Thank God I don’t have to play Jasprit Bumrah: Usman Khawaja

India fast bowler Jasprit Bumrah had a tremendous Border-Gavaskar Trophy. Bumrah produced one of the best-ever bowling performances by an overseas pacer in Australia and picked up 32 wickets. Bumrah’s tally broke the record of Bishan Singh Bedi for the highest wicket tally by any Indian pacer in a Test series vs Australia.

Australia opener Usman Khawaja gave a glowing tribute to Bumrah after the conclusion of the Test series on Sunday. Speaking in a post-match interview in Sydney, Khawaja thanked God because he did not have to face Bumrah any more.

Khawaja struggled against Bumrah in the early overs, like most batters in the Test series. The 38-year-old batter, who has scored 5600+ runs in Test cricket said that Bumrah simply did not give him any opportunity to score runs off him.

Bumrah was not able to bowl on Day 3 of the final Test match in Sydney. The stand-in India captain picked up a back injury and could not take the field in the final innings of the match. Khawaja said that the absence of Bumrah made life easier for the Australian batters and they cracked the whip in the chase.

The absence of Bumrah let Australia cut loose early, and they ended up chasing the target in just 27 overs.

“I was just getting Bumrah’d. It was tough work. I have to face this guy with the new ball every single time. you never want to see anyone injured and it’s a shame he was but thank God for us. Today would’ve been an absolute nightmare facing him on that wicket. As soon as we didn’t see him out there we thought ‘alright, we’ve got a chance here’,” Usman Khawaja said.

“He’s the toughest bowler I’ve ever faced. And I have faced him in 2018. he got me out once, he was alright, he was good but he has been something else this year. He has got his tail up,” he added.

Asked about what made Bumrah special in this series, Khawaja said that apart from the spicy wickets, Bumrah’s evolution and understanding of the game has helped him attain unimaginable heights.

“The wickets have definitely helped him. He is 6 years more mature. He understands his skills, who he is bowling to. He has different plans for everyone. I always felt like no matter how good a bowler is I can always get something to score runs, but I did not get anything at all from him. He’s just so hard. I don’t have to face him again, thank God,” concluded Khawaja.