Jasprit Bumrah led from the front to fashion a terrific turnaround for the Indian team in the first Test on the tour of Australia, as the visitors took a 1-0 lead in the five-match Border Gavaskar Trophy with a resounding 295-run victory.
Bumrah, who took a match-haul of eight wickets to win the ‘Player of the Match’ award, has since been hailed as probably the greatest fast bowler of his era. Such are his skills across formats that it was no surprise to see his Indian Premier League (IPL) team Mumbai Indians retaining him for a massive Rs 18 crore ahead of the IPL auction held last month in Jeddah.
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Interestingly, Bumrah has never been part of an IPL auction since making his debut in the league for Mumbai Indians after being scouted by the franchise by its former coach John Wright.
Lauding his rise and current stature in the cricket world, former India pacer and Gujarat Titans’ coach Ashish Nehra feels even a purse of Rs 520 crore won’t be enough to bag Bumrah’s services.
“The way Bumrah led the team (in Perth) following the 3-0 whitewash against New Zealand on home soil, it’s brilliant to witness. You can’t beat Jassi!” Nehra told Star Sports. “If Bumrah was in the auction, then anything would have happened. Even a purse of 520 crore would not have been enough for the IPL teams.”
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Bumrah stood in as skipper in the Perth Test in the absence of Rohit, who stayed back home for the birth of his child and joined the squad midway through the first match of the series.
“As a bowler Jasprit Bumrah has done this (taken wickets to win a match) numerous times. Rohit Sharma is not playing and you’re captaining the team in the first match on the tour. Obviously, there has to be an extra amount of pressure. But the way Bumrah handled the pressure it’s extremely praiseworthy,” Nehra added.
India’s next challenge in the Border Gavaskar Trophy is the pink-ball Test under lights at the Adelaide Oval, beginning December 6.
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