Last Updated:
The 31-year-old fast bowler sits at the No. 1 position in the ICC Test bowler’s ranking but is not playing in the Champions Trophy 2025 due to a lower back injury.
Ex-Pakistan pacer Sarfraz Nawaz praises Jasprit Bumrah. (Picture Credit: PTI)
Former Pakistani fast bowler Sarfraz Nawaz has reserved big praise for star Indian pacer Jasprit Bumrah and said that the 31-year-old cricketer from Ahmedabad is the best bowler in the world at present times. Bumrah, who was ruled out of the ongoing Champions Trophy 2025 on February 11 due to a lower back injury, sits at the No. 1 position in the ICC Test bowler’s rankings, and he also played a big role in India’s T20 World Cup 2024 title win. For his super show with the ball in both Tests and T20Is last year, Bumrah won ICC Cricketer of the Year and ICC Test Cricketer of the Year awards in 2024.
Impressed by Bumrah’s rise, Nawaz, who played 55 Tests and 45 ODIs for Pakistan during his 15-year-long international career, said, “I must tell you, he (Bumrah) is the best bowler in the world today. Unfortunately, he’s not fit. Otherwise, we could have seen more of him, you know, like he did in Australia. Outstanding job. It’s a shame that he’s not fit for this Champions Trophy.”
The 76-year-old former right-arm fast bowler, during an interview with Cricbuzz on Thursday, also talked about the India-Pakistan Champions Trophy 2025 match, which was played in Dubai on Sunday, February 23.
According to Nawaz, “It was a one-sided game because the Pakistan team was not properly selected. They didn’t take spinners with them, and then there were two injuries (Saim Ayub and Fakhar Zaman). The team was unbalanced. Some players were selected because of backing from higher authorities. When the team was announced, I wrote to the chairman of the PCB, suggesting spinners like Sajid (Khan) and Noman (Ali), who had wrecked England earlier. They performed well against the West Indies too, but they were not picked at all.”
“Pakistan cricket is gone now. I think it’s because of all the PCB officials running the board. They are non-cricketers; they are bureaucrats. That’s why I think they don’t know how to go about things like that. They’ve picked people who previously destroyed Pakistan cricket. And then there are frequent changes in the PCB. Within a year and a half, there were three chairmen and four captains. What else do you expect?” he added.
