File photo of Sunil Gavaskar and Josh Hazlewood© AFP

Mitchell Johnson reckons that Australia should drop out-of-form Marnus Labuschagne.© AFP

Dubbed as the bowler “impossible to face” by swashbuckling Australian batter Travis Head and a “cat burglar” by former tearaway pacer Brett Lee, Jasprit Bumrah’s reputation precedes him. The India pacer, who is set to captain India in the first Test of the five-match series starting here Friday, has left both past and present Australian players in awe of his skill and threat. Not since the golden era of the West Indies in the 1970s has a touring pace bowler struck fear into the hearts of Australians as much as Bumrah, according to the local media here.

On his two previous Test tours of Australia, the 30-year-old Bumrah, who is set to captain India in the first Test of the five-match series here from Friday, took 32 wickets at an average of 21.25, including a match-winning 6/33 during the 2018 Boxing Day Test.

Since the start of the 20th century, only two touring bowlers have taken more wickets in Australia at a lower average — Richard Hadlee and Curtly Ambrose.

Head, Usman Khawaja and Steven Smith — all top-order batters — who are set to face Bumrah in the marquee five-match series are unanimous about the pivotal role the Indian pace spearhead can play for India.

“Impossible (to face). You try to feel like you’re one step ahead, but it always feels like he’s that next step,” Head told ‘Fox Cricket’.

“Any format of the game, he’s incredible. He’s their X-factor, he’s the guy they go to every time, and more often than not, he’s able to produce for them.

“In big moments you want big players, and I think he’s their biggest. You’ve got your work cut out as a batter. He’s someone that’s going to be difficult over summer.” Part of Bumrah’s magic is his signature bowling action, which defies cricket convention.

“He (Bumrah) creeps in like a cat burglar,” pace legend Lee said in a lighter vein.

Bumrah’s “awkward and weird” action made Khawaja wonder where the ball came from when he first faced the Indian.

“When I first faced Bumrah, I was like, ‘Oh where did that come from?’” Khawaja said.

“It comes at you a little bit quicker than you expect because of the awkwardness of his action and how he releases the ball.

“Much like Mitchell Johnson, he had a weird action too. The ball used to come out and felt like it got to you quicker because you didn’t get a look at it the whole way. Jasprit’s a little bit the same, with arms going everywhere.” Star batter Smith is one of the few Australian players who has an impressive record against Bumrah, averaging 56.67 across formats, but the New South Welshman admitted that he still feels vulnerable against the Indian speedster early in his innings.

“He’s just awkward with the way he bowls, it’s obviously very different to a lot of other people,” Smith said.

“It takes a little bit getting used to. I’ve played against him quite a lot now, and it still takes a couple of balls to get used to the different rhythm.”

Ahead of the upcoming Border-Gavaskar Trophy series, former Australia pacer Mitchell Johnson went down the memory lane and revisited his infamous rivalry with star India batter Virat Kohli. The first Test of the upcoming five-match series will kick-start from November 22 in Perth. Over the years, the Test series between India and Australia has always made headlines due to the intense rivalry between the teams. However, nothing could match the fiery face-offs between Kohli and Johnson when it came to personal duels.

The most talked about the face-off between the duo took place during the 2014 Boxing Day Test in Melbourne. Things got heated up after Johnson, who trying to run out Kohli, ended up throwing the ball on his body, sparking an on-field argument.

“Most of our differences stemmed from the Boxing Day Test in 2014, when a ball I threw hit him on the body. I was legitimately trying to run him out but he didn’t like what I did. He made some comments in the media that night about having no respect for me as a player, which annoyed me. The goal from our point of view was generally to get Kohli riled up as soon as he came out to bat and take his focus away from his skills. Get him annoyed and get him playing a big shot early,” Johnson wrote in his column in The West Australian.

“In that Test match at the MCG we got him off guard early and had him playing at a ball he didn’t need to in frustration and unfortunately we dropped him on not many. He then focussed and harnessed his energy and piled on the runs – all 169 of them. When bowling to him, I can remember thinking we had to get him early or else we could be in trouble. If you didn’t get Kohli in the first 10 or so balls, he would often make you pay,” he added.

The Australian speedster went on to state that he enjoyed his rivalry with Kohli as both the players used the play the game in a “similar way.”

“I had a well-publicised personal rivalry with Kohli. We had many interactions on the field and I enjoyed it. While I didn’t know him off the field, on the field we probably played the game in a similar way – taking the game on and not backing down. Some don’t like that style of cricket and prefer there’s no chat with the opposition, but I enjoyed that part of the game,” he said.

“I would become frustrated during some of our battles, but I also enjoyed that he kept coming at me. It’s always a nice feeling to get one of the best out, and likewise, I’m sure he enjoyed taking me down and hitting me for a four or a six,” he added.