Jasprit Bumrah will be best seamer in T20 World Cup 2024 - Vernon Philander's bold prediction

Former South Africa pacer Vernon Philander feels Jasprit Bumrah will be the best seamer in ICC T20 World Cup 2024. The former Proteas pacer also hailed Jasprit Bumrah’s bowling tactics after the success in the recent Test matches against England.

Jasprit Bumrah won the player-of-the-match award in IND vs ENG 2nd Test in Vizag. The right-arm pacer hunted 9 wickets in the match including a 6-wicket haul in 1st innings. After picking 15 wickets across the first two Tests against England, the Indian pacer has reached the peak of ICC Test rankings for bowler.

Notably, Bumrah has become the first-ever bowler to top ICC rankings across all three formats during his career. Matthew Hayden, Ricky Ponting, and Virat Kohli are the only other players who have reached the top ICC ranks across all formats. However, all of them are batters.

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Vernon Philander lauds Jasprit Bumrah

Former South Africa pacer Vernon Philander heaped praises on Jasprit Bumrah after his recent triumphs. During a chat with PTI on the sidelines of the SA20 2024 league, the 38-year-old reckoned that Bumrah is the most complete bowler at the moment.

“[Jasprit] Bumrah is the complete bowler at the moment. He has got magnificent skills and he has also learnt the trade of holding a line and length and that is the reason behind his success at the Test level”, he said.

Vernon Philander, who represented South Africa from 2007 to 2020, also highlighted how Jasprit Bumrah changed his tactics in Tests to gain consistency.

“Initially, he wanted to bowl wicket-taking deliveries all the time and leaked runs but now he has learnt consistency. He swings the new ball, brings the stumps into the play, and challenges the batters upfront”, he said.

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Jasprit Bumrah might be the best seamer in T20 World Cup 2024: Vernon Philander

Vernon Philander, who played 64 Tests and 30 ODIs for South Africa, also feels that Jasprit Bumrah might be the best seamer in the ICC T20 World Cup 2024 tournament.

“He is phenomenal with those change-ups and lethal yorkers and that is the skill set you want in the T20 World Cup. I feel he is going to play a massive part in the tournament and perhaps also be the best seamer,” Philander concluded.

The ICC T20 World Cup 2024 is the most crucial cricket tournament this year. The event will take place in June and witness a battle among 20 teams. West Indies and USA are hosts of the tournament. India is part of Group A.

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Meanwhile, Bumrah has registered a stunning record in the IND vs ENG Test so far. With 15 wickets in 2 games averaging 10.67, he is the leading wicket-taker in the series. The IND vs ENG 3rd Test is set to commence on February 15 and Bumrah is gearing up for another fabulous show in the series.