'Still Has A Lot To Prove': Pakistan Legend Drops Big Jasprit Bumrah Verdict

Jasprit Bumrah’s reputation as one of cricket’s most dangerous fast bowlers has earned him admirers across the world, but former Pakistan pacer Waqar Younis believes there is a distinction to be made when assessing the Indian speedster across formats. Speaking on Shubhankar Mishra’s podcast, Waqar reserved his strongest praise for Bumrah’s performances in limited-overs cricket, while arguing that the 31-year-old still has more to demonstrate in the longest format.

Waqar Picks Bumrah As Benchmark In White-Ball Cricket

The former Pakistan fast bowler was emphatic about Bumrah’s influence in ODIs and T20Is, particularly when matches reach decisive moments.

However, he stopped short of extending the same assessment to Test cricket.

"There’s no modern-day bowler of the same calibre as Bumrah with the white ball. Leave out Test cricket. He still has a lot to prove in Tests; he hasn’t played as much. There are plenty of others, like Mitchell Starc and Josh Hazlewood. You can’t ignore some of the English bowlers either."

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"But when you talk about T20 and one-day cricket, I feel that in terms of impact, Bumrah always delivers in crunch scenarios. And that’s what matters,"

Waqar’s comments come despite Bumrah’s impressive record in red-ball cricket, where he has established himself as a key figure in India’s bowling attack.

Bumrah’s Test Numbers Tell A Different Story

The Indian pacer reached 50 Test wickets in just 11 matches in 2018, becoming the fastest Indian fast bowler to achieve the milestone.

He subsequently claimed his 100th Test wicket in his 24th appearance and became the third Indian bowler to register a Test hat-trick in 2019.

His achievements continued in 2024, when he received the ICC Men’s Test Cricketer of the Year award. Bumrah then delivered a remarkable 32-wicket haul across five Tests during the 2024-25 Border-Gavaskar Trophy.

The T20 World Cup Moment Waqar Remembers

Waqar also highlighted Bumrah’s decisive contribution against Pakistan during the 2024 ICC T20 World Cup.

With Pakistan appearing well placed to win the New York contest, Bumrah dismissed Mohammad Rizwan, helping shift the momentum in India’s favour.

India eventually secured victory in a memorable encounter.