West Indies legend Curtly Ambrose names India pacer who has impressed him the most, calls him ‘highly effective’

Very few cricketers currently can walk in the World XI in all three formats of the game. Playing all three formats of the game consistently is not only physically demanding but requires different levels of skills. India's Jasprit Bumrah is probably one of those rare cricketers in the modern game who would command a place in every Test, ODI and T20I XI of the world, let alone India's. The fast bowler is unique and effective both with the red and white ball and has been a match-winner for India for the last five or six years. But the main concern of late about Bumrah has been his fitness.

Bumrah last featured for India in September last year. He didn't play the Asia Cup nor the T20 World Cup in Australia and was not able to take any part in IPL 2023. He has been out of action for a good 10 months now due to a stress fracture in his back. However, the latest medical update from the BCCI is sure to make the fans hopeful.

The BCCI said Bumrah has started to bowl at full tilt at the National Cricket Academy in Bengaluru and a call on his international return will be taken after assessing his performance in a few practice games organised by the NCA. The right-arm pacer is expected to make a comeback for the Asia Cup slated to take place in September.

At a time when India wait for Bumrah's return with bated breath, former West Indies fast bowler Curtly Ambrose shared his thoughts on India's fast-bowling unit, which has coped with some criticism of late.

"When we used to talk about India in the past, we quickly thought... spin. But they have produced some good fast bowlers. Like Kapil Dev, a great all-rounder. Now there is Bumrah, Mohammed Shami, Mohammed Siraj. They are wonderful players," Ambrose told Rev Sports.

Ambrose, who picked up 630 wickets in his illustrious career, said he was mighty impressed with Bumrah because of his uniqueness.

‘Bumrah unique and effective’: Ambrose

"I do like Bumrah a lot because he is so different. He's not the conventional fast bowler with a long run-up and other attributes. He has a short run-up, walks a bit, takes two or three strides and jumps to deliver. He is totally different but highly effective. That's his style and it works for him," he added.

Ambrose said he gets immense pleasure in seeing a fast bowler succeed in modern-day cricket as he believes, it is a much harder craft to practice compared to batting.

"I'm always pleased whenever I see a good fast bowler coming through, it doesn't matter which country he is from. When they succeeded, I feel great because cricket today is predominantly for batters. It's much harder for the fast bowlers, the pitches have also gone slower," he said.