'One of the greats of the game': Jasprit Bumrah lauds India teammate Ravichandran Ashwin

India pacer Jasprit Bumrah heaped praise on off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin, calling him ‘one of the greats of the game.’ Ashwin gave India their first breakthrough on Day 3 of the World Test Championship (WTC) final against New Zealand at the Ageas Bowl in Southampton.

Ashwin broke New Zealand’s 70-run opening stand by getting Tom Latham out with a well-tossed up delivery, inviting the left-hander to play the drive, which he did and scooped in in the air to India captain Virat Kohli, who took a sharp catch standing at short-cover.

Bumrah said Ashwin has more than 400 Test wickets, which doesn’t come by chance. (WTC FINAL IND vs NZ DAY 4 LIVE)

"I think he is one of the greats of the game because if you look at his records, it speaks of itself. He has done well with the bat as well as with the ball. He has picked more than 400 test wickets and that doesn't come by chance," Bumrah said in a video posted by ICC.

India bowling coach Bharat Arun also lauded Ashwin's work ethic and dedication to learn new things daily.

"Ashwin is not very happy with whatever he does, he always loves to come out of his comfort zone, learn new things, and develop different angles, and that's what makes him so special. He understands his bowling, most often what bowlers actually do and what they think they are doing are two different things and so Ashwin understands the bowling to bridge this gap. So once this is bridged he has a bigger chance to innovate and that makes him very special," Arun said.

By his own admission, Ashwin doesn't like to talk much about his own performances and he definitely doesn't play the sport to please anyone.

"I don't really read or dwell too much on my performances to be very honest and if I had to like please people and satisfy people and get them to talk to things about me, I would just be spending my lifetime doing that and it's not possible you can't make everyone happy and that's not something I live for at all," he said.

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"To be brutally honest, I just hate the fact that I am who I am because of what I do. In India, you get a lot of adulation, and I'm just another normal person who finds peace and happiness playing the sport. It's just is absolutely wonderful that I can play my trade and feed my family with it and I get paid so well. This is a sport that gives meaning for me to live so I am too excited about it. I don't have time for people rating me or not rating me, It's just another person's opinion, and that's brutally how I live my life."

(With ANI inputs)