Jasprit Bumrah is like Malcolm Marshall in reading batters and conditions: Ravi Shastri

Jasprit Bumrah is like Malcolm Marshall in reading batters and conditions: Ravi Shastri. (Photo Source: BCCI)

Jasprit Bumrah has been the best bowler by a distance in the ongoing Border-Gavaskar Trophy 2024-25. The right-arm seamer is the leading wicket-taker, having bagged 21 scalps from three matches at an awe-inspiring average of 10.90. No other bowler has been able to take more than 14 wickets.

Former India head coach Ravi Shastri compared Bumrah to the legendary West Indies speedster Malcolm Marshall for his ability to promptly assess opposition batters and the conditions on offer.

“He’s a terrific reader of the game when it comes to batsmen. I thought when I played the best bowler I played against was Malcolm Marshall, because of his ability to suss out conditions, read batsmen’s strengths and weaknesses. I think Bumrah is in that category. He’s so quick to suss the strengths and weaknesses of a player,” Ravi Shastri told Fox Cricket.

“He’s taken close to 200 wickets and close to a hundred in India, and he’s taken those at 17. In India, you must realise the ball starts reversing, because of the rough conditions. So if he doesn’t take wickets with the new ball, he’s dangerous at the end,” he added.

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There’s no respite because he’s at the peak of his powers: Ravi Shastri

Bumrah became the leading wicket-taker for India in Australia during the Brisbane Test when he went past Kapil Dev’s tally of 51 wickets Down Under in the longest format. He currently has 53 scalps from 10 Test matches on Australian soil. The fourth Test is set to be played at the MCG, which has been a happy hunting ground for Bumrah.

The 31-year-old tormented Nathan McSweeney in the first three Tests and he has been replaced by teenager Sam Konstas. Shastri expects the youngster to face an uphill task as he gears up to face an in-form Bumrah.

“Bumrah is up for the challenge, he loves bowling at the MCG. I remember his six-wicket haul when I was a coach when he just dismantled Australia,” Shastri said.

“He’s in that kind of form, he just takes wickets for fun in Australia. It’s ridiculous. There’s no respite because he’s at the peak of his powers and what he does with the new ball makes it difficult for any batsmen. He swings it and seams it both ways, he’s absolutely relentless,” he added.