If not for Jasprit Bumrah’s timely strikes in Hyderabad, where he finished with a match-haul of 6/69 (2/28 and 4/41), England would have inflicted further pain on India in the series opener which they eventually won by 28 runs.
Considering how well Bumrah has progressed since his international debut eight years ago and his ability to adapt to all conditions, he’s the “best multi-format” fast bowler currently in world cricket alongside South Africa spearhead Kagiso Rabada, feels former England pacer and twice Ashes winner (in 2005 and 2009) Steve Harmison.
“For me, Bumrah, along with Rabada, are probably the two best multi-format bowlers in world cricket today, though Rabada is probably of the classical mould. Like Jimmy Anderson, Bumrah can find a way to be effective on any surface, create pressure and take wickets,” Harmison, who’s working for talkSPORT for the ongoing series and sharing his views daily on the talkSPORT Cricket YouTube Channel, told The Telegraph on Thursday.
Apart from his unique action, what makes Bumrah different compared to his counterparts and keeps him ahead of them? “His skill level is very, very high. Yes, in terms of his action, he has got one which, I think, still takes a while to get used to even if you have faced him many, many times. He has the ability to bowl the slower, the yorker, that too at a good pace, while he can get a good bounce too and
can swing the ball both ways,” Harmison, who took 226 wickets in 63 Tests and also has 58 ODI and two T20I caps, stated.
Elaborating on how Bumrah is “a bit like Anderson”, Harmison explained: “When Jimmy Anderson first came to the scene (in 2003), I was in the team and he could bowl everything: short ball, bouncer, inswing, outswing, slower... Jimmy just wanted to bowl them all in one over.
“When he was 27-28 (years old), he realised how to set a batter up, how to work out what was effective going into each spell making sure he could nail his skills at that point to get that wicket. And Bumrah, I think, over the course of the last three-four years, with his experience is learning what’s the right ball to bowl at the right time to be effective. That’s why Bumrah has gone to the next level.”
Talking about Anderson, who’s set to replace Mark Wood in the second Test here, Harmison believes his reverse swing could be a big factor.
“The reason why Jimmy is still playing at 41 is his ability to adapt to any situations. I think he will give a level of control to Ben Stokes, which probably the skipper didn’t have in the first innings (in Hyderabad). He will provide Stokes control with the new ball and in terms of reverse-swing, we’ve seen many, many times in the past that on any given surface, Jimmy has got the tool to be effective,” Harmison stated.
