WI v IND | Jasprit Bumrah is the best Indian fast bowler I’ve seen, says Andy Roberts
Jasprit Bumrah's clarity of thought, game sense, and aggression has convinced West Indian fast-bowling great Andy Roberts that he is the best fast bowler India has ever produced. Bumrah’s 5 for 7 in the second innings against Windies was the least expensive five-wicket haul by an Indian in Tests.
Not only did Bumrah’s lethal spell help India’s march towards a record 318-run win over West Indies in Antigua, but also helped the speedster become the first bowler from Asia to take five-wicket hauls in South Africa, England, Australia, and the West Indies.
"In my time, it was all spin. Good ones, but they wouldn't win you matches overseas. India had Kapil Dev and some others, but we never thought they could produce someone as lethal as Bumrah. He's the best Indian fast bowler I have seen," Roberts told the Indian Express.
Roberts, part of the great pace quartets that also included Michael Holding, Joel Garner, Colin Croft and Malcolm Marshall, praised Bumrah’s sense of the game despite only making his Test debut in January 2018.
"When a bowler is running in, you should look at the batsmen. They are settling into a mental rhythm of their own in their mind. They are visualising the bowler, his action, the leap, the load-up, the release and things like that. With Bumrah, the batsmen have little time to get into their mental rhythm,” Roberts said.
"The best one knows how, where and when to bowl. And Bumrah seems to have this awareness, which usually takes a lot of time to develop, a lot of experience. But how old is he? How many Tests has he played? He's a quick learner, isn't he? To me, it has been the most striking feature of him. Some call it maturity. I call it game sense. There seems to be clarity in his thinking, and that automatically shows in his bowling,” he continued.
Meanwhile, fellow West Indian Curtly Ambrose was impressed by Bumrah’s ability to adapt to the conditions presented before him.
"He's good at varying his lengths, depending on the surfaces and batsmen. I saw that in the World Cup, how he adjusted (and altered) his lengths according to the conditions and batsmen. That makes life difficult for batsmen. (In this regard), he reminds me of Courtney (Walsh) a bit. He was wonderful in sizing up the length and bowling accordingly."
Roberts even admitted Bumrah’s unconventional action and variety in the attack was something that would’ve added to the famed quartet.
"If he were born here back in our days, we would have had him. A freak was the only element missing in our bowling line-up. In fact, Bumrah is the only variety of bowler we had never produced. At times, he rekindles memories of our prime. The pace, aggression, the hostility, the craft. The way he outclasses the batsmen, the way he out-thinks them. He could have been one of us, he's so complete a bowler that he could have played in any era," Roberts added.