SA v IND 2021-22: Ashish Nehra picks two bowlers who he thinks are on par with Jasprit Bumrah

Nehra lauded Bumrah for his fifer in Newlands Test match.

Former fast bowler Ashish Nehra has lauded Jasprit Bumrah for his stellar five-wicket haul against South Africa in the ongoing third Test in Cape Town. His 5/42 helped India keep South Africa to 210 in reply to India’s first innings total of 223.

However, Nehra feels that while Bumrah has impressed him a lot, there are bowlers around the world who, if not better, then are on par with the 28-year-old India quick. And one of those bowlers is none other than Mohammad Shami.

“Jasprit Bumrah has impressed a lot. There is no doubt but I would still say that in world cricket, there are certain equally good bowlers. One of them is his teammate, Mohammed Shami. I don’t know the exact stats but one thing is for sure, that if you ask me to pick one bowler between the two, I still can’t say it’ll be Bumrah with my eyes closed,” Nehra said on Cricbuzz.

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“Because if you leave aside the five wickets, the way Shami’s game was unfolding was terrific. Shami has the qualities to get a set batsman out on any surface. He isn’t far behind Bumrah in any aspect,” he added.

Talking of international pace bowlers, Nehra felt that England’s Jofra Archer is also not far behind Bumrah, despite him being out of action for the better part of last year, nursing an elbow injury.

“Again, I’m not going on stats, there is one more bowler who is currently injured. If you speak of skills, and if he is in rhythm, it’s Jofra Archer. His skills too are second to none. But yes, coming back to Bumrah, if you talk about top bowlers, even if you are to trim the list, Bumrah’s name will be there,” Nehra said.