akram. He commanded so much over the series and has a unique action and skill, the way he gets the ball to move both ways. He was so good we made selection decisions to counter-act him,” he added.
However, Haddin states that he is not yet in the same sentence with greats like Glenn McGrath, Wasim Akram, Curtley Ambrose, etc.
“I wouldn’t put him at the top of that league. He has got a long way to go. He has got 200 Test wickets. We hope to see him in some time. If he keeps going the same way he is going, he will be in that conversation,” said ex-Aussie player.
India has lost the Border-Gavaskar Trophy 1-3, following a defeat by six wickets in the fifth and final Test held at Sydney after asking Australia to chase 162 runs. As a result of this loss, India formally becomes out of contention for the ICC World Test Championship final, to be held at Lord’s in June next year. Australia and South Africa have ensured their places.
