Wasim Akram kicks Shaheen Afridi, Babar Azam to sidelines, picks India stars as his favorite bowler, batter

Pakistan National Cricket Team legend Wasim Akram recently revealed his favorite batter and bowler in modern-day cricket and he surprisingly enough gave a cold shoulder to two of Pakistan's stalwarts - Shaheen Afridi and Babar Azam.

Babar Azam is currently the No.1 ranked ODI batsman in the world and he has consistently scored runs for his country across all formats of the game. Shaheen Afridi, on the other hand, has been one of the best young pacers to come out of Pakistan and he too has shown his dominance in T20Is, ODIs, and Tests.

However, both the Pakistan players have not been up to the mark in recent times. Babar has failed to contribute consistently to his team and has struggled to get going while Shaheen faced fitness issues, which led to his pace decreasing and wicket-taking ability reducing.

When the pace-bowling legend Wasim Akram was asked to pick his favorite fast bowler, he replied by saying that he might disappoint his countrymen with the pick. Akram went on to name Jasprit Bumrah as his favorite and labelled him as an Indian and modern-day great, who is equally effective across all formats.

“If I have to pick one, maybe my countrymen might not like… My favourite fast bowler has got to be this Indian great, modern great Jasprit Bumrah. He is something very different, and why he impressed me because he’s a good bowler in all three formats," Akram said during an interview with AmeriCricketTV.

Notably, Jasprit Bumrah is currently the World No.1 bowler in terms of ability he poses. He has been the main reason behind India being a dominant force in world cricket and he is the only bowler in the history of cricket to to reach the No. 1 position in the ICC rankings in all formats.

Wasim Akram also lauded the USA pacer Saurabh Netravalkar, who shined in the T20 World Cup and picked wickets of Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli. He said:

“Very impressive. He is still getting wickets. He is an IT engineer, I believe, but now he can play regular. He is not very fast, but he swings the ball and has good variation."

All-time great is Sir Vivian Richards as a batter, but... - Wasim Akram

Wasim Akram was also asked to pick his favorite batsman and he went on to speak about the likes of Sunil Gavaskar, Allan Border, Martin Crowe, Sachin Tendulkar, and Brian Lara before naming Sir Viv Richards as the best-ever. Wasim Akram stated:

"I played in the 90s. I have played against all these greats. If you talk about Sunil Gavaskar from India, Martin Crowe from New Zealand, or Allan Border from Australia, all these massive names, but one name pops up, West Indies great Sir Vivian Richards. He was, I think for me, the best-ever batter who graced this beautiful game, but then in the 90s, I played against great Sachin Tendulkar, unbelievable Brian Lara from the West Indies, and the Waugh brothers from Australia."

Akram added that among the current batters, Virat Kohli and not Babar Azam is his favorite. The Pakistan great asserted:

“All-time great is Sir Vivian Richards as a batter, but present, if I have to pick, it’s got to be another Indian batter who I really admire, not just on the field but off the field, for his fitness, routine, and mindset—Virat Kohli, one of the biggest names in world cricket."