(AP Photo)
New Zealand’s Tim Southee is highly impressed by Jasprit Bumrah’s remarkable recovery from a back injury that sidelined him for much of the previous year. Bumrah, now one of the leading bowlers globally, has maintained exceptional performance across all three formats. Australian great Ricky Ponting has even hailed him as the “best all-format bowler of the past five to six years.”
Since his return in August 2023, Bumrah has been instrumental in India’s success across all formats.
“To be able to firstly bounce back from the major injury and come back, he’s even better than what he was beforehand. Throw in on top of that, having to juggle multiple formats, can be difficult at times as well,” Southee was quoted by PTI as saying.
“He seems to have been able to do that with ease as well. He’s probably more experienced and understands his game a bit more. He probably had that time where he was injured to come back and be recharged, refreshed,” he added.
Bumrah appears to be even more formidable than he was prior to his injury break. During India’s T20 World Cup-winning campaign, he ended as the third-highest wicket-taker with 15 wickets, boasting an average of 8.26, a strike rate of 11.86, and an impressive economy rate of just 4.17.
“We are just seeing a great version (of Bumrah) across all three formats. He’s brilliant across all three at the moment. I don’t think there’s anyone that he’s better in (better than him), he is tremendous across all three (formats),” Southee said.
Both Southee and Bumrah are anticipated to feature in the forthcoming Test series between India and New Zealand, starting on October 16. The series will include matches in Bengaluru, Pune, and Mumbai.
