Jasprit Bumrah is hands down one of the greatest bowlers of this era, but England pacer Ollie Robinson believes that the 30-year-old is the best bowler in the world.
In his column for Wisden, Robinson claimed that Bumrah was a "really special" player to watch, while also adding that his performance in the second Test in Visakhapatnam bewildered both him and his fellow compatriot James Anderson.
Indeed, Bumrah is the leading wicket-taker in this series, taking 15 wickets in two games at an average of slightly over 10.
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While he was influential in the first Test, which India ultimately lost by 28 runs, Bumrah clicked into another gear in Vizag, taking nine wickets in the game - including a six-wicket haul in the 1st innings - to help India level the series.
In the process, Bumrah became the fastest Indian fast bowler to reach the 150-wicket landmark in Tests, and also the first-ever Indian fast bowler to climb to the pinnacle of the ICC Men's Test Bowling Rankings.
MORE: Jasprit Bumrah - 2nd-lowest average for any bowler with 150+ Test wickets
What did Ollie Robinson say about Jasprit Bumrah?
In his column for Wisden, Robinson reserved special praise for Bumrah and also revealed the chat he had with Anderson during the Vizag Test, when Bumrah was dismissing batsmen for fun.
Jasprit Bumrah has been crazy good. I must have said, ‘This bloke’s the best bowler in the world,’ ten times in Vizag. The way he got Popey (Ollie Pope) out, I was like, ‘Oh my, this guy’s a joke.’ And then he got Foakesy (Ben Foakes) out with a slower ball and I’m like, ‘Oh my goodness, can this guy get any better?’ You watch him and you think, ‘Wow, he’s good.’ And then there’s something else where you think, ‘He’s amazing, can he do anything more?’ And as a bowler – me and Jimmy [Anderson] were speaking about it and after the last game – to watch him ply his trade in India is really special because we’re always striving to put on a performance like that in these conditions. He’s really special to watch. Credit to Jasprit – he’s extraordinary. He’s definitely given me food for thought in the way that he bowls over here.
The way he changes his pace and the different balls that he’s got when the game’s meandering along, Foakesy and [Tom] Hartley in the last game were playing really nicely in the fourth innings and were playing his on-pace ball fairly well, there was no inkling that he was going to bowl that 120kph cutter that got Foakes. His art of surprise and execution is something that I wouldn’t have practiced as much before. I practice smashing top-of-off stuff and trying to move the ball either way. I’ve never really thought about using my T20 skills in a Test match that often.
Will Ollie Robinson feature for England in the third Test?
England announced their playing XI for the third Test against India on Wednesday (February 14). However, Robinson was not named in the lineup, with Mark Wood getting the nod instead.
Robinson is yet to feature in this series, but is "raring to go" whenever he gets the nod.
"I’m raring to go if Ben knocks on my door and says I’m in for the next Test. I’ve been training as hard as ever. Hopefully I’ll get my chance at some point," Robinson added in his column.
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