Nasser Hussain, the former England captain, has heaped praise on Jasprit Bumrah, describing him as a cricketing genius and comparing his wicket-taking abilities to the legendary Shane Warne. Hussain highlighted Bumrah’s ability to perplex batters, a trait reminiscent of Warne’s mastery. He also expressed his wish for Bumrah to stay fit and continue dazzling the cricketing world. This praise came after Bumrah’s outstanding performance on Day 3 of the first Test against England at Headingley, where he claimed a five-wicket haul, giving India a slight edge.
Hussain remarked, “Hopefully he stays injury free and we talk about him for years to come. There are two brilliant things to watch in cricket — a wrist spinner like Shane Warne bamboozling batters and a genuine fast bowler like Bumrah bamboozling batters.” He further stated, “He is absolute genius. That is the only word for him. You wouldn’t want to replicate him, you wouldn’t want to say to young boys and girls to go replicate this run-up or this action. He knows what he is doing, he has perfected an art and he is going to be a thorn in England’s side — not for five Tests, maybe three. In those three Test matches he is going to take a shed load of wickets.”
During Day 3, KL Rahul scored 47 not out. Bumrah’s bowling figures were 5/83. England was dismissed for 465. Ollie Pope scored 106 runs and Harry Brook made 99. Prasidh Krishna and Mohammed Siraj took three and two wickets respectively. In India’s second innings, Jaiswal was out early, but Rahul and Sai Sudharsan built a 66-run partnership, taking India to a lead of 96 runs at the end of the day.