Justin Langer on Second Wasim Akram of World Cricket: Many such great players have emerged in the cricket world who ruled the hearts of the fans with their powerful performances and created a never-ending golden memory in the hearts of the fans, one such name is former Pakistan team legend Tej. Bowler Wasim Akram (Justin Langer) whose swing bowling is still remembered by the fans, in this episode, former Australia head coach Justin Langer, in the ongoing Border-Gavaskar Test series between Australia and India, Indian bowler Jasprit Bumrah has been compared to Wasim Akram.
Langer compared himself to Wasim Akram and said
Speaking to The Nightly, Langer called Pakistani legend Akram “the best bowler he has faced”, adding: “I would hate to face Bumrah. He is like Wasim Akram. For me, he is Wasim Akram’s right-hand man. There is form and every time I am asked ‘who is the best bowler you have ever seen’, I take the name of Wasim Akram.” “He has good pace and great bowlers, he hits the same spot every time, and he has a good bouncer, so it makes him a bowling nightmare.”
Langer praised Bumrah’s swing and seam
“Bumrah has the ability to swing the ball both ways, his seam is really perfect. If you bowl a perfect seam and it comes out of the fingers perfectly, as it does with him, then you get a double. Get the hitting, swing in the right conditions and if the ball hits the rope it can go either way,” Langer said. “That’s what Akram used to do and it was a nightmare to face him. I don’t like facing Bumrah at all. He is a great competitor, he bowls good pace and he is amazing,”
Bumrah has been India’s lone warrior in terms of bowling in the ongoing series against Australia. He tops the wicket taking charts with 21 wickets in three matches at an average of 10.90 and strike rate of 25.14, he also has five wickets in his name twice. His best performance has been 6 wickets for 76 runs. While Siraj has been a good partner for Bumrah with 13 wickets at an average of 23.92 and a best performance of 4 wickets for 98 runs, Bumrah’s excellent bowling has earned him the tag of ‘one man army’ of Indian bowling.
Bumrah is the highest wicket taker for India in Australia, second is Kapil Dev (51 wickets). He has taken 53 wickets at an average of 17.15 and strike rate of 41, in which his best performance has been 6/33. He has taken five wickets three times in Australia. Also, he is six wickets away from 200 Test wickets. In 43 Tests, Bumrah has taken 194 wickets at an average of 19.52, in which his best performance has been 6/27. He has taken five wickets 12 times in Tests. The series is tied at 1-1 and the fourth match of the five-match series will be played at the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG) from December 26.
(with ANI inputs)
