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Cricket PlayersAfter Virat Kohli-Babar Azam debate, Aqib Javed gives his views on Jasprit Bumrah and Shaheen Afridi comparison
Former Pakistan pacer Aqib Javed praised India's Jasprit Bumrah, but added that left-arm seamer Shaheen Shah Afridi is better than the Indian speedster with the new ball.
Former Pakistan fast bowler Aqib Javed compared the two premier fast bowlers of India and Pakistan Jasprit Bumrah and Shaheen Shah Afridi, and said that at this moment, the Indian seamer is ahead of the Pakistan pacer. Bumrah made his international debut in 2016, and since then, he has picked 250 international wickets.
Afridi, on the other hand, made his Pakistan debut in 2019, and since then, has accounted for 124 scalps in his career across formats.
Speaking in an interview on Cricket Pakistan, Javed praised Bumrah, but added that Afridi is better than the Indian speedster with the new ball.
"[Jasprit] Bumrah is a really good bowler who is good at everything. Right, now he is better than Shaheen [Afridi] in terms of death bowling. Although, with the new ball, Shaheen is ahead of him," Javed said.
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"It is injustice with Shaheen to make him play every match. Pakistan team should manage his workload carefully. They should not play him when the team has lost the series or adopt a proper rotation policy. Shaheen should only play those matches which are important,” he further opined.
Javed's remarks came just a few days after he had suggested that India captain Virat Kohli can improve his technique by watching Pakistan skipper Babar Azam play.
"Virat Kohli has a better range [of shots] as compared to Babar Azam but he also has one area of weakness. If the ball swings, he tends to get trapped around the off-stump such as against [James] Anderson in England,” Javed had told Cricket Pakistan in an interview.
"When you look at Babar, you don’t see any weak areas. Just like, [Sachin] Tendulkar who also didn’t have any weak areas. Babar is technically more safe and sound but if he follows Kohli’s fitness routine he will become an even better player. Meanwhile, Kohli can improve his technique by looking at Babar so that he doesn’t get trapped."
