'Bumrah won't hesitate to claim he's world's No.1 bowler now': Zaheer Khan's towering words for India pacer

Jasprit Bumrah’s efforts in the India vs Bangladesh opening Test in Chennai saw the mercurial fast bowler reach an important milestone. His six wickets across the two innings made him only the sixth Indian pacer to reach the 400 international wickets mark across formats.

Bumrah joined the list behind Ishant Sharma, Mohammad Shami, Javagal Srinath, Zaheer Khan, and Kapil Dev, the leader of the list with 687 international wickets. Bumrah possesses the best strike rate across formats (21.01) among these players.

Former India fast bowler Zaheer Khan was full of praise for Bumrah. “It’s a big achievement, but this is a bowler who still has a lot left to attain,” said Zaheer on Cricbuzz. “He’ll keep chasing those records because, looking at the type of bowler he is, you will have no hesitation in saying that he is the number one bowler in the world.”

'#Bumrah needs to stay fit; will continue to tumble records'@imZaheer lauds the bowler, on #CricbuzzChatter#INDvBAN pic.twitter.com/eiPGp2ON6R

— Cricbuzz (@cricbuzz) September 24, 2024

Bumrah has been at his best in recent months, being key to their success in the T20 World Cup, and in the final in particular. Although he has looked almost unplayable at times, there will always be concerns regarding how his fitness keeps up.

Khan issued a warning regarding this element. “The hope is that he is aware of the state of his body, that he stays fit going forward and avoids injuries because of how much cricket he is bound to play, he will cross all these milestones,” commented Zaheer.

‘A great bowler never thinks too much about the conditions…’

With Bumrah already receiving adulation as India’s greatest-ever fast-bowling talent, he looks set to challenge Dev’s record. Fans and teammates alike hope Bumrah remains fit and continues performing at this level. The pacer has 164 and 149 wickets in Tests and ODIs, respectively, and is approaching his century in T20Is with 89 scalps.

When asked if Bumrah puts the pitch out of the equation when he’s bowling, Zaheer said: “There’s no doubt about that. A great bowler never thinks too much about the conditions, and if does, it is only for the purpose of understanding what weapons he can use, what options and variations he has.”

“When you speak of swing or seam, or yorkers or slower ones, when you have to use those is a part of the experience. You think of conditions in that way rather than thinking that the conditions aren’t in your favour, he has that ability,” concluded the left-arm pacer, who finished with 597 wickets for India in his career.

Bumrah will be back in action for India in the second Test against Bangladesh in Kanpur.