India and Pakistan don’t play any kind of bilateral series against each other, and it’s been over a decade since these two teams played a series across formats. That is one of the reasons why, when these two sides face each other in multi-national tournaments, the hype is just unbelievable.
The fans from both nations are very passionate about this game, which is why we see much banter between the fans across the border on various points. One of the most hot topics among fans of India and Pakistan is who is best between Virat Kohli and Babar Azam.
Well, apart from this, there are some fans that like to compare Shaheen Afridi or Naseem Shah with India’s Jasprit Bumrah. Not just fans, but even former cricketers from both sides have shared their opinions on such comparisons. Most recently, former Pakistani pacer Mohammad Irfan also talked about the best bowlers among both countries.
In an interview with News 24, Irfan was asked about the best bowler between Bumrah and Shaheen. The former pacer picked Bumrah as the best. He said, “Bumrah is good because, as you see, Shaheen’s pace has decreased a bit, and his performance hasn’t been good since he came back from injury. Whereas, when Bumrah came, his performance has been pretty good, so he is the best.”
Notably, both of these pacers were out of action in 2022 and early 2023 due to their respective injuries. Bumrah made his return ahead of the Asia Cup 2023 and has been exceptional since then. But Shaheen has been below-par. Apart from a few good spells, he has looked rusty in all three formats.
The PCB has also made Shaheen T20I captain, and Pakistan has struggled under him so far. Notably, these two teams will once again face each other in the upcoming T20 World Cup 2024. The high-voltage clash between India and Pakistan will take place on June 9 in New York.
