IND vs PAK: Jasprit Bumrah Should Have Been The Player Of The Match Ahead Of Rohit Sharma - Aakash Chopra

Former Indian cricketer Aakash Chopra praised ace pacer Jasprit Bumrah for his bowling performance against Afghanistan in the ICC World Cup 2023. Aakash Chopra emphasized that Jasprit Bumrah deserved to be named Player of the Match ahead of Rohit Sharma.

Jasprit Bumrah picked up four wickets in India’s convincing eight-wicket victory in Delhi on Wednesday, October 11. The right-arm pacer conceded 39 runs in 10 overs to restrict the opposition team to 272/8 on a batting-friendly surface at the Arun Jaitley Stadium.

Jasprit Bumrah Picked Up Wickets At Regular Wickets – Aakash Chopra

In a video shared on his YouTube channel, Aakash Chopra emphasized Jaspirt Bumrah‘s ability to take wickets consistently throughout the game.

“He (Bumrah) should have been the Player of the Match in my opinion for the simple reason that he picked up four wickets on a road-like pitch where bowlers say they don’t want to play and ask someone else to be given the ball,” Chopra said.

“He picked up wickets with the new ball, middle overs and at the death – he delivers consistently. The opposing team batted well, whether it was Azmatullah Omarzai or Hashmatullah Shahidi, and little batting from Ibrahim Zadran and Rahmanullah Gurbaz at the start, but he picked up wickets at regular intervals,” he continued.

Jasprit Bumrah provided India with the initial breakthrough, dismissing Ibrahim Zadran for 22 runs. He then went on to dismiss Najibullah Zadran, Mohammad Nabi, and Rashid Khan. Rohit Sharma was named Player of the Match for his 131-run knock in the run chase.

The Pitch Was Absolutely Flat – Aakash Chopra

The cricketer-turned-commentator highlighted the significance of Hardik Pandya and mentioned Kuldeep Yadav’s bowling performances to restrict the team to below-par total on a flat pitch.

“He picked up four wickets and hardly gave any runs in his 10 overs. A pitch and ground on which Mohammed Siraj got hit for 76 runs in his nine overs, he picked up four wickets and conceded 35-odd runs. In my opinion, there is no doubt that Jasprit Bumrah is the best bowler in the world at the moment.”

“Hardik Pandya’s wickets were very, very important. Kuldeep Yadav remained economical in the end although Omarzai played him well. The pitch was absolutely flat and Afghanistan scored 272 in that, which was never going to be enough.”

Also read: IND vs AFG: That’s Domination! Twitter Reacts As Rohit Sharma, and Jasprit Bumrah Help India Thrash Afghanistan In WC 2023