The former Pakistan allrounder went after the Indian ace quick and called him a lesser bowler to his young countryman.
Not a day goes by without any shocker of a statement made by a former Pakistani player about contemporary Indian cricketers. In the latest, former allrounder Abdul Razzaq said he believes ace speedster Jasprit Bumrah is “nowhere close” to the levels already attained by young talented seamer Shaheen Afridi.
Bumrah has been one of the only bowlers in world cricket to have dominated all three formats of the game over the past six-seven years of his international career, while Shaheen has been climbing up the ladder at the highest level with encouraging performances over time. Even he wouldn’t compare himself to Bumrah.
But for Razzaq, the latter is already better than the former, and that he is in fact not even close to the levels achieved by Shaheen. In an absolute shocker, the ex Pakistan allrounder first compared the Indian stalwart to his country’s young speedster and then called him a lesser bowler to his national speed sensation.
Speaking to a Pakistan-based news channel, Razzaq said: “Shaheen Afridi is way better than Jasprit Bumrah. Bumrah is nowhere close to Shaheen’s level.”
“Shaheen Afridi is way better than Jasprit Bumrah. Bumrah is nowhere close to Shaheen’s level,” former Pakistan all-rounder Abdul Razzaq.
— Farid Khan (@_FaridKhan) January 29, 2023
This, of course, is not the first time that Razzaq has made a disappointing comment about Jasprit Bumrah. The outspoken Pakistani cricketer once called the Indian pace leader a “baby bowler”, someone he believes could’ve easily dominated with the bat had he faced him right now.
The remark was made in early 2019, the year where Bumrah only reinforced his status as the world’s best all-format quick by playing a key role in India’s Test series triumphs in Australia and West Indies and had an exceptional ODI World Cup in the UK.
“I have played against great bowlers like Glenn Mcgrath and Wasim Akram, so Bumrah is a baby bowler in front of me and I could have easily dominated and attacked him,” Razzaq had told Cricket Pakistan.
Also Read – R Ashwin voices support to discarded Shikhar Dhawan in India’s ODI World Cup plans
Comparison being a thief of joy, people who deride cricketers like that don’t realise how blessed the game is to have a Bumrah dominating the scene and playing an indirect inspiration to talents such as Shaheen.
