"I’ll probably go on experience alone"- Ricky Ponting backs Jasprit Bumrah to perform better than Shaheen Afridi in T20 World Cup
Former Australia skipper Ricky Ponting has backed ace Indian pacer Jasprit Bumrah to outperform Pakistan pace spearhead Shaheen Afridi in the upcoming T20 World Cup. The marquee tournament will be played in Australia from October 16 to November 13.
Having made his international debut in Australia back in 2016, Bumrah has got a fair bit of experience playing in the conditions. He has played six T20Is in Australian conditions so far, bagging eight wickets.
Bumrah has also played a considerable number of ODIs and Tests in Australia, which should augur well for the Indian team going into the World Cup. While Ponting felt it was a very difficult choice to make, between Afridi and the Indian, he backed Bumrah on the basis of his experience.
“Look, how do you split those two guys? They are two of the best performing bowlers in the world in the last couple of years in all formats of the game,” Ponting told host Sanjana Ganesan on The ICC Review.
“I’ll probably go on experience alone - I’ll go for Bumrah. He’s played a fair bit of cricket in Australia now, played more in Australia than Afridi and has played more big tournaments as well than Afridi has.” Ponting added.
Shaheen Afridi, who had to miss the Asia Cup in the UAE following an injury to the right knee, has recovered and will be hoping to spearhead the Pakistani bowling in the showpiece event. The left-arm quick has ruled the roost across formats in recent times through stunning displays.
Meanwhile, Bumrah was named in the Indian T20 World Cup squad after recuperating from a back injury that has been troubling him since 2019.
He missed India’s first game of the three-match T20I series against Australia but is expected to be back for the next game slated to be played in Nagpur on 23rd September (Friday).
Buttler miles ahead of Babar Azam in T20s, quips Ricky Ponting
Two-time World Cup winning captain Ponting also felt that there was no comparison between Babar Azam and Jos Buttler, especially in the T20 format. Despite Babar being technically more sound than Buttler, the Australian feels that the latter's dynamic strokeplay sets him apart.
“Babar Azam, he is technically a better player than Buttler. You look at their strike rates though and there is no comparison there, Buttler is much more dynamic, sort of a more 360-degree player than Babar is,” Ponting said.
Babar Azam hasn’t been in the greatest of nicks in recent times and has dropped down to the 4th position in the latest rankings for T20I batters. On the other hand, Buttler has been in the form of his life and has scored consistently for England and his franchise teams.