Departing India’s bowling coach Paras Mhambrey has tipped Jasprit Bumrah as a once-in-a-generation bowler in all three formats. The gun fast bowler has performed consistently in all three forms of the game and has breathed down the neck of the opposition batters.
The Indian pack leader was at his absolute best throughout the World Cup and delivered at both ends of the innings. Bumrah bagged 15 wickets at an average of 8.26 and an economy rate of 4.17 in the eight matches of the T20I showpiece and thus was awarded Player of the Tournament.
The ace pacer also delivered a match-winning spell of 2-18 in his quota of four overs in the all-important final against South Africa at Barbados.
Mhambrey said there is not much to do with Bumrah as he mostly takes care of everything.
“I don’t think I have had to do much with him. I would love to say that I’ve worked on him a lot as a bowling coach. What better than Bumrah performing and I taking the credit? But I don’t. I’ve said in the past… he is a once-in-a-generation bowler. India has produced great bowlers, and more will come, but Bumrah is a once-in-a-generation bowler in all three formats,” the former India pacer told Vimal Kumar in an interview.
The outgoing bowling coach continued to shower praise on Bumrah, stating the pacer has a clear mindset and plans for every situation.
“Be it the red ball, ODI, or T20I, he is No1. He has exceptional skills. He understands how bowling well, has clear plans. When I talk to him, I realise that he has a very clear mindset and knows what he is going to do. He understands when a batter is uncomfortable facing him. He then tries to exploit the situation. He will pick up small nuances to guess what the batter is trying to do,” he added.
Mhambrey said that Bumrah reads every situation to the T and wants to keep improving at the top level.
“He reads the situation. Has control over his skills and wants to win matches for India. He constantly wants to improve. He remember when he was hit four a boundary by someone two years ago. So he is very competitive. So I think, we are lucky that our generation has Bumrah. We have to be very smart in handling and preserving him. He wants to play for long so we have to be very careful with Bumrah,” Mhambrey said.
Former Indian fast bowler Vinay Kumar is in contention to join the Gautam Gambhir-led coaching staff as the new bowling coach.
