'He Is The Best T20 Bowler At The Moment': Mohammad Amir Opines On Jasprit Bumrah-Shaheen Afridi Comparisons

Mohammad Amir has made his choice on who is the best bowler currently when asked to compare India’s Jasprit Bumrah and Pakistan’s Shaheen Afridi. As India prepares to take on Pakistan in their tournament opener of the ICC T20 World Cup 2021 in Dubai on October 24, comparisons between players of two countries are ruling social media.

Usually, its Virat Kohli vs Babar Azam as batters rule the roost between India and Pakistan clashes, but this time around, bowling units of both the teams are also vying to be better than one another, as India boasts of the likes of Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammad Shami, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Ravichandran Ashwin, and Ravindra Jadeja.

Pakistan, on the other hand, has Hassan Ali, Shaheen Afridi, Shadab Khan, Imad Wasim, and Haris Rauf in their ranks. While Kohli and Babar have truly established themselves among the best in the world, veteran Pakistani pacer Mohammad Amir feels it’s too early for Afridi vs Bumrah talks.

Comparing Shaheen Afridi With Jasprit Bumrah At This Point Would Be Foolish: Mohammad Amir

Having made his international debut for Pakistan in 2018, Shaheen has done wonders for the national team and has more than 150 international wickets to his name. In comparison to Tests and ODIs, however, the young pacer hasn’t fully shown his mettle in T20Is.

In 30 T20I matches for Pakistan, Afridi has 32 scalps to his name at an average of 27.41. Bumrah, on the other hand, has proven himself in all three formats including Test cricket, in which he was not given much of a chance due to his unique action. Bumrah, who made his India debut in 2016, has 268 wickets in international cricket for his national team.

“See, comparing Shaheen with Bumrah at this point would be foolish because Shaheen is young and he is learning. And Bumrah has been doing well for India since so long and currently, I think he is the best T20 bowler, especially in the death over.

But Shaheen is Pakistan’s best bowler at the moment, given the way he has been performing in the last year, year-and-a-half. So, this promises to be a good contest. Bumrah bowls brilliantly with the new ball and among youngsters, Shaheen is the best when the ball is new,” Amir said on the YouTube channel ‘Uncut’.

Amir also handed India the advantage over Pakistan ahead of their upcoming clash in the T20 World Cup 2021.

“As far as fast bowling is concerned, Pakistan are better. Hasan Ali and Shaheen are doing well and Haris Rauf too. These are the best T20 bowlers in the death overs. From India’s point of view, Bhuvi was struggling in the IPL, so Bumrah is the only one you can say is bowling well.

Shami too can bowl well but mostly with the new ball, I feel. I don’t know about his death bowling much but Bumrah is a complete bowler. In the spin department, India have the edge. Ashwin, Jadeja, and Chakravarthy did well in the IPL,” Amir signed off.

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