Former England pacer Stuart Broad has compared Indian speedster Jasprit Bumrah to legendary Australian pacer Glenn McGrath, saying that both possess the “most balanced delivery stride” in world cricket as well. Broad also said that Bumrah’s ability to deceive batters, combined with balance in the delivery, makes him a player to watch in the upcoming Test series against England as well.

“He (Bumrah) jogs in, you will be thinking ‘this will be 70 miles an hour’ and it hits you at 90 and you don’t get a real flow. When I faced Shoaib Akhtar, he sprint in at a hundred miles an hour and delivered at a hundred miles an hour,” Broad said in the podcast ‘For the Love of Cricket’ which also featured veteran England batter Jos Buttler.

“You were ready, but Bumrah is so balanced, in his run-up, it’s a short-stride pattern, so he never gets over stride and of balance. I look at Glenn McGrath (who) had the most balanced delivery stride that I watched and Bumrah is the same,” he stated.

However, Jasprit Bumrah is not expected to play all five Tests of the series, with chairman of selectors Ajit Agarkar and head coach Gautam Gambhir confirming his participation to three Tests only due to workload management. Broad also believes Bumrah would take a “shedload of wickets” if he were to play all five Test matches of the series, which begins in Leeds on Friday as well.

“He is going to be certainly one to watch and certainly someone that England won’t want to play five Tests, because if he does, he’s going to pick up a shedload of wickets, isn’t he? There was that great bit of play in Australia wherein he got in a scrap in the last over with (Sam) Konstas and (Usman) Khawaja was on strike. He nicked Khawaja off, got him out. He was screaming and roaring. He has definitely got that; every fast bowler has to have that emotion in him, but there is a real sharpness to his competitive spirit (and) that he has grown up in that (Virat) Kohli (captaincy) era,” Stuart Broad concluded.