Jasprit Bumrah is perfect for the longest format, reckons Virat Kohli

A young Indian fast bowler with a weird action once got into the playing XI of the Mumbai Indians in an IPL game against the Royal Challengers Bangalore. In his very first over, he had to bowl to the batsman of the generation, Virat Kohli. He was spanked ruthlessly for a boundary and the very next ball, an unplayable inswinger rapped Kohli on the pads and the Umpire raised his finger.

Kohli was very upset and to be frank, it didn’t look good enough to be called out. But that day, a new champion bowler in Jasprit Bumrah announced his arrival in a grandiose way and the lad never looked back. Consistent performances for the Mumbai Indians earned him a place in the Indian ODI squad and he kept shining right from the outset.

Bumrah recently made his Test debut against the South Africans and he finished the series with 14 wickets. He kept troubling the batsmen constantly and reaped the rewards. He managed to outsmart the great man AB de Villiers on a lot of occasions, something he can be very proud of. Not just all the fans, but even the Indian skipper Virat Kohli is proud of his performance. He feels he is ideal for the longest format.

“He fits perfectly into the ideal XI for us. He is someone that has given us breakthroughs when wanted in the series and he has bowled his heart out,” Kohli said. He really wanted Test cricket badly and has shown what a high-class bowler he is. He probably bowled with the experience of a guy who has played 40-50 games,” Kohli said.

“I am really delighted for him. He is someone who works really hard on his game, and he has certainly come a long way from being a limited-overs specialist to doing outstandingly well on this tour. I am really, really happy for him.”

As a captain, I’m really proud: Kohli

The 29-year-old said it was wonderful to see the Indian bowlers pick all 60 wickets in the series. It was an exceptional performance from the fast bowlers, especially in the third Test. Kohli was very proud of the character his bowlers showed and said this win gives them the belief that they can do it again.

“The kind of character that they showed today, it’s really praise-worthy and as a captain, I feel very happy for them and for the whole team. The bowlers had to work really hard. They didn’t get much help from the wicket on day four. But the character that we showed, it will give us the belief that we can do it again and keep it doing it.”