Opinion

‘Jasprit Bumrah a baby bowler, would have easily dominated him’: Former Pakistan allrounder Abdul Razzaq

Written by Vipin Darwade

India fast bowler Jasprit Bumrah is regarded as one of the best fast bowlers in the current generation of players. The right-arm pacer currently holds the top position in ICC ODI Rankings, and is 5th in Test rankings. But despite his current records, former Pakistan cricketer Abdul Razzaq believes he would have easily dominated the Indian pacer. Speaking in a video interview to Cricket Pakistan, the 40-year-old called Bumrah a ‘baby bowler’.

“I have played world class bowlers all across the world. I have no issues in facing Jasprit Bumrah. The pressure will be on him if I am in front of him. Because when you have faced bowlers like Glenn McGrath, Wasim Akram or Shoaib Akhtar, you gain confidence. Bumrah is a ‘baby bowler’ for me. I can easily dominate him. Even he knows that this player has faced all these great bowlers in his time,” Razzaq said.

“Bumrah is doing good as per the current lot of players and he has improved a lot. He has an awkward action, and he runs awkwardly, but his ball release is tremendous. It falls on the seam. Hence, he is effective,” Razzaq said.

“If you speak to players from 1992 to 2007, they will tell you what cricket was. There were world class players at that time. Now there are no longer world class players. There is no depth in bowling, batting or fielding. It is all basic now,” he said.

“Like if Virat Kohli scores, so he scores. Yeah, he is a good player for them and is performing consistently, but you cannot place him in the same category as Sachin Tendulkar. He belongs to a completely different category,” Razzaq said.

 

About the author

Vipin Darwade