Indian batting superstar Virat Kohli has heaped praise on Indian fast bowler Jasprit Bumrah, calling him the toughest bowler he has ever faced. Virat Kohli, who has played numerous high-intensity matches against Jasprit Bumrah in the Indian Premier League (IPL), believes that the 31 years old pacer from Ahmedabad is the best bowler in the world across all the formats. He also acknowledged that Bumrah has dismissed him multiple times in the IPL.
Here’s what Virat Kohli said in the video shared by the official social media accounts of RCB, “No doubt about the fact that Jasprit (Bumrah) is the best bowler in the world across all the formats. He’s gotten me out a few times in the IPL. I’ve had success against him in the IPL, so whenever I face him, it’s like, ‘Okay, it’s going to be fun,’ because we don’t get to do that in the nets.”
Virat Kohli further described how intense their battles are, even in the nets. In his words, “I mean, even he and I in the nets, it’s like playing a match. The intensity is like we play a match in the IPL, where every ball is like, I wanted to hit him for runs, and he wants to get me out, and I try not to get out of him, so you can sense it like he’s at match intensity, I’m at match intensity. So today he’s probably the marker that I keep when I play against him in the nets regularly; that I would say is the most enjoyable and the toughest challenge.”
Here is the video:
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Jasprit Bumrah made his IPL debut for Mumbai Indians on April 4, 2013, against Royal Challengers Bengaluru at M Chinnaswamy Stadium, where he claimed three wickets for 32 runs in four overs. On that occasion, Virat Kohli hit him for boundaries on the first, second and fourth balls of the first over but on the fifth delivery, the young Jasprit Bumrah, who was just 19 years old at that time, managed to trap him in front of the wickets for his maiden IPL wicket.
Since then, Jasprit Bumrah has gone on to become one of the finest pacers in the tournament. With 165 wickets in 133 IPL matches, he has been a vital force for Mumbai Indians. He is also among the elite group of players who have won five IPL titles with the franchise, cementing his legacy as one of the greatest bowlers in the history of the IPL.
