Jasprit Bumrah is a once-in-a-generation fast bowler, asserts Laxmipathy Balaji

The series decider between India and England in Manchester was cancelled on September 10 due to the rising Covid-19 concerns in the Indian contingent. India won the fourth Test at The Oval to go up 2-1 in the five-match Test series against England. After an excellent performance from the Indian batsmen, the bowlers took charge in the final innings of the fourth Test to clinch a historic 157-run victory. Jasprit Bumrah led the pace attack with his reverse swing deliveries with the old ball. Bumrah’s exceptional spell on the final day of the match swung the game in favor of the visitors. 

Bumrah scalped the wickets of Ollie Pope and Jonny Bairstow and troubled other English batsmen with his in-swingers and bouncers. Bumrah clinched 18 wickets from seven innings with an average of 20.83 and stood on the top wicket-takers list after Ollie Robinson who scalped 21 wickets in the series. The 27-year-old is currently undergoing a 6-day isolation period in UAE ahead of the IPL 2021. 

Balaji, who serves as bowling coach for CSK termed Bumrah as a once-in-a-generation fast bowler and he further stated that it is phenomenal to watch Bumrah’s bowling in all three formats.

“We have seen many batsmen doing it but very rarely do we see bowlers evolving with both the skills. Bumrah is a once-in-a-generation fast bowler. It's not easy to replicate Bumrah. This generation, we are lucky to see talents like Bumrah and (Mohammed) Shami,” Balaji told, reported Indiatoday.

“Bumrah has made huge strides in his Test career. He will play a bigger role in the future. The way he has managed both white ball and red ball has been phenomenal to watch. Both the skills are totally different. Very rarely, you get a match of both the red-ball cricket and white-ball cricket bowling in superior form,” Balaji was quoted as saying.

“When I started my career, great bowlers operated in tandem. Some like Curtly Ambrose and Courtney Walsh, Wasim Akram and Waqar Younis and Glenn McGrath and Brett Lee. India's Zaheer (Khan) and (Javagal) Srinath and Ashish played together. All these guys we have seen in the late 90s and early 2000s.

“What we're seeing today is how far these guys are able to adapt and maintain their skill sets,” he added.

Balaji also stated that Bumrah has got great leadership qualities as he shoulders the responsibility of leading the Indian pace attack at a very young age.

“Bumrah is one exceptional bowler. I see him not only as a skilful bowler but he has leadership quality. He has been shouldering responsibility very well at a very young age. The way he has handled the responsibility of the team has been phenomenal,” Balaji said.