IND vs AUS 2019: Bumrah is Kohli of Indian bowling, says Aakash Chopra

What's the story?

Former opener Aakash Chopra has termed pacer Jasprit Bumrah as the bowling equivalent of Virat Kohli in Indian cricket.

In the aftermath of Bumrah's stunning spell against Australia during the first T20I at Visakhapatnam on Sunday, Chopra took to Twitter and exuded lavish praise on the 25-year-old fast bowler. The cricketer-turned-commentator went on to quip that the reliable pacer might be more important to the Indian team than even their captain Kohli.

On his official Twitter handle, Chopra wrote, "Bumrah is Kohli of the Indian bowling. Or may be, he's even more important than his skipper. What. An. Asset." [sic]

The background

Since his debut for India in January 2016, Bumrah has played 95 international matches across all three formats of the game. He has picked 178 wickets at an average of 20.84.

Among all bowlers with at least 150 wickets in this period, only Afghanistan spinner Rashid Khan has a better average (12.88) than the Indian pacer.

The heart of the matter

Bumrah is Kohli of the Indian bowling. Or may be, he’s even more important than his skipper. What. An. Asset. #IndvAus @StarSportsIndia

— Aakash Chopra (@cricketaakash) February 24, 2019

During the opening T20I between India and Australia at the Dr YS Rajasekhara Reddy ACA-VDCA Cricket Stadium in Visakhapatnam, Bumrah delivered a spectacular spell of 3/16 to bring the Men in Blue back into the contest.

Although Australia prevailed in the last ball of the match, Bumrah's exceptional bowling reiterated his value to the Indian team.

Be it Tests, ODIs or T20Is, the dependable fast bowler has become an asset to the team. In such context, Aakash Chopra likened him to batting teammate Kohli in terms of impact to his side.

What's next?

The second T20I between India and Australia will take place on Wednesday at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru. Trailing 0-1, the hosts desperately need a victory to level the two-match T20I series.