On Thursday, the current Indian pace bowling attack, which comprises Jasprit Bumrah, Umesh Yadav, Ishant Sharma, and Mohammed Shami, came in for special praise from West Indian batting legend Brian Lara. Lara said they reminded him of the lethal West Indian attacks of yore.
The Indian pace trio of Bumrah, Shami, and Sharma accounted for a record of 142 wickets among them in Test matches in 2018.
Talking to reporters in Mumbai, Lara said, “Unbelievable. I saw them in the West Indies. When you look at the quality- (Jasprit) Bumrah, (Mohammed) Shami, (Umesh) Yadav, all these guys, and the guys on the sidelines, like Bhuvi (Bhuvneshwar Kumar) are unbelievable.”
He added, “It reminds me a little bit of the (pace bowling) strength that the West Indies had in the 80s and 90s. The reserve strength is very important in assessing a team’s ability. It means that your attack has quality.”
He praised Virat Kohli, dubbing him as the ‘Ultimate Captain’.
Lara said, “In terms of his performances, he leads by example. And I mean that in all facets of the game, and off the field too. He is came off very well in the background of MS Dhoni, who laid the foundation, and did things in a different way.”
“So, I think Indian cricket, as we all know, is headed in the right direction. It’s influenced by some of the best people, and is reaping the benefits of it.”
He was happy that a player of Rohit Sharma’s ability was set to play regularly across formats.
“I think that Rohit is an awesome player in all formats of the game. Obviously, in the limited-overs game, he’s been very successful. I don’t see any reason why he should not be in Test cricket. It seems that he has the passion to play and wants to prove himself on that stage (Test cricket) as well.” said Lara.
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