Brett Lee ignores Pat Cummins and Mitchell Starc, chooses Indian pacer as 'best all-format bowler'
Legendary Australia fast bowler Brett Lee has picked India fast bowler Jasprit Bumrah as the best bowler in all formats currently instead of Pat Cummins and Mitchell Starc. Bumrah has been in exceptional form with the ball ever since he made a comeback after injury in the Asia Cup 2023.
Since then, he has played a key role in India's road to the ODI World Cup 2023 final, Asia Cup 2023 title, and India's home series win over England earlier this year. But Bumrah's best was yet to come.
He produced an outstanding performance in the T20 World Cup 2024 and played a vital role in India's first ICC tournament win in 11 years. As Virat Kohli said, Bumrah produced exhilarating spells throughout the tournament and brought India back into the game again and again.
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Brett Lee chooses Jasprit Bumrah as 'best bowler in all formats'
Brett Lee reckoned that Jasprit Bumrah is the best bowler in all formats currently. He lauded Bumrah's pace and his leadership abilities, which were on show in the recently concluded T20 World Cup 2024.
“In my opinion, Jasprit Bumrah is simply exceptional. He is the best bowler in all formats right now and leads the attack. Bumrah can keep up an amazing pace while shaping the new ball away. His tournament performance demonstrated his leadership abilities, taking about 15 wickets with remarkable economy. He is absolutely exceptional, and India is deserving of praise for their accomplishments,” Lee was quoted as saying by news agency IANS.
Bumrah picked up 15 wickets in 8 matches in the T20 World Cup 2024 at an average of 8.26 and an astonishing economy rate of 4.17. This was the best economy rate by a bowler in the history of T20 World Cups who has bowled at least 100 balls. Bumrah was adjudged Player of the Tournament for his extraordinary numbers.
Brett Lee lauds Indian batting line-up
Jasprit Bumrah's spell against South Africa in the T20 World Cup final helped India win the final. With 30 needed off 30 balls at one stage, he came on to bowl his second spell. His spell yielded just 6 runs in two overs while Bumrah also picked up the wicket of Marco Jansen to land a huge blow on South Africa.
Lee also heaped praise on India's batting order saying that the Indian batters can be dominating at every position, which makes them a dangerous team.
“Their batting order, which includes players who can dominate at every position from top to bottom, speaks volumes. Their middle-order is loaded with power and they have hitters who can put runs on the board quickly," the former Australian pacer stated.
After the T20 World Cup 2024, two of India's greatest batters of this generation Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli announced their retirement from the T20 format. A day later, another senior player Ravindra Jadeja also announced his retirement from T20Is.
As a result, India is going through a transition phase in the T20I format. Currently, a young Indian team, led by Shubman Gill, is playing a T20I series in Zimbabwe against the home side. India is leading the series 2-1 with two more matches to go.
