Former Pakistan captain Salman Butt shared his opinion on the performance of fast bowlers Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Naseem Shah for their teams in the first T20I against Australia and England respectively on September 20.
While Shah returned wicket-less and conceded 41 runs in his 4 overs against England during Pakistan’s 6-wicket loss in the first T20I in Karachi, Bhuvneshwar could not take a single wicket in his 4 overs and conceded 52 runs during India’s 4-wicket defeat against Australia in the first T20I in Mohali.
Explaining the duo’s expensive spells, the veteran Pakistani batter said that when a bowler lacks pace, he has very limited options to pose a threat to a batter, but feels Naseem bowled much better than Bhuvneshwar, thanks to his pace, while criticizing the Indian seamer for his poor show against Australia.
Salman Butt said on his YouTube channel: “Well Naseem Shah might have gone for runs but he has troubled batters of big teams. When a bowler lacks pace, he doesn't have too many options. Even in the 1st T20I against Australia, he (Bhuvneshwar) was bowling outside the off stump. He did the same in the Asia Cup and it didn't work.”
Comparing Naseem and Bhuvneshwar’s bowling show, Butt noted: “Naseem Shah conceded 41 and Bhuvneshwar conceded 52, there is a big difference. Also, look at the difference in experience.”
He signed off by saying, “When you have the pace you can bowl a bouncer. Your slower one automatically becomes deceptive as the batter is expecting pace. When a bowler who is already slow bowls a slower one, there is no surprise element for the batter.”
