The legendary West Indies batsman Brian Lara picked out Mumbai Indians’ Jasprit Bumrah and Rajasthan Royals’ Jofra Archer as bowlers who could do a considerable amount of damage to the opposition in any era of cricket.
Lara further said that facing up to Bumrah would have been an exceptional challenge. The right arm fast bowler, on Thursday, became the highest wicket-taking Indian with 27 scalps this season. He was instrumental in firing Mumbai into the finals with figures of 4/14 against the Delhi Capitals.
“I think I would’ve preferred facing Kapil Dev, Javagal Srinath and Manoj Prabhakar rather than Bumrah (laughs). But yes, the challenge would have been exceptional. You know, back in my day you had someone like Makhaya Ntini, who had a similar sort of angle to his delivery. So, there can be some comparisons to people I played against. I know I would not have backed away,” Lara was quoted as saying by Hindustan Times.
“Bumrah and Archer could stand up and be counted in any era of cricket. Whether they were playing in the 2000s, 90s, 80s or even the 70s, they would be up there. And I am not belittling anyone from the past. But these two would be in the echelons of fast bowling in any era I have watched, played in, or am still watching.”
Lara, who is part of the experts’ panel for the ongoing IPL, also noted that the likes of Bumrah are successful across formats because they stick to doing the basics well.
“Why Bumrah and Shami are so successful is because they bowl Test match lengths in T20s. You don’t see them overdoing the slower balls. They look to hit the seam, hit the stumps. Or they try to get the edge of the bat, bowl sharp and short balls and get batsmen in trouble. So, switching to Test cricket against Australia will be a very easy task for them.”
The former West Indies captain also spoke about how he has enjoyed watching Mumbai Indians’ Suryakumar Yadav perform in the IPL this season. Suryakumar, who was the topic of a lot of discussion after being overlooked yet again for the India squad, has played 15 games this season and scored 461 runs with four half centuries.
“Suryakumar Yadav has become one of my favourites. If your best player is not an opener, he has to bat at No.3. He can repair the damage if Mumbai lose an early wicket and continue the onslaught if he has to. I have enjoyed watching him play in this IPL.”
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