Indian star Virat Kohli hailed fellow teammate Jasprit Bumrah for his 'phenomenal' effort to help India win the T20 World Cup 2024 when their backs were against the walls. India clinched the T20 title from a situation where they needed to defend 30 from the final 30 balls with South Africa having six wickets in hand.
Bumrah was given the huge responsibility of bowling two crucial overs and bringing the Indians back when they were logically out of it. And the speedster delivered with six runs in his two overs and a wicket. Now Kohli has lauded Bumrah for his work.
On being asked whether he would sign a petition to call Bumrah the 'eighth wonder of the world' and a 'national treasure', Kohli did not hesitate a bit.
"I'll sign the petition for Jasprit Bumrah. He is a once-in-a-generation bowler," Kohli said during the Indian team's felicitation at the Wankhede Stadium on Thursday following the victory parade.
"Like everyone in the stadium [here], we also felt at one point if it is going to slip away again, but what happened in those [last] five overs was truly, truly special," Kohli highlighted the point when the Proteas needed 30 from the final 30 balls.
"You know what I'd like everyone to do is applaud a guy who brought us back into games again and again and again in this tournament. What he did in those last five overs, bowling two out of the last five overs, it was phenomenal. A huge round of applause for Jasprit Bumrah, please," he said on Bumrah.
Kohli also thanked the fans for turning up in huge numbers for the victory parade and the felicitation ceremony. "A big thank you to all the people who turned up in the stadium. What we saw on the streets tonight is something I'm never going to forget in my life," Kohli said.
"The last four days have been a roller-coaster of a ride. As soon as we won the World Cup, we wanted to get out of Barbados, get back to India and celebrate with everyone. We got stuck in the hurricane, so it was an anti-climactic feeling. But since we've been back, it's been phenomenal," he added.
