Hashim Amla Picks This India Star As 'Most Challenging Bowler He Faced In IPL'

Former South Africa batter Hashim Amla has picked India's pace spearhead Jasprit Bumrah as the bowler who challenged him the most during his Indian Premier League (IPL) days. During a recent interaction, Amla labelled Bumrah as the most 'skillful all-format bowler'. The 42-year-old featured in two IPL seasons, representing Kings XI Punjab (now Punjab Kings) in 2016 and 2017. In 16 innings, he  scored 577 runs at an average of 44.28 and a strike-rate of 141.76.

"Obviously Bumrah. I mean, he's an amazing bowler, and you see how fantastic he's been for India. Yeah, I think Bumrah is definitely the best bowler and somebody who challenged me the most. I'd say he's the most skillful, and as an all-format bowler, he's just incredible. To just watch him bowl in itself is beautiful," Amla said on Shubhankar Mishra's podcast.

During the same interaction, Amla was asked to name a team if he gets the chance to play again in the IPL.

"It's difficult to say. I mean, they all, it's all a privilege to play in the IPL. I'd say MI (Mumbai Indians). Well, I suppose now that I've had some experience working with MI as a coach in the South African League, you see what a well-run unit it is. Fantastic organization. The logistics and the planning are great. And also probably Chennai. I mean, Chennai Super Kings (CSK) are a fantastic franchise, and it's no surprise that they are the two most successful IPL teams," he added.

Amla, who scored more than 18,000 runs in his international career, retired from all forms of the game in 2023.

When it comes to all professional formats of crickets, Amla scored a mammoth 34,104 runs with 9,282 runs coming in Test cricket. He is the second highest run-scorer for South Africa after Jacques Kallis. 

Amla also slammed 28 centuries and the only triple-centurion for South Africa in Tests. 

Topics mentioned in this article

India Cricket Team South Africa Cricket Team Jasprit Bumrah Hashim Amla Cricket