Star India pacer Jasprit Bumrah was at his very best yet again, tearing through the English batting line-up and returning with a superb five-wicket haul in the first innings of the ongoing first Test at Headingley in Leeds. His 5-83 from 24.4 overs was his 14th five-wicket haul in Test match cricket, putting him tied with the legendary Kapil Dev as the Indian bowler with the most fifers in the sport.
Former cricketer Aakash Chopra was hugely impressed by the India speedster’s skill set and brilliance as he first took the wickets of openers Ben Duckett and Zak Crawley, then the main man of English batting, Joe Root. He later explained the dismissals of Chris Woakes and Josh Tongue, which helped India establish a small but significant six-run lead. Chopra said that investing in Bumrah is similar to making a fixed deposit, with assured returns.
“An ode to Jasprit Bumrah should be written because he is such a wonderful player. He resembles a fixed deposit. When you give him the ball, he takes a wicket. He is really outstanding,” he stated in a video posted to his YouTube page on June 23.
Priceless Jasprit Bumrah deserves Bharat Ratna, Aakash Chopra
Chopra previously stated in the same video that Bumrah is distinct from the rest of the Indian fast bowlers, as Prasidh Krishna and Mohammed Siraj never appeared as successful, while Shardul Thakur did not bowl many overs on both days of English batting. Chopra believes that because Bumrah stands out, he deserves the Bharat Ratna award, India’s highest civilian distinction.
“Jasprit Bumrah has taken another five-wicket haul. Give him the Bharat Ratna because he is completely invaluable. He’s not like everyone else. “If people had taken catches and helped him a little more, he might have taken eight wickets and given a lead of 160 runs instead of six,” the cricketer-turned-commentator stated.
“There’s no one like Bumrah, but Jassi was alone.” Shardul Thakur did not bowl much. Prasidh Krishna appeared somewhat undercooked. Mohammed Siraj appeared fatigued near the end. If you’re wondering how many matches Jasprit will be able to play since he has to bowl so much, he’ll only be able to play three,” Chopra remarked.
