Aakash Chopra lauded Jasprit Bumrah, saying his magical performances with the ball is making everyone 'fall in love with Test cricket'.
Bumrah took nine wickets in the second Test against England in Vishakapatnam, including a sensational six wicket haul in the first innings, to bowl India to a a thumping 106 run victory.
'With what he (Bumrah) is doing currently, he is making us fall in love with Test cricket,' Chopra said on his YouTube channel.
Following his match-winning heroics with the ball, Bumrah became the first India pacer to top the ICC Test bowling rankings. He is only the fourth Indian to attain the number one position after spinners Ravichandran Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja and Bishan Singh Bedi.
During the Vizag Test, Bumrah also created a record for the fastest Indian pacer to pick 150 wickets, achieving the feat in 34 Tests.
Overall, he has claimed 155 Test wickets, including 10 five-wicket hauls, possessing an impressive average of 20.19 and a strike rate of 44.5.
Across formats, he has 378 international wickets in 185 appearances.
'In Tests in India, we look at spinners, because they pick up six or seven wickets, and 10 or 12 wickets in a Test match and you say -- 'Wow'. Fast bowlers, because they bowl short spells, do not capture your imagination as much, especially in Indian conditions,' Chopra said.
The former India opener hailed Bumrah for his superb comeback after a long injury lay-off last year.
'He is an amazing player. You generally do not look for all-format players in modern-day cricket. The players are coming with that perspective and the selectors also are looking with that perspective.'
'However, a player who could not continuously play all cricket, went through an extremely serious injury and was out for a very long time, the way he is bowling since returning from that -- a lot of bowlers come, but some bowlers remain in your memory and are exceptional till the time they play.'
