Former Australia fast bowler Damien Fleming was full of praise for Jasprit Bumrah after the Indian spearhead’s match-winning performance in the final of the T20 World Cup. Bumrah delivered another standout performance, claiming 4/15 in four overs, as India defeated New Zealand by 96 runs in the final to lift the T20 World Cup title.
Fleming particularly highlighted Bumrah’s slower delivery, comparing it to a curveball in baseball – a variation that deceives batters through subtle changes in pace and movement. Beyond the variations, however, Fleming was particularly impressed by Bumrah’s ability to keep improving despite already being regarded as one of the premier fast bowlers in the game.
“That slower ball of his is like a curveball in Baseball. It’s absolutely brilliant. You think with these great fast bowlers, when do they plateau? Bumrah, with each big tournament or big series, is enhancing his reputation. When will it ever stop? He is an absolute freak, Jasprit Bumrah,” Fleming said on the Fast Bowling Cartel podcast.
Another Australian fast-bowling great, Glenn McGrath, admitted he was slightly concerned about how long Bumrah would continue playing a heavy workload in Test cricket.
With the physical demands of back-to-back Tests increasing, McGrath wondered whether the Indian pacer might eventually prioritise white-ball formats – something he said would be a huge loss for Test cricket. He added that in such a scenario, fans might only see Bumrah in select Tests, such as marquee series against Australia.
“My concern, as he’s a little bit older now, is that playing back-to-back Test matches is getting tougher for him. Is he going to just start focusing on white-ball cricket? That’ll be a massive loss to Test cricket if he did. We might only see him rarely in Test matches, maybe against Australia,” he said.
He also highlighted how different the Indian ace pacer looks compared to other fast bowlers when he runs in to bowl. He particularly praised Bumrah’s ability to bowl a probing Test-match length even in T20 cricket while still possessing a range of highly effective variations, describing him as a ‘gun’ bowler.
“Just how good is he. When he comes on, he looks completely different to every other fast bowler. Batters try to lineup every other bowler when they are set, but not him. What I like about Bumrah is how he bowls the really good Test match length successfully in T20s. His other variations are all brilliant as well. He is just a gun,” McGrath said.
