India’s bowling as good as Australia in 2013-14 Ashes, says Ryan Harris

Former Australia fast bowler Ryan Harris, known for his fiery spells in the 2013-14 Ashes series, had closely watched India’s recent Test series against Australia down under, which India won 2-, and was left dazzled by the Indian bowler’s performance. Jasprit Bumrah was the wrecker in chief with the highest tally of 21 wickets in four matches. Mohammed Shami also scalped 16 wickets, which was more than each of the three Australian pacers Pat Cummins, Josh Hazlewood, and Mitchell Starc.

"But we could not do the same against India, we were not able to put sustained pressure and Pujara batted beautifully as well," the 39-year-old added.

"I don't have to work much on him, he does it himself. He has been outstanding around the (KXIP) group, talking about plans, talking to me. Most guys want to pick his brains. If not the best, he is one of the best bowlers in the world at the moment," stated Harris.

Shami had an excellent World Cup in 2015, where he had scalped 17 wickets in seven matches. However, owing to a career-threatening knee injury, he had to stay away from international cricket for more than a year. He made a resounding comeback in 2016 in the series against West Indies and has now become an important cog in India’s test bowling attack. Not only that but Shami also returned to India’s limited overs setup and has been in the scheme of things for the upcoming World Cup in the United Kingdom.

"The first couple of days I met him (at KXIP camp), he told me how he improved his fitness and dropped 7-8kgs. How he did some training in hot conditions in Chennai, making him lose weight rapidly,” shared highly rated pacer.

Harris was plagued with injury issues after the 2013-14 Ashes, and had stayed away from the game for about half a year. He made a return in the series against India in 2014-15, but subsequently announced his retirement three days before the Ashes

Harris also singled out Jasprit Bumrah, who has quickly risen through the ranks to become the top-ranked ODI bowler in the world, stating that he has worth in Test cricket since his debut in 2018 in South Africa. Many experts believed that the pacer would not last long owing to his unique action, but he proved everyone wrong and has scalped 49 wickets in ten Test matches, at an excellent average of around 21. Harris has been of the opinion that Bumrah’s action is what that makes him unique wanted him to continue as it is.

"If you listen to a lot of talk over the Australian summer, a lot of fast bowling commentators were saying that if he could just pull his arm front in, he will bowl quicker, I disagree with that. His action is unique, he bowls the way he does because of that action and he bowls with pace, you know he is just different. It is difficult for a batter to face him, he is a bit like Malinga. That is his strength, he is not like anyone else,” the right-hander concluded.