They don’t talk about Bumrah, all focus was on Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma: Nasser Hussain

Nasser Hussain and Jasprit Bumrah. (Source – Getty Images)

At the Optus Stadium of Perth, stand-in-skipper Jasprit Bumrah came out as a silent hero, in India’s emphatic win in the series opener against Australia. While the pre-match discussions were dominated by Virat Kohli’s form and Rohit Sharma’s absence, Bumrah’s brilliant bowling performance guided the tourists to take a lead in the series.

Leading up to the first Test of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy, the main topic of discussion was the previous series whitewash at the hands of New Zealand and the team’s poor batting lineup, with intense criticism on senior players like Kohli and Sharma.

During all this, Bumrah’s exceptional skills were surprisingly ignored in the discussion. The former England captain Nasser Hussain, gave his opinion on this matter.

“He has that slower ball, the yorker, the bouncer… I was thinking before the game, he was doing the press conference and I was watching, that all of the focus was on Kohli, and Rohit Sharma not being there, the balance of the Indian side, Steve Smith, whether these great players will get runs. And I thought they didn’t really talk about Bumrah. Maybe it’s (because) he is a bowler. Batters are highlighted so much more,” said Hussain on Sky Sports Cricket.

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He is the best all-format bowler in the world: Nasser Hussain

Bumrah’s performance was nothing short of brilliant. Captaining the side in Rohit’s absence, his spell dismantled the Australian batting lineup. His first-innings figures of 5/30 along with his three wickets in the second innings played a crucial role in India’s win.

His match figures of 8 for 72 earned him the Player of the Match award. Meanwhile, the Indian pacer’s Test career average of 20.06 is the second-best among bowlers with at least 150 Test wickets and stands second only to the legendary Sydney Barnes.

“Bumrah’s stats, he is up there with Sydney Barnes, isn’t he? He has popped under 20 over quite a long period of time, it is incredible. He is the best all-format bowler in the world bar none,” added Hussain.