Jasprit Bumrah’s incredible performance has prevented the Border-Gavaskar series from being completely one-sided in Australia’s favour, with great fast bowler Glenn praising India’s spearhead for his ability to control the ball and adapt quickly. McGrath said. India trail 1-2 in the five-match series that will conclude with the game here starting on Friday. Bumrah has been the standout performer for the visitors so far with 30 wickets at an average of less than 20.

“He has been a big part of the Indian team and without him the series could have been more one-sided and what he does is special,” McGrath said while talking to the media on the sidelines of his foundation’s cancer awareness event here. is.”

The 54-year-old, who was one of the most consistent and fearsome fast bowlers of his era, became active in cancer awareness programs after losing his wife Jane to the disease in 2008.

They are chasing the ongoing series and like the rest of Australia, they too were bowled over by the brilliant skill of the Gujarat slugger.

McGrath said of Bumrah’s short run-up, “Great young lad who has found a way to adapt. Absolutely incredible how he powers through the last few overs.”

The man with 563 Test wickets found an eerie similarity between himself and the Indian in terms of hyperextension (when the elbow joint bends backwards beyond its normal range) of his arms.

“It allows him to drop the ball a few more inches,” he said.

“Got a bit of hyperextension which I used too. He’s fighting it, he’s got incredible control both ways, guess he’s handling it well. I’m big on Jasprit. Am a fan,” said the former bowler. , who was nicknamed ‘Pigeon’ by his colleagues due to his thin legs.

After working at the MRF Peace Foundation in Chennai, McGrath was impressed with the talent pool in India and said one of his ward Prasad Krishna had a bright future.

“India, with 1.4 billion people, has an absolute passion for the game of cricket. Working with MRF Peace Foundation for the last 12 years, we have Prasad Krishna, who is in the squad.

“He is a good young bowler and I think he will have a good career ahead of him. There is no shortage of players and (it’s) not just the bowlers but also batsmen like Yashvi Jaiswal.

“The good thing about these young players is that they are fearless. We’ve got Sam Konstas who is similar.” McGrath was also pleased to see that Test cricket was well and truly alive as a record crowd turned up to watch the fourth Test in Melbourne.

“The cricket that was played in Melbourne was amazing and it went on for five days and in the last session Australia got over the line and 370,000 fans turned up was just unbelievable, because Test cricket is still the ultimate.

“We need to look after it but the Boxing Day Test tells me that Test cricket is alive and hopefully we will see something similar here,” he said.

He is also confident that Mitchell Starc will be fit and available for the final Test here. But will Australia risk it? “It also depends on the condition of the Test series and it is a huge game. Australia have not beaten India in the last two (Border-Gavaskar) series and that is unheard of.

“It’s a big test. Guess it will be up to the match and he’ll do everything he can to play the match.”

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