'He's a gem; that diamond which you want in your team': Former England pacer Cork calls India player a captain's 'dream'

India produced a scintillating show in the Test series against England, as Dominic Cork was left impressed the most with player in particular.

Many feel that India were on the verge of winning their first Test series in England in 14 years. They were 2-1 in the series when the Manchester Test was called off and could well have been 3-1 had it not rained on the final day of the Trent Bridge Test in Nottingham, where India needed to knock off 157 runs with 9 wickets in hand.

The Indian cricket team in a huddle. (Getty)

It was yet another complete performance by Virat Kohli's Indian unit, which has been on an unprecedented rise in Test cricket over the last one year. In this series too, all players contributed with everyone from top to bottom dishing out impactful performance. From Rohit Sharma to Mohammed Siraj, every Indian cricketer had something to be proud of.

If the batting was ruled by Rohit Sharma, the bowling honours belonged mostly to Jasprit Bumrah. After the final of the World Test Championship, questions were asked of Bumrah and his form, but by the time the India vs England series got over, the India pacer had answered his detractors in style. Bumrah was once again back to his menacing best, bowling toe-crushing yorkers and picking up wickets.

He began the series picking up 4/46 in the first innings of the Nottingham Test, and followed it with a five-wicket haul in the second as India came close to victory. He then grabbed 3/33 in the second innings of the Lord's Test as England were bowled out for 120 chasing over 270 to win. In Leeds, Bumrah was slightly ineffective as England crushed India to level the series 1-1. But at The Oval, Bumrah once again delivered as he bowled a breath-taking spell, mastering the art of reverse-swing to trigger England's collapse.

Bumrah's stocks continue to rise. During the Oval Test, the fast bowler surpassed Kapil Dev to become the quickest India pacer to take 100 wickets in the format. Bumrah's return to form bodes well for India, as former England fast bowler Dominic Cork weighed in on the pacer's exceptional bowling. Cork feels Bumrah is a captain's dream and given what all he brings to the table, any team would be lucky to have him.

"What Jasprit Bumrah brings is pace and also control. For a captain, he must be a dream. He wants to bowl and bowl long spell. He is a gem; that diamond which you want to have in your team all the time. Just look at how well he bowled to Joe Root. Root is in the form of his life but even he was struggling with those yorkers and that reverse swing," Cork had said on the Sony Sports Network.

Bumrah finished with 2/27 in the final innings of the Oval Test which India won by 157 runs, and although he may not have been high on the wicket column – it was his impact that put India on top. In two overs, he dismissed Ollie Pope and Jonny Bairstow to dent England, who had all 10 wickets in hand and needed to bat out the final day to push a draw. Bumrah spoiled their party as those two wickets allowed India to kick the door in. Highly impressed with Bumrah, Cork feels the entire Indian bowling deserved credit for the way they bowled against England on a pretty flat Day 5 pitch.

"When you're the captain, you want control. Even when you're looking for wickets, you want control because that then puts pressure on the batting side. When they are not rotating strike, things add up. Take nothing away from Jadeja – he exploited that rough and tightened things up from one end, but Bumrah was outstanding. I would go with all the bowlers. To bowl England out on that surface, they deserve a lot of accolades," Cork added.