Jasprit Bumrah Betters Kapil Dev's Mark, Experts Say The Two Can't Be Compared

Jasprit Bumrah, who became the quickest among Indian pacers to get to 100 wickets, is in many ways different from Kapil Dev whose record he bettered in the just-concluded fourth Test against England.

"The question is how long can he (Bumrah) survive. Smoothness is necessary in any action to have a long run in cricket. Kapil's run-up was smooth.

"For Bumrah to be effective, he has to bowl every delivery fast. Kapil didn't have to bowl every ball fast. He could bring down pace and depend on line and length and swing [to trouble batsmen]. If Bumrah loses speed, he will lose effectiveness."

Another former player who played with Kapil Dev, all-rounder Madan Lal, too said Bumrah and Kapil can't be compared. "I don't like to compare Kapil Dev with anybody else. I am very happy that Bumrah is doing well. They can't be compared," said Lal.

He said that Bumrah's action makes it very difficult for batsmen to pick the deliveries. "His action is very difficult to pick. Because of his action, lot of batsmen struggle. He has a lot of quality. He has a bouncer, moves the ball around, he is a very intelligent bowler," said the 70-year-old 1983 World Cup-winner who was also part of the Indian team that last won two Tests in a series in England, in 1986.

That was the series where Kapil, among others, played a heroic role.

"Bumrah has all the things going for him. It depends on his fitness. If he is fit, he is going to be very, very effective." The 58-year-old Prabhakar pointed out a quality that makes Bumrah rare from other bowlers doing reverse swing.

"Reverse swinging the ball with straight arm is a rare quality. That is why he has become rare. When you bowl with straight arm, it swings late. I could do both, reverse with straight arm and round arm. Wasim Akram was similar, could go either way, straight arm and round arm too," said Prabhakar.