Jasprit Bumrah has got his awkward action to work as an advantage, says Zaheer Khan
Zaheer Khan has commended Jasprit Bumrah on making his awkward bowling action work in his favour over batsmen in world cricket. The 40-year-old is also is looking forward to how Kagiso Rabada adapts to Indian conditions when he features in the three-match Test series starting on October 2.
There was a time when several senior cricketers, coaches, and pundits expressed concerns about Bumrah’s jarring bowling action. But the incredible success that has followed the Indian quick has silenced his critics, even earning the praises from the likes of Zaheer.
"He (Bumrah) is a special talent, he has got that awkward action which works as an advantage for him over the batsmen. He is keen to learn and drive to excel. He has been working on his fitness, adding new things to his bowling. He has evolved as a bowler in a short time, that have been the keys to success," Zaheer told PTI.
"It is about how you take things into stride and what kind of approach you have. I think Bumrah has shown all the attitude of achieving that success," he continued.
Another speedster that has caught the attention of the 2011 World Cup-winner was the Proteas quick, Rabada, who has a staggering 176 Test wickets from only 37 matches. Rabada did reasonably well in the two T20I matches, but Zaheer is eager to see how the 24-year-old adapts his game to the subcontinent pitches.Â
"There are so many good bowlers and (Kasigo) Rabada has been right up there and you have seen that in such a short time. He has made such a massive impact on Test cricket and the numbers are a reflection of that fact,” Zaheer said.
"In India, we will have to see how he adapts to conditions. You have to adapt to conditions and for any fast bowler to be successful in India, he should possess the ability to bowl with the old ball and use the reverse swing. So, I am looking forward to seeing how Rabada goes about it and how quickly he adapts in the (Test) series," he continued.
He further spoke about the omission of Kuldeep Yadav and Yuzvendra Chahal from the T20 squad and raised hopes for the wrist spinning-duo to make a comeback in time for the World Cup next year.
"They (team management) have been transparent about what their approach is. At the end of the day, we just have to wait and see how things evolve and shape up. We have plenty of time for the T20 World Cup (to be held in Australia), so we will have to wait and see how things evolve and what kind of experimentation happens," he said.
"So everyone is allowed to have a thought process, we have seen with other teams as well. We have seen with England team, before the World Cup, they have been transparent about it and so is this (Indian) team," Zaheer added.