Former Pakistani pacer Aaqib Javed has fanned the fan rivalry between India’s Jasprit Bumrah and Pakistan’s Shaheen Afridi by saying that Jasprit Bumrah is not an aggressive bowler at all and Shaheen Afridi has had more threatening bowling performances than the India pacer.
Speaking to Paktv.tv, the 1992 World Cup-winning cricketer opined that Bumrah's graph has been stable and is a far less aggressive bowler. He said that on the other hand, Shaheen, who is presently on the rise and has produced more threatening performances across formats than the Indian.
“The way Haris has bowled in the last few years, his average bowling speed is the fastest in the world. And the aggression he has, the way he runs, the batsman knows that the bowler is running towards him, but Bumrah's isn't that aggressive. And people enjoy these kind of bowlers who have such body language. Shaheen's graph is on the rise, while Bumrah is stable.
He has less threatening performances than Shaheen, whether it's in T20s, ODIs or in Tests. And the rise of Pakistan cricket largely has depended on performances from Shaheen, Haris Rauf, Shadab Khan, Babar Azam, Mohammad Rizwan,” he said.
Shaheen recently bagged the Sir Garfield Sobers Trophy for the ICC Men’s Cricketer of the Year 2021. On the other hand, Jasprit Bumrah has 123 Test, 113 ODI, and 67 T20I wickets for India, including a Test hat-trick as well. He has fifers in South Africa, West Indies, England, Australia, and South Africa in Test matches.
