"One of the legends of the game" - Jasprit Bumrah hails teammate Mohammed Shami after India's 100-run win vs England
Ace pacer Jasprit Bumrah praised teammate Mohammed Shami as a legend of the sport following his incredible four-wicket haul in India's 100-run win over England in Lucknow on October 29.
Bumrah and Shami picked up seven of the 10 wickets to fall, including the first four, to rattle the English top order. Despite warming the benches in the opening four games, Shami created havoc in the last two outings, with five and four wickets against New Zealand and England, respectively.
Speaking to Sky Sports post-game, Bumrah hailed Shami's calm demeanor and added that he relishes bowling in tandem with him.
"He is outstanding," Bumrah said. "He's, you know, one of the legends of the game. I feel he has always been quite calm. He doesn't come out to be flamboyant, but he way he was bowling as if he was playing a Test match and [it] was really, really wonderful to see.
"Usually we've had a lot of partnerships in Test-match cricket and I really enjoy bowling with him. So yeah, I'm really happy with the way he's going on."
It was Mohammed Shami's third instance of picking four or more wickets in his last four ODIs, dating back to the Australia series before the World Cup.
The 33-year-old boasts outstanding numbers with 180 wickets in 96 ODIs at an average of 24.65. It takes a giant leap in World Cups, with a 14.07 average in 13 outings.
"Heard a lot of question marks on my career that I will never come back" - Jasprit Bumrah
Jasprit Bumrah admitted to being aware of the speculations about injuries cutting short his career but dismissed being perturbed by it. The 29-year-old missed a year of action owing to a stress fracture in his back, including the T20 World Cup last year and the IPL this year.
However, the champion bowler immediately hit the ground running upon his return, winning the Player of the Series in the Ireland T20I series in August.
"My wife [the TV sports presenter Sanjana Ganesan] also works in the sports-media department," Bumrah said. "So yeah, I heard a lot of question marks on my career that I will never come back and all of that, but it doesn't really matter."
"I'm very happy," he continued. "I came back and I realised how much I love playing the game. I was not chasing anything. Great headspace was there when I came back from the injury. So yeah, eventually I'm looking at the positives and trying to enjoy as much as you can."
Jasprit Bumrah is the joint second leading wicket-taker of the World Cup with 14 scalps in six games at an average of 15.07 and a miserly economy of under four per over.
Meanwhile, Team India are almost through to the semi-final, barring a major collapse, with their sixth win in as many games.
They will take on Sri Lanka in a rematch of the 2011 World Cup final at Wankhede on Thursday, November 2.