Not many Indian players are likely to receive such a compliment from an Australian counterpart, known for their toughness and ferocious temperament. Jasprit Bumrah should feel proud.
Showering praises over Indian fast bowler Jasprit Bumrah, explosive Australia batter Travis Head said he'll proudly tell his grandchildren about having faced the Indian maestro. The Gujarat ace will be remembered as one of the finest bowlers to have played the game, Head added.
Stand-in skipper Bumrah had led from front with a stunning performance in the opening Test of the Border Gavaskar Trophy in Perth which India won by 295 runs.
"Jasprit will go down as probably one of the greatest fast bowlers to play the game. I think we're finding that at the moment -- how challenging he can be, and it's nice to play against that," Head told reporters on Monday.
"It's gonna be nice to go back and look at your career and go tell the grandkids that you faced him. So not a bad series of playing with him. Hopefully, I'll face a few more times, but he has been challenging," Head said.
"...(Bumrah) is so unique, and that's with any of the bowlers, really. Every (batter) picks up different cues and goes about it in a different way," he added.
Bumrah's 8/72 at Perth confirmed that he is in fine form. Earlier this year, he was named Player-of-the-Series in the T20 World Cup, where he played a key role in India's title-winning campaign.
Head was the sole Australian batter to get a fifty in Perth as the top order comprising the likes of Steve Smith, Usman Khawaja and Marnus Labuschagne struggled but the explosive middle-order batter is certain his teammates won't be approaching him for tips.
Border Gavaskar Trophy 2024
The Australian squad reconvened on Monday after a short break.
The two sides will now play a pink ball Test in Adelaide from Friday at the same venue where India were all out for 36 in their previous visit in 2020.
Recalling that match, Head said, "I remember that it was a quick test, so it was good. We got to enjoy all of the bits of Adelaide afterwards.
"It'll be nice to do that again. Don't know if we can revisit. It wouldn't take very long to watch it. I don't think that will happen this week."
While India played a day-night pink-ball game against the Prime Ministers XI over the weekend, Australia last played a pink ball Test in January.
"It's been a long time since we played one (pink ball), India got another look at it last night. Everyone's well experienced enough, especially that team as well, that in your international level.
"I think you can accustomed to things pretty quickly. I don't think it'll take them long to be prepared for it, and same as us."
