Yuvraj Singh reveals the prediction he made for Jasprit Bumrah way back in 2013

Jasprit Bumrah is arguably the best all-format bowler in the world right now. At a time, when almost each and every bowler across the globe is busy striking a right balance to play all the formats and develop right skills for all the formats, Bumrah is dominating across all of them. He is currently the number one bowler in ODIs and recently broke into the top ten of Test rankings.

But while the world is witnessing Bumrah’s exploits in Tests now and is backing him to become one of the greats, legendary batsman Yuvraj Singh knew about it way back in 2013. In a recent interview, the former India batsman has revealed he foresaw Bumrah’s success in red-ball cricket when he first faced him in a Ranji Trophy match in 2013. Yuvraj’s comments have come on the back of Bumrah’s stunning performance against West Indies.

Bumrah, who made his Test debut last year, has already become Indian attack’s leader. In his 12 Tests so far, he has taken 62 wickets in just 12 Tests and has a 5-wicket haul in each of the overseas nations he has played so far. In the second Test against West Indies, he also picked up his first Test hat-trick. Prior to that, he had taken 5 for 7 in the first Test to register the least expensive five-wicket haul by an Indian.

“Bumrah is a class act. He is a once-in-a-generation kind of bowler. I first faced him during a Ranji Trophy game against Gujarat at the PCA Stadium in Mohali in 2013. I played a hostile spell of four overs from him and knew immediately that he was going to be a match-winner for India in Test cricket,” Yuvraj told Times of India.

“Then, a lot of people questioned whether he would be able to excel in Test cricket because of his unique action. But he has kept his critics quiet with some mesmerizing performances in the past three years, that too in all formats. At present, he is definitely a cut above the rest,” he added.

Bumrah not getting carried away

Despite the huge success early in his career, Jasprit Bumrah has his feet firmly rooted to the ground. The right-arm pacer that although he is happy with the way his Test career has begun, he has a lot of work to do.

“It’s been just 10-12 matches. My career has just started. I am learning every day and trying to improve. I have to play in India as well. This has been a good start,” Bumrah said. “I always look at team goals. If we win the match, it’s fine even if I don’t get a wicket. I always think about how I can contribute to the team’s success. Be it taking wickets or creating pressure,” he added.

Bumrah, meanwhile, will be gearing up to play his first Test at home. India will host South Africa for three Tests later this month.

5 Cricketers who played for two countries