"It felt a bit strange seeing him because of his bowling action" - Mohammed Shami on watching Jasprit Bumrah bowl

Indian pacer Mohammed Shami has opened up about his first reaction to seeing fellow speedster Jasprit Bumrah bowl in the Indian Premier League (IPL). While Bumrah's unique action grabbed the eyeballs during the early days of his career. According, to Shami, it was the Mumbai Indians bowler's pace and power that caught his attention.

Speaking to the Indian Express, Mohammed Shami said

"The first time I saw him was during the IPL. It felt a bit strange seeing him because of his bowling action. I wondered how someone could bowl so fast with that action and where he got the power from. When he got drafted into the Indian team, I knew him better. He performed and became part of the Test team. Today, you see a different Jasprit Bumrah. He has such control, he has everything."

"I enjoy bowling with Jassi, Umesh, Ishant and all of them" - Mohammed Shami

The 31-year-old also spoke about his admiration for Jasprit Bumrah's toe-crushing yorkers. He said:

"The one thing I would love to have from him is his yorker. Such a lovely ball. It’s fun to bowl together."

Shami also shared his thoughts on the quality of the Indian pace attack in Tests. He talked about how the pacers lift each other by showing confidence whenever someone is down. The Amroha-born bowler said:

"With the kind of Test match bowling we have now, I don’t think we ever had such a period in our cricketing history. If you look at our graph for the last five years, I feel it is the highest. I enjoy bowling with Jassi, Umesh, Ishant and all of them. We know each other’s ability."

"The best quality of this bowling unit is that whenever someone is down, we lift each other up and give confidence. These are the things one remembers in life. We walk together through thick and thin."

The duo will be in action together during the upcoming two-match Test series against Sri Lanka starting on March 4 in Mohali.

While veteran Ishant Sharma has missed out on the 18-man Test squad, the strong Indian pace department also includes Umesh Yadav and Mohammed Siraj.