Aakash Chopra picks the best yorker bowlers, includes 2 Indians among 3 active international players
Aakash Chopra has picked the best yorker bowlers in modern-day cricket. He included the Indian duo of Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Shami among the seamers proficient in nailing the delivery.
The yorker is one of the most potent deliveries, especially in white-ball cricket. It is particularly effective at the death, both for picking up wickets and containing runs.
In a video shared on his YouTube channel, Chopra picked Sri Lanka's Lasith Malinga as the most lethal yorker bowler.
"You cannot go far from him in modern-day cricket. You cannot look at anyone else apart from him. He made practicing yorkers by keeping shoes popular - Lasith Malinga. Lasith Malinga was an absolute beast. His yorkers were different because they came with a lower trajectory. He was a genius. He also had a slower yorker," he said (2:25).
The former India opener chose the Pakistan duo of Waqar Younis and Wasim Akram as two other great yorker bowlers in recent times.
"Then I remember someone who used to come running from far. He too had a slight round-arm action. Just watching him run was a delight. Sometimes with the new ball as well but he was absolutely lethal with the old ball. The bowler's name is Waqar Younis. His rhythm was worth watching," Chopra elaborated.
"After that, I am thinking Wasim bhai. He is among the two Ws - Waqar and Wasim, and Wasim was different. He firstly used to change the angles a lot, bowl over and around the stumps, with a slight round-arm action or high-action as per his wish. Wasim Akram was that complete bowler who used to behold," he added.
Chopra named Bumrah as one of the most proficient yorker bowlers among active cricketers.
"That brings me to a white-ball and red-ball genius. He is also an absolute beast. He is our pride - Boom Boom Bumrah. What a bowler. The yorker he bowled to Ollie Pope, you can keep watching it on loop. Ollie Pope had no hope. The ball came in as a bullet and hit the stumps. He has bowled many yorkers like that," he stated.
Bumrah castled Ollie Pope with an impeccable yorker in the second Test between India and England in Visakhapatnam earlier this year. The right-handed batter had scored a match-winning 196 in the previous game but was beaten all ends up in his next innings.
"I used to like Andrew Flintoff's yorkers a lot" - Aakash Chopra
In the same video, Aakash Chopra named England's Andrew Flintoff and the West Indies' Dwayne Bravo among the other potential best yorker bowlers.
"After that, there will be a little debate. There could be personal preferences. I am just throwing some names. I used to like Andrew Flintoff's yorkers a lot, especially in the 2005 Ashes where the ball was reverse swinging a lot. He had a slightly different open-body, high-arm action but very quick in the air," he said (6:10).
"Dwayne Bravo - he has bowled a lot in white-ball cricket, over and around the stumps. Very few right-arm bowlers have gone around the stumps but he has. He has bowled a lot of slower yorkers as well. He was not in the same pace bracket but very, very effective," the cricketer-turned-commentator added.
Chopra picked Mohammed Shami as the other Indian bowler with a lethal yorker.
"I also remember Mohammed Shami. He is so brilliant. If you can see his debut, it was against the West Indies at the Eden Gardens, he had taken a five-wicket haul, the yorkers were hitting the stumps. I think he had taken five wickets against South Africa in their second innings on the fifth day in Vizag. There also he bowled excellent yorkers," he elaborated.
The 46-year-old concluded by opining that Australia's Mitchell Starc should be among the five best yorker bowlers alongside Lasith Malinga, Waqar Younis, Wasim Akram and Jasprit Bumrah.
"Sorry, I have come slightly late to the market with Mitchell Starc's name. He could be that fifth bowler. When the ball comes out nicely from his hand, tauba tauba. He has a lot of pace, is a left-armer, and isn't scared to bowl extremely full even with the new ball. Apologies, his name should have come after Bumrah at the fifth spot," Chopra observed.
Starc is one of the most potent swing bowlers with both the new and old ball. However, he is prone to off-days, where he errs in line and length and is taken to the cleaners.