R Ashwin calls Jasprit Bumrah’s ‘Boomball’ the ‘show stealer’ in Visakhapatnam Test

India fast bowler Jasprit Bumrah became the first pacer from the country to be crowned number one in the ICC Test bowling rankings. The speedster climbed three spots to dethrone his India teammate Ravichandran Ashwin from the top spot and also became the first bowler in the history of the game to rank at the top in all three formats of the game.

The 30-year-old registered the second-best match figures of his Test career picking 9/91 in the second Test against England in Visakhapatnam which also fetched him the Player of the Match award. Praising the India star after his match-winning performance, Ravichandran Ashwin termed Bumrah’s performance as ‘Boomball’.

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“The real show stealer was Boomball. Jasprit Bumrah has bowled extraordinarily. He is the leading wicket-taker (in the ongoing series against Englan) with 14 wickets and also the number-one-ranked Test bowler. I am a huge fan of his and this is a Himalayan feat,” said Ashwin on his YouTube channel.

Notably, in the first innings of the Visakhapatnam Test Bumrah picked just his second five-wicket haul in India as he picked up 6/45. He got rid of Joe Root, Ollie Pope, Jonny Bairstow, Ben Stokes, Tom Hartley and James Anderson to register his best figures in India.

The Ahmedabad-born cricketer is the leading wicket-taker of the series so far with 15 wickets to his name from four innings at an average of 10.66 and an economy of 2.76. Ahead of the third Test, there are widespread reports that Bumrah might be rested for the upcoming fixture to manage his workload.

Jasprit Bumrah likely not to be rested for the third Test

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However, considering the long gap between the second and third Test the right-arm seamer is likely to play in the game beginning from February 15 at Saurashtra Cricket Association Stadium, Rajkot. Meanwhile, India have announced the squad for the last three Tests and star batter Virat Kohli will miss the entire series.

Shreyas Iyer has been dropped due to his continuous poor form since 2013 while Bengal seamer Aakash Deep has been brought in for Avesh Khan who has been released for Ranji Trophy duties.