Not Virat Kohli but Ravichandran Ashwin names THIS player as ‘most valuable Indian cricketer’

New Delhi: India star spinner Ravichandran Ashwin has termed Jasprit Bumrah a “once-in-a-generation” bowler. Heaping praise on the swiftest of Indian fast bowlers, Ashwin said that Bumrah had been one of the biggest positives for Team India at the recently concluded T20 World Cup. Bumrah is likely to regain his spot in the Indian team after making a return to action in the T20 format of the game. The 30-year-old pacer has received a call-up into India’s Test team for the forthcoming series against Bangladesh, which are scheduled to commence at MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai from September 19.

During an interview on Vimal Kumar’s official YouTube channel, Ravichandran Ashwin remarked that India has traditionally been a batsman-dominated nation. While expressing his admiration for Jasprit Bumrah, Ashwin emphasized that everyone should “celebrate” the star pacer for his exceptional contributions to Indian cricket.

“India has always been the country that is a batsman-dominated country, and it’s never going to change. But I am so glad and happy that we are celebrating Jasprit Bumrah. Jasprit Bumrah is a once-in-a-generation bowler. We should celebrate him even more,” Ashwin said.

“We Chennai people appreciate bowlers a lot. He was here for an event as a chief guest 4-5 days ago. We gave him a Rajni treatment. We (Chennai people) treat bowlers very nicely. He should be treated as a champion. I don’t want to name, but Jasprit Bumrah is the most valuable Indian cricketer right now,” he added.

Since his Test debut in 2018, Jasprit Bumrah has played in 36 matches, amassing an impressive tally of 159 wickets.

The second Test between India and Bangladesh is scheduled to take place in Kanpur, starting on September 27.

Indian squad for the first Test against Bangladesh: Rohit Sharma (C), Yashasvi Jaiswal, Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, KL Rahul, Sarfaraz Khan, Rishabh Pant (WK), Dhruv Jurel (WK), R Ashwin, R Jadeja, Axar Patel, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohd. Siraj, Akash Deep, Jasprit Bumrah, and Yash Dayal.