"Jasprit Bumrah is the smartest fast bowler presently" - Shoaib Akhtar
'Rawalpindi Express' Shoaib Akhtar believes Jasprit Bumrah is the smartest fast bowler in cricket at the moment. Akhtar praised Bumrah for the latter's attitude and complimented the Indian cricket team pacer for hitting aggressive lengths while bowling.
Speaking to Sports Today, Akhtar shed light on how he felt Bumrah's deceptiveness often makes the difference. Notably, though, he rated former Pakistan seamer Mohammad Asif higher than Bumrah.
"I think after Asif, Bumrah is the smartest fast bowler presently. People were doubtful about his fitness in Test cricket; even I was watching him closely. He has a quick bouncer, is deceptive and sharp and a good character this guy is," said Akhtar.
"Jasprit Bumrah has aggression in his length, not in his body. This is how I'm going to define Bumrah. Their is aggression in the length he bowls; he defeats the batsmen with his length. His body language is not aggressive; he's the nicest guy I've come across. But when he comes to bowl, in those 5 seconds, he showcases his aggression in his length," added Akhtar.
Shoaib Akhtar believes Jasprit Bumrah is a thinking fast bowler
While continuing to praise Bumrah, Akhtar made mention of how the pacer should also focus on building some muscle mass to make him even more dangerous on the field.
"What I find very nice about him is that he thinks about his bowling, he's a team man, good fast bowler and he's a match-winner. What I feel should do is gain a bit of muscle mass. I told this to Hardik Pandya also during the Asia Cup. Even Ravi Shastri agreed with me on this," the speedster added further.
The 27-year-old is already seen as the leader of the Indian fast bowling unit in all formats of the game. In the absence of Ishant Sharma, Mohammed Shami, Umesh Yadav and Bhuvneshwar Kumar, the pressure has increased on Bumrah to deliver the goods in the ongoing test series against Australia.
Despite Umesh Yadav's injury in the second innings of the Melbourne Test, India bowled Australia out cheaply which set up a comfortable 8-wicket win. Jasprit Bumrah played a crucial role as he picked six wickets in the Test match. The Indian team management will hope that the fast bowler will continue in his rich vein of form for the rest of the series.