Asia Cup 2022, India vs Pakistan: Who will be missed more, Jasprit Bumrah or Shaheen Afridi?

Absence of top pacers has become a talking point leading up to today's gameLike it happens before and after India-Pakistan matches these days, one tweet has triggered a major debate. A few hours after Pakistan's ace fast bowler Shaheen Afridi was ruled out of the Asia Cup due to a knee injury, Pakistan pace bowling great Waqar Younis tweeted: "Shaheen's injury big relief for Indian top order batsmen. Sad we won't be seeing him."

Waqar's tweet has set off an argument between cricket fans on both sides of the border, with many former India cricketers saying that Pakistan too would be equally relieved to not see the face of Jasprit Bumrah, arguably the No. 1 pace bowler in world cricket. Former India all-rounder Irfan Pathan, in fact, quipped that Pakistan and other teams in Asia Cup would be relieved to see the absence of both Bumrah and seamer Harshal Patel, who has umpteen variations up his sleeve. "It's a relief for other teams that Bumrah and Harshal aren't playing this Asia Cup," tweeted Pathan.

Younis was obviously referring to the tall left-arm pacer's sensational spell in last year's T20 World Cup in Dubai, where Sunday's match will take place, when Afridi took 3/31, including a spell which saw him dislodge India's opening pair of Rohit Sharma, LBW for a golden duck, and KL Rahul, bowled for three, with unplayable, inswinging deliveries. Afridi's opening blows demolished India's hopes of making a good total in that game. The 22-year-old once again exposed India's vulnerability to left-arm pace bowling, particularly when they are new at the crease. In comparison, Bumrah, bowling one change, had 0-22 in 3 overs to show as Pakistan romped home to their first 10-wicket win over India in any format.

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