He had Wasim Akram, Waqar Younis, Shane Warne-like abilities: Ravi Shastri hails Jasprit Bumrah as he picks favorite moments from T20 WC

Former India coach Ravi Shastri picked his favorite moments from T20 World Cup 2024. The reputed commentator picked Jasprit Bumrah's spell against Pakistan and South Africa in the final and hailed the fast bowler for his heroics throughout the tournament.

Jasprit Bumrah was the major factor behind India winning the T20 World Cup 2024. Not because of the number of wickets that he picked in the tournament but because of the way he changed the complexion of the game and helped India win games from the difficult situations in the entire tournament.

Jasprit Bumrah started the tournament on a high as he won Player of the Match in the game against Ireland, but he came up with an even better performance in the game against Pakistan. The fast bowler snatched the victory for his team from the jaws of defeat and won another Man of the Match.

Pakistan were cruising in the chase of 120 runs and were comfortably placed at 80/3. Mohammad Rizwan looked settled at the crease, but the way Jasprit Bumrah bowled in the death was sensational as he shifted momentum back to India and ended the games with three wickets.

Jasprit Bumrah continued his good form throughout the tournament, and even in the final, he looked class apart. He won the Player of the Tournament for his 15 wickets at an average of 8.26 and helped his team end the title drought and win the first-ever ICC title after 2013.

Ravi Shastri's one favorite moment from the T20 World Cup 2024 was Jasprit Bumrah's spell against Pakistan and in the final against South Africa. He highlighted how the fast bowler tilted the game in his team's favor in both games. Speaking to ICC, he explained:

“I think India-Pakistan because India was made to fight there and realise what the right combination should be going forward in the tournament. That and then, of course, the final, those final five overs [from the T20 World Cup final]. I'd say one was Jasprit [Bumrah] getting Mohammad Rizwan. Extremely crucial, because that could have tilted the balance of the game. And it happened on the first ball of a new spell,”

"Brought back into the attack and then getting it to reverse and sneak through bat and pad [of Marco Jansen], I thought that was a very, very important wicket at that time. Hardik [Pandya] had done the main damage by taking Klaasen [in the previous over] but I thought back-to-back, that over and that wicket was extremely important."

Jasprit Bumrah's sensational performance with the ball saw Ravi Shastri comparing India's bowlers with greats of the game Wasim Akram and Waqar Younis. Lavishing rich praise on the pacer, he explained:

"He just showed the world what it takes, and you know, it's not often in your career when you have a ball in your hand and you say, do this, and the ball does that. Very few have done it, I thought Wasim [Akram] and Waqar [Younis] had it in their prime when they played white-ball cricket. Shane Warne had it where he could literally tell the ball, go there, pitch there, hit leg stump. People who are on top of the game have that ability. I think Bumrah had that in this World Cup.”

Ravi Shastri rates Suryakumar Yadav's catch in the final as the catch of the tournament

When asked to name the catch of the tournament, Ravi Shastri went on to pick Suryakumar Yadav's catch to remove David Miller in the final. He highlighted that it was a game changer as the batter could've taken the game away. He added:

"I think that was a game changer because you know what David [Miller] can do. Another big shot [from Miller], and then, you know, the game's in the balance. So, I thought the timing couldn't have been better.”

When asked about the biggest surprise of the tournament, Ravi Shastri picked Rishabh Pant’s comeback to international cricket after his horrific accident in December 2022. He pointed out how keeper-batter showed great skills as a keeper. He added:

"He did his job with the bat, but it was his keeping that surprised everyone. For someone to recover that quickly and then move the way he did. He hardly missed anything, albeit he must have felt the pressure as the tournament got on because it's not easy to come back and do all the stuff he did,” he concluded.