The former Aussie captain, Ricky Ponting, praised Indian fast bowler Jasprit Bumrah in the latest ICC Review, calling him “the best multi-format bowler” in recent memory. Ponting also thinks that despite his injuries in 2022, Bumrah has returned as a better player.
Earlier this year, during India’s triumphant ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2024 campaign, Bumrah played a vital role and was named Player of the Tournament. He finished as the third-highest wicket-taker (15 wickets) and was the team’s most economical bowler (4.17) of the competition.
Ponting praised Bumrah in the ICC Review Podcast, saying, “There might have been some fears a couple of years ago when the injuries came in and ‘would he come back the same?’, but I think he’s come back better. I’ve said it for a long time, he’s probably been the best multi-format bowler there’s been in world cricket for the last five or six years.”
“If I watch what he did in the T20 World Cup – the pace is still there, there’s nothing that’s changed with the accuracy or what he can deliver. The skillset is all the same. He’s getting better year on year. So, he would rank right up there,” Ponting added. “So when you’ve got that skillset and the consistency that he has, then you’re going to be a great player.”
Ponting added that asking the opponent is the best way to gauge a bowler’s skill level. “And when you talk to opposition batsmen about him (Bumrah) in particular, it’s always, ‘No, he’s a nightmare! You never know what’s going to happen. One’s going to swing, one’s going to seam, he’s going to bowl an in-swinger, he’s going to bowl an out-swinger. And the consistency is there.”
The former cricket legend from Australia also compared the Bumrah to legendary pacers like England’s James Anderson and Australia’s Glenn McGrath. He remarked, “Look at Glenn McGrath, look at James Anderson, these guys, their longevity and their skills being able to hold up for such a long period of time is what separates them from the rest.”
Ponting said these things on an episode of the ICC Review Podcast named “Ricky Ponting’s Bold Border-Gavaskar Prediction.”
