As team India prepares for their upcoming two-match test series against Bangladesh, the former Pakistani cricketer Basit Ali has heaped praise on India’s lead pacer Jasprit Bumrah. Basit Ali believes that Bumrah is an elite wicket-taker who does not depend on pitch conditions to perform at his best.
Speaking on his YouTube channel, the 53-year-old discussed India’s focus ahead of the Bangladesh series, emphasizing that the team’s primary goal would be the World Test Championship (WTC). He noted that the Rohit Sharma-led side would likely avoid taking too many risks with team composition.
Basit Ali said, “They don’t care whether it is Nepal, Bangladesh or Pakistan. The other bilateral series that are going on, will give some of the boys a chance. But not in the ICC event. They will go with a solid squad, be it a home series against Bangladesh, New Zealand or a tour to Australia.”
Basit Ali said that all the players whom the BCCI will like to consider for the future will be sent to Australia as part of India A. An earlier report by PTI mentioned that Musheer Khan, who had an impressive performance in the opening game of the Duleep Trophy 2024, is expected to be part of the India A squad. This squad will travel to Australia ahead of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy, allowing emerging talents like Musheer Khan to showcase their skills and potentially earn a spot in the main team for the high-profile test series.
Basit Ali stated, “The A-team on the other hand who are going to Australia is where all the other players the team wants to check would be playing. I am telling you this around 10 days before but still, I think India will go with the spin-route and I think they should stick with that.”
Basit Ali suggested that India should consider a spin-heavy approach for the series, trusting that the pace duo of Bumrah and Mohammed Siraj could be effective even on flat tracks that offer little assistance to bowlers. He highlighted Bumrah’s unique bowling action, which makes him difficult to read, and stated that his skills are so advanced that he can succeed regardless of the playing conditions.
The former Pak cricketer said, “Because Bumrah and Siraj are the kind of bowlers that even on a flat track they can get the ball to reverse and get wickets. Especially Bumrah. Even if you play Bumrah on a cement track, his action is so awkward that he deceives the batters.”
He added, “The other bowlers depend on their form and rhythm. He comes and just like that he gets the batter out and then another. He is very deceptive, his slower one is accurate and his yorker is as well. The same kind of bowling he does in the death overs in the white-ball games, he can do it in test cricket as well.”
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Bumrah, the 30-year-old pacer from Ahmedabad, has been India’s go-to bowler for some time, showing no signs of slowing down as he continues his journey to becoming one of the greatest bowlers in the history of Indian cricket.
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