Former England captains Michael Vaughan and Alastair Cook have divergent opinions about Jasprit Bumrah; Vaughan even went so far as to liken the Indian pacer to football greats Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo.
Bumrah recently contributed significantly to India’s winning streak at the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup, finishing with 14 wickets and demonstrating once more why he is considered one of the top fast bowlers in the world of cricket.
While acknowledging Bumrah’s skill in all forms, former England captain Cook questioned whether the Indian pacer had produced the kind of dramatic, game-changing spells typically associated with Test cricket. He cited Stuart Broad’s well-known 8/15 against Australia in the 2015 Ashes as an illustration of the type of spell he was referring to.
“Without a shadow of a doubt, he’s the best all-format bowler around right now,” Cook said on the Stick To Cricket podcast. “But has he bowled a spell in a Test match like an 8 for 15, or is he just a different type of bowler?”
But Vaughan was all praise for Bumrah. The Indian pacer, according to the former England captain, is the best bowler he has seen since he started paying careful attention to the sport in mid-1980s.
“I started studying cricket around 1985, and he’s the best I’ve seen,” Vaughan said.
Vaughan used two of the biggest names in football to illustrate Bumrah’s influence.
“He’s probably like Lionel Messi or Cristiano Ronaldo — those kinds of players,” Vaughan remarked, implying that Bumrah’s impact on cricket is comparable to how those legends have dominated football.
