Former Australia captain and star batter Ricky Ponting rang the praises for Jasprit Bumrah after the currently the No. 1 Test bowler delivered a show-stopping brilliance with the ball in the first Test of the ongoing five-match series between India and Australia. In the first test conducted at Optus Stadium in Perth last month, Bumrah claimed five Aussie batters for 30 in the first innings before dismissing three more in the second. His brilliant performing had India overpowering Pat Cummins’s side just across 295 runs in less than four days to make this series 1-0 in favor of India.
Talking about Bumrah’s bowling, Ponting, who has now turned into an expert and commentator, said, “The 30-year-old Indian is the best fast bowler in the world across formats.”
“It was great for a captain to stand up. I think he showed everyone why he’s clearly the best fast bowler in the world in all formats of the game,” said Ponting during the latest episode of ICC Review.
“What he (Bumrah) did there (Perth), not only in the first innings but for that entire game-his pace, his consistency, his ability to move the ball, his ability to continually challenge the stumps and hit the stumps-were the differences between him and everyone else that bowled in that game,” added Ponting.
According to Ponting, who has worked with Bumrah during his Mumbai Indians head coach period in IPL, Bumrah is India’s greatest fast bowler.
“I think he’s definitely India’s greatest fast bowler. Most of the greats before him were never part of all three formats as he has played in all. Sit back and watch, people will admit after seeing that in T20 cricket, one-day cricket, Test match cricket, he’s clearly the best right now.”
‘It’s not just about how many wickets you can take; it’s equally about how consistently you perform over a long period of time. The other day we really saw how good he could be when the conditions suit him. He keeps going like he is then there will be a lot of people saying what Glenn Maxwell said, I’m sure,’ he said further.