“A senior player like Mushfiqur Rahim’s number was in his pocket” – Aakash Chopra lauds Jasprit Bumrah’s performances in IND vs BAN 2024 Test series

Former Indian Test opener Aakash Chopra showered praise on Jasprit Bumrah’s performances in the two-match Test series against Bangladesh, which India won by 2-0 after winning the second Test at Green Park, Kanpur on Tuesday. 

Chopra lauded Bumrah for breathing down the neck of Bangladesh veteran batter Mushfiqur Rahim. Bumrah bamboozled Rahim with a slower ball in the second innings of the second Test.

The ace pacer returned with impressive figures of 3-50 in the first innings and then bagged 3-17 in the second essay in the second game. The gun fast bowler scalped 11 wickets (joint most with Ravichandran Ashwin) in two Test matches against the visitors at an impressive average of 12.82.

Chopra picked Bumrah’s performances as the third reason to remember the Test series against Bangladesh.

“The third biggest reason will be Jasprit Bumrah – what a bowler. He used to play very few matches at home but now he has started doing that. Since three fast bowlers have started playing now, you feel these are even conditions, but they aren’t,” Aakash Chopra said on his YouTube Channel.

“Catches were going to the slips on the Kanpur pitch. It was a dead pitch and the balls were keeping low. He hit people’s stumps while they were leaving deliveries. A senior player like Mushfiqur Rahim’s number was in his pocket,” the former India opener added.

The renowned commentator mentioned that Bumrah delivered match-winning spells whenever he was called upon by Rohit Sharma.

“He did this job against England as well. They were good batting surfaces. If you see Kanpur in particular and Chennai’s second innings, what a player he is. He sets up the game when you feel you need a game-changer,” he observed.

After his fine performance in the series, Bumrah also reclaimed the top position in the ICC Test rankings. Bumrah will be next in action in the three-match Test series against New Zealand, beginning October 16.