Ashish Nehra rates Archer ahead of Kagiso Rabada and Jasprit Bumrah

Former Indian pacer Ashish Nehra has termed Jofra Archer as the most skilful fast bowler going around in world cricket. Archer, who’s currently representing England in the 1st Test vs India at Chennai bowled a scintillating spell with the new ball and dismissed Rohit Sharma and Shubman Gill in the process to give England an upper hand in the match.  Analysing England’s bowling performance in the 1st inning, Ashish Nehra and VVS Laxman lauded the English pacer for his efforts. Nehra rated Archer as the most skilful bowler ahead of South Africa’s Kagiso Rabada, Australia’s Pat Cummins and Mitchell Starc and India’s Jasprit Bumrah.

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"Kagiso Rabada, Pat Cummins, Mitchell Starc, Jasprit Bumrah are all amazing bowlers, but for me Jofra Archer is the most skilful fast bowler in world cricket. He has the pace; he has a steep bouncer and the way he bowls from close to the stumps," said Nehra on Star Sports.

The left arm pacer further stated that Jofra Archer analysed the conditions perfectly and customised his bowling accordingly. He said that Archer got Virat Kohli hopping with his short pitch deliveries on the flat surface of Chepauk which is commendable.

"The way he bowled the leg-cutter, if India had batted first he may not have got that much help from the pitch, but he knows that the variations are required. The way he bowled the bouncer to Virat Kohli even on this pitch, it shows the abilities and capabilities of this bowler," added Nehra.

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Talking about Rohit Sharma’s dismissal, VVS Laxman pointed out that Archer’s extra bounce is creating a lot of trouble for the Indian batsmen. He pointed that Archer forced Rohit Sharma to play from the crease that led his downfall. He further praised him for his accuracy on his debut Test in the subcontinent.

"The bounce he gets causes a lot of difficulties for the batsmen. If a similar delivery was bowled by James Anderson, Rohit Sharma could have played him off the front foot, but because Archer is tall and is a hit-the-deck bowler, he gets extra bounce from back of a length, so you are forced to play off the back foot," said Laxman.

"And then the way he uses the crease, one delivery from wide off the crease and another close to the stumps. When you bowl from close to the stumps with a high-arm action along with a good wrist position, the batsman is forced to play. You need to give him credit because he is playing in India for the first time, but that line and length can trouble any batsman," concluded Laxman.

Even though Dominic Bess has picked up more wickets for England, it was Archer who’s looked the most threatening England bowler. He’s created a lot of pressure from the other end that allowed Dominic Bess and other England bowlers to get thise wickets. England are in complete command after getting the Indian batting reduced to 312-6 in the first session of Day 4, still 266 away England’s first inning score at the time of writing.