Wasim Akram Settles 'Jasprit Bumrah vs Shaheen Afridi' Debate Once And For All

Back to his best, Jasprit Bumrah put on a show with the new ball as India took on defending champions England in the Cricket World Cup 2023 clash on Sunday. The marquee pacer bagged three wickets in the match, including the golden duck incurred by Joe Root, to set the platform for India to win the high-profile contest. Seeing Bumrah perform at his best, cricketing great Wasim Akram lavished praise on the India star, saying he is better than th pace bowlers the Pakistan team has.

Bumrah wasn't a certainty for the World Cup, having spent most of the last year on the sidelines because of injury troubles. However, since making a comeback, the pacer has added new intensity to India's bowling attack, putting in consistent performances regularly. Akram was so impressed by Bumrah that he called him the 'best pacer in the world' right now. While Bumrah has often been compared with Pakistan's Shaheen Afridi, Akram seems to have completely ended that debate.

"He is the best in the world right now. Top of the ladder! The control, the pace, the variations, just a complete bowler. A treat to watch. With the new ball, to get this kind of movement on this kind of pitch ... pace, carry, follow-through... you name it he's a complete bowler," Wasim said in a chat on A-Sports.

Wasim also claimed that Bumrah is better than him when it comes to handline the new ball.

"When Bumrah is bowling to a left-hander from around the wicket and hits the ball on the seam... And when he's bowling from wide of the crease, the batter will think the ball is coming inside. He will play for that angle, but the ball hits the pitch and moves away rather than coming in. Most of the time, you are going to be beaten. When I used to bowl outswingers like that to