Jasprit Bumrah can become India’s greatest fast bowler, says Anil Kumble

Jasprit Bumrah has a knack of impressing former greats to the hilt whenever he undertakes a foreign tour. In the past, former Australian bowlers like Dennis Lillee, Jeff Thomson and Glenn McGrath praised him after his rich exploits Down Under. Recently, Bumrah’s top performance in the West Indies won him accolades from former bowlers like Andy Roberts and Curtly Ambrose.

The 25-year-old bowler, who had a tremendous opening year in Test cricket and completed 50 wickets in the format as one of the fastest, is already a hero at home. The count of his admirers is only increasing with each passing day and former great Anil Kumble has already predicted that the skiddy pacer could become the greatest-ever fast bowler produced by India.

“He is a lot more consistent, he knows how to get a wicket. It is not just about the skill set you have or you possess the ability to bowl in, away or a bouncer. I think the ability to bounce back and what to do when I think Bumrah has done that brilliantly and he is a great student of the game, he understands the nuances, he bowls differently to different batsmen assesses those conditions really quickly and that has been the ability of Jasprit Bumrah in this series,” CricketNext quoted 48-year-old Kumble, India’s most successful bowler in Tests with 619 scalps in 132 matches.

Till now, Kapil Dev is India’s most successful fast bowler in Tests

The champion leg-spinner also said that seeing Bumrah’s pedigree and skills and his performance across all formats, one would predict the man to become the greatest fast bowler India has ever produced. Till now, Kapil Dev is the most successful fast bowler India has had with 434 wickets from 131 games.

Kumble felt at 25, Bumrah has a long way ahead and the quality required to become the greatest. He said the ability to convert two or three-wicket hauls into fifers and win games for the country is something that differentiates between Bumrah and someone starting young.

“I think that is a hallmark of a bowler, you would want your bowlers to be match winners and that’s what Bumrah does and he has showed that in this young career of his,” the former India Test captain said.

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