Jasprit Bumrah reminds me of Jeff Thomson, reveals Dennis Lillee

SportsCafe Desk
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Dennis Lillee has lavished praise on Jasprit Bumrah's ferocious bowling displays as he compared the Gujarat cricketer to his former Aussie teammate Jeff Thomson. Lillee has also added that Virat Kohli is one of the best batsmen he’s seen in a long time due to his consistency with the bat.

India fell to a disappointing 146-run loss at the hands of Australia in the second Test match in Perth on Monday and will look to bounce back in the crucial encounter which will be played at the MCG on boxing day. Indian youngster Jasprit Bumrah, who made his international Test debut, during the series in South Africa earlier this year had a big role in holding the bowling department, which was really impressive throughout the year. Dennis Lillee, considered as one of the greatest pace bowlers, directed praise towards the Gujarat pacer while also comparing the Indian to Jeff Thomson.

"I think Jasprit Bumrah is very very interesting. He runs off a very short run-up. He jogs and then bowls with a very short run. He has got straight arms. His bowling is not textbook by any means, but it works. He is very different from other pace bowlers, which reminds me of another fast bowler of my era, who was very different from everyone else - Jeff Thomson.

"He is not as fast as Jeff Thomson was but similar in the sense that they were outside the guidelines of normal fast bowling action or technique," Lillee told Ananda Bazar Patrika in an interview.

Bumrah is the leading wicket-taker in the bowling department with a total of 11 wickets to his name in the series so far. However, the Australian stalwart opted to pick the Australian pacers over the Indians, when offered the choice.

"I think both the teams have got very good pace attacks. But, in my opinion, Australia's pace attack, on the day and on song, are the better one.

"And they are lucky enough to have a very good off-spinner who backs them up, keeps the pressure on, bowls lot of overs. That helps too. In fact, India have a top spinning option in Ashwin too and I am sure the Test that is coming up in Melbourne will see each side having three good fast bowlers and a quality spinner. That will be excellent to watch, I am looking forward to it," Lillee added.

The 69-year old pacer, who represented the Australian national team in 70 Test matches while picking up 355 wickets, also heaped praise on Indian captain - Virat Kohli.

"I think he is a great player, There is no need for me to even say because everyone knows that. What makes Virat great is first of all great technique, determination, balance and the time he has got to play the deliveries. He seems to see the ball early and all great batsmen have those four things. Technique, determination, balance and the ability to see the ball early. Virat is as good as anyone I have seen," Lillee concluded.

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