Tim Southee hails Jasprit Bumrah's excellence across all formats

New Zealand Test captain Tim Southee has heaped praise on India’s Jasprit Bumrah, highlighting his impressive comeback from a career-threatening injury. 

Bumrah, who returned to international cricket in the T20I series against Ireland in 2023 after undergoing back surgery, has become a crucial player for India, contributing to their victories in the Asia Cup and the T20 World Cup 2024.

Southee, speaking ahead of New Zealand’s tour to India, commended Bumrah’s resilience and skill. 

“To be able to firstly bounce back from the major injury and come back, he’s even better than what he was beforehand. Throw in on top of that, having to juggle multiple formats, can be difficult at times as well. He seems to have been able to do that with ease as well. He’s probably more experienced and understands his game a bit more. He probably had that time where he was injured to come back and be recharged, refreshed,” Southee said.

“We are just seeing a great version (of Bumrah) across all three formats. He’s brilliant across all three at the moment. I don’t think there’s anyone that he’s better in (better than him), he is tremendous across all three (formats),” he further added.

Bumrah, who has been rested from the upcoming Duleep Trophy, will be available for India’s series against Bangladesh but might not play both matches. The Indian team management is carefully monitoring his workload to ensure he remains fit for the critical series against Australia.