Former Australia batter and coach Justin Langer has compared Jasprit Bumrah to Wasim Akram. Speaking ahead of the Boxing Day Test match, Langer showered praise on Bumrah and said that the India seamer must be a nightmare to face for the batters.
Bumrah has been in sensational touch in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy so far. The leader of the India pace attack has 21 wickets after 3 Test matches, 7 more than the next best Mitchell Starc and Pat Cummins. Bumrah’s ability to seam and swing the new ball has come in handy for the Indians as they have gotten wickets on demand from the pacer.
“I would hate to face him. He is like Wasim Akram. For me, he is a right-hand version of Wasim Akram, and every time I am asked the question ‘Who is the best bowler you have ever faced’, I say, Wasim Akram,” Justin Langer told The Nightly on Thursday, December 19.
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“They have got good pace and the great bowlers just hit the same spot every time, and they have got a good bouncer, so it makes them a bloody nightmare. He has got the ability to swing the ball both ways, his seam is literally picture perfect.”
“If you present a perfect seam and it comes perfectly out of the fingers as it does with him, you get the double whammy, swing in the right conditions and if it hits the rope it can go either way. That’s what Akram used to do and was a nightmare to face,” he added.
“I would hate to face Bumrah. He’s a great competitor, he bowls good pace and he’s just awesome. I said at the start of the series, if Bumrah stays fit, it is going to be a really tough summer for the Australian batters, if he doesn’t, then I think Australia will win the series easily, and I still maintain that,” Langer concluded.
India go into the Melbourne Test match with a scoreline 1-1. India have dominated the Border-Gavaskar Trophy in the last decade, having won two away tours of Australia. Rohit Sharma’s team would hope to continue the trend after their miraculous escape at the Gabba.
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