Mumbai, Dec 27 (IANS) India cricket team head coach Ravi Shastri on Wednesday said the South Africa tour is the perfect time for pacer Jasprit Bumrah to be included in the squad after having already proved his mettle in limited overs.

The former all-rounder also tagged Bumrah as one of the best fast bowler in the world in limited overs format of the game.

The 24-year-old right-armer Bumrah who has been effective in the Twenty20 International (T20I) and One-Day International (ODI) for India — picking 40 and 56 wickets, respectively — was included in the Test squad for the first time.

India will play South Africa in the first of three-match Test series at Cape Town on January 5.

“I think he is very exciting. In the limited overs, he has shown how good he is one of the best in the world. acknowledged by his opponent,” the 55-year-old told reporters at the pre-departure press conference.

“For Gujarat as well, he has run through the opposition, has taken five or six-wicket haul. He is a very quick learner, his confidence level is high Good time for him to get in (the squad),” Shastri added.

Meanwhile, India team captain Virat Kohli praised his premier off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin for learning leg-spin and said as a batsman too you try to do experiments.

“I think it was an experiment on a personal front. As a batsman also you try to add your batting. He could be thinking of adding some element to his bowling,” Kohli felt.

–IANS
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