Jasprit Bumrah and Shaheen Afridi are two of the best pace bowlers in the subcontinent. While Bumrah is an all-format star for India, Shaheen Afridi is equally important for Pakistan across the formats. Although the two pacers have a fair gap in terms of experience, fans and experts often draw a comparison between the two bowlers. While many consider Bumrah a better bowler, Afridi has his fans too.
Former Pakistan cricketer Abdul Razzaq is one of many Shaheen Afridi fans as he has ranked the left-arm pacer way above Bumrah. Razzaq has claimed that the Indian pacer does not even come close to Afridi. "Shaheen bahut accha hai, Bumrah toh uske paas bhi nahi aata (Shaheen is very good. Bumrah doesn't even come close to him)," Abdul Razzaq told Paktv.tv recently.
This is not the first time Razzaq has tried to shame Bumrah as the former Pakistan all-rounder had called the Indian pacer a ‘baby bowler’ in 2019. "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 then said to Cricket Pakistan.
Looking at the statistics of both pacers, Jasprit Bumrah has scalped 128 wickets in 30 Tests, 121 wickets in 72 ODIs and 70 wickets in 60 T20Is. On the other hand, Shaheen Afridi has taken 99 wickets in 25 Tests, 62 wickets in 32 ODIs and 58 wickets in 47 T20Is. Overall, Bumrah has 319 wickets in 162 international matches while Afridi has 219 wickets in 104 international games.
Currently, both Bumrah and Shaheen are down and out with injuries. While the Indian pacer has been out of action since August 2022, Afridi has been undergoing rehabilitation after aggravating his knee injury in T20 World Cup 2022 Final in November.
