Nasser Hussain makes special Jasprit Bumrah wish in huge ‘Shane Warne’ comparison: ‘Hopefully he stays injury free and…’

Fans were treated to a Jasprit Bumrah masterclass in the first innings of the first India vs England Test match, in Leeds. The Indian pace spearhead took a five-wicket haul, and went past the English batting order with ease. The MI star accounted for the dismissals of Zak Crawley (4), Ben Duckett (62), Joe root (28), Chris Woakes (38) and Josh Tongue (11).

Speaking on Sky Sports, ex-England captain Nasser Hussain lavished praise on Bumrah, ad also compared him to cricket legend Shane Warne. Hussain also revealed his hope that Bumrah remains injury-free so that cricket fans can enjoy his skills for years to come.

‘Hopefully he stays injury free…’: Nasser Hussain on Jasprit Bumrah

“Hopefully he stays injury free and we talk about him for years to come. There are two brilliant things to watch in cricket — a wrist spinner like Shane Warne bamboozling batters and a genuine fast bowler like Bumrah bamboozling batters,” he said.

Spellbound by Bumrah’s unique action, he said, “He is absolute genius. That is the only word for him. You wouldn’t want to replicate him, you wouldn’t want to say to young boys and girls to go replicate this run-up or this action.”

“He knows what he is doing, he has perfected an art and he is going to be a thorn in England’s side — not for five Tests, maybe three. In those three Test matches he is going to take a shed load of wickets,” he added.

Day 3 also saw Bumrah become the 30th bowler to take 150 Tests wickets in SENA countries (including home bowlers). He also equalled R Ashwin (11 in 78 innings) for the most five-wicket hauls (11) in the World Test C’ship in only 67 innings. 

Bumrah (12) also equalled Kapil Dev for the most Test five-fors among Indian bowlers in away Tests.  Meanwhile, his average (15.27) in his last 20 Tests is only bettered by Imran Khan (15.12 for 116 scalps between 1981-85) in a 20-match setup among all Test pacers.