Former India player turned veteran commentator Aakash Chopra has applauded Jasprit Bumrah for becoming the top-ranked bowler in Test cricket. Bumrah jumped three places and replaced Ravichandran Ashwin as the No. 1 bowler in the ICC Test rankings recently as well. He picked up 15 wickets in the first two Tests of the ongoing series against England and he was also chosen as the Player of the Match in the second game in Visakhapatnam as well.

In a video shared on his YouTube channel, Chopra said: “With what he (Bumrah) is doing currently, he is making us fall in love with Test cricket. When a batter scores a hundred or a double hundred, he stays at the crease for a long time, so it just captures your imagination a little more because you have seen him bat for seven hours. In Tests in India, we look at spinners, because they pick up six or seven wickets, and 10 or 12 wickets in a Test match and you say – ‘Wow’. Fast bowlers, because they bowl short spells, don’t capture your imagination as much, especially in Indian conditions.”

However, Aakash Chopra said that Bumrah moves the ball both ways at high speeds. He further added that batters are virtually helpless in front of him, saying that they are unable to save themselves even if they are aware of the situation as well. Aakash Chopra also stated that Jasprit Bumrah, unlike most modern-day players, has proved his credentials in all formats as well.

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“He is an amazing player. You generally don’t look for all-format players in modern-day cricket. The players are coming with that perspective and the selectors also are looking with that perspective. However, a player who couldn’t continuously play all cricket, went through an extremely serious injury and was out for a very long time, the way he is bowling since returning from that – a lot of bowlers come but some bowlers remain in your memory and are exceptional till the time they play,” Chopra shared.

He also termed Ravindra Jadeja and KL Rahul’s potential availability for the third Test a positive development for India as well.

“The good news is that Rahul and Jadeja are on the road to recovery. The expectation is that they will be available for Rajkot, which is very nice because I was feeling Jaddu might miss another match. Hopefully, that won’t happen and he will be seen playing at home, and we need Jaddu. Siraj will become available. There are rumors that Bumrah will probably not be there and that he will be given a break. I really hope that does not happen. I genuinely feel that shouldn’t happen. If he is not there, Siraj will be needed even more,” Aakash Chopra concluded.