Shaheen Afridi Better New Ball Bowler Than Jasprit Bumrah, Says Former Pakistan Pacer

Former Pakistan fast bowler Aaqib Javed said Shaheen Afridi is a better bowler than Jasprit Bumrah with the new ball. Javed said while India's Bumrah is a better fast bowler than Pakistan's Shaheen at the death, both pacers are "equally good" in bowling with the new ball, before adding that Shaheen is a better new ball bowler than his Indian counterpart. Shaheen, a left-arm fast bowler, has played 15 Tests, 25 ODIs and 23 T20Is for Pakistan since his international debut in 2018. Bumrah, who first played for India in 2016, has played 19 Tests, 67 ODIs and 50 T20Is. 

"Bumrah is a magnificent bowler. He can bowl at any stage of the match. I think he is slightly ahead of Shaheen when it comes to death bowling," Javed told Cricket Pakistan channel on YouTube.

"I think they are equally good with the new ball, but Shaheen can improve his death bowling," he added. "In fact, Shaheen is a better bowler than Bumrah with the new ball." 

While Afridi has 48 Test wickets, 51 ODI wickets and 25 T20I scalps, Bumrah has taken 83 wickets in Tests, 108 in ODIs and 59 in T20Is. 

Javed had stirred a debate earlier this week when he had said that India captain Virat Kohli can learn from Pakistan limited-overs skipper Babar Azam to improve on batting technique. 

"Virat Kohli has a better range of shots as compared to Babar Azam, but he also has one area of weakness," Javed had said. 

"If the ball swings, he tends to get trapped around the off-stump such as against James Anderson in England. 

"When you look at Babar, you don't see any weak areas. Just like Sachin Tendulkar who also didn't have any weak areas. Babar is technically more safe and sound," he added.

Topics mentioned in this article

India Cricket Team Pakistan Cricket Team Shaheen Afridi Jasprit Bumrah Aaqib Javed Cricket