The accolades keep flying for Jasprit Bumrah. After unsettling England in what is being hailed as one of the best displays by any fast bowler in a Test match in India, Bumrah became the first Indian pacer to reach the top of the ICC Test rankings. England’s current and previous cricketers were already in awe of Bumrah, and now former South African pacer Vernon Philander has branded the Indian cricketer the best complete bowler in the world.

Bumrah pulled up 9/91 in the Visakhapatnam Test to help India win the match by 106 runs and square the five-match series 1-1. It was his six-wicket haul in the opening inning that gave India the advantage. Bumrah produced an impossible successor to Ollie Pope that is certain to be spoken about in years to come.

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Philander, who has played 64 Tests for South Africa with 225 wickets against his name, claimed Bumrah doesn’t seem to have any chinks in his armour.

“Bumrah was the most complete bowler at the time. He has got beautiful talents, and he has also mastered the art of holding a line and length, and that is the reason behind his success at the Test level,” Philander told ‘PTI Bhasha’ in an interview on the sidelines of the SA T20 Tournament here.”Initially, he wanted to bowl wicket-taking deliveries all the time and leaked runs, but now he has learned consistency,” he pointed out.The T20 World Cup will take place in June in the West Indies and the USA, and the first champion, India, will be among the championship favourites.

Philander stated the team will rely heavily on Bumrah as he has become the sort of bowler who can never be written off in the shortest format.

“He hits the new ball, brings the stumps into the play, and challenges the batters upfront. He is terrific with those change-ups and lethal yorkers, and that is the skill set you want in the T20 World Cup,” he stated.

“I feel he is going to play a massive part in the tournament and perhaps also be the best seamer,” said the seasoned Philander, who is the second fastest ever to collect 50 Test wickets by touching the milestone in just seven games. He was also full of praise for Bumrah’s pace teammate Mohammed Shami and claimed that he “uses his seam beautifully.”.

“The way he has gone to dominate at the moment is extremely amazing to behold. The plans he had adopted when he came to bowl in South Africa. It is a tough area to bowl, and one has to adjust the mindset from bowling on the flat subcontinental pitches to bowling here,” he remarked.