Abdul Razzaq calls Jasprit Bumrah a 'baby bowler'; claims Sachin Tendulkar is in a different category than Virat Kohli
Former Pakistan all-rounder Abdul Razzaq has gone on record to state that he would have no problems in dealing with India's premier bowler Jasprit Bumrah on the field as he seemed like a 'baby bowler' to him. Bumrah currently is the number one ranked ODI bowler in ICC ratings.
Speaking for a YouTube channel Pakistan Cricket, Razzaq revealed that the experience of facing tough bowlers like Wasim Akram, Glenn McGrath and Shoaib Akhtar would relatively reduce the threat posed by Jasprit Bumrah as compared to the modern generation of players. He said:
“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."
Abdul Razzaq on Jasprit Bumrah from 13:38 min to 14:27 min
Razzaq explained the reason behind Bumrah's success at the international level despite an awkward action. In a way, Razzaq ended up complementing Bumrah for his success and revealed that the ball release and the use of seam from the lanky pacer made him a real force in the modern game. He stated:
"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 expressed his concerns over the lack of quality and class in today's generation of players and compared it to the '90s cricket. He 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."
Speaking on comparisons between batting legend Sachin Tendulkar and current Indian skipper Virat Kohli, Razzaq was quick to dismiss any comparisons and placed Tendulkar well above Kohli. He said:
"Yeah, he [Virat Kohli] 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."
In his international career for Pakistan, Razzaq played 46 Tests and 265 ODIs, scoring 1946 and 5080 runs in both formats respectively. He also played in 32 T20Is, scoring 393 runs with the highest score of 46 not out and ended up taking 389 wickets across all the three formats of the game.