mark waugh: Jasprit Bumrah among Mark Waugh’s Top-5 T20I players in the world

Australian great Mark Waugh has included India pacer Jasprit Bumrah in his list of five cricketers who he feels are the best T20I players in the world.

Waugh is confident that 28-year-old Bumrah, who is ranked 45th in the ICC T20I bowling rankings, will do well during next month’s ICC T20 World Cup in Australia.

“I think he is really a fantastic bowler across all formats,” Waugh said of Bumrah, who had to miss a couple of white-ball series due to his old back injury.

“His ability to take wickets in T20 cricket is important. He can bowl at death and bowl in front,” Waugh said.

The former all-rounder, known for his athletic fielding in top-order blitzkrieg and slip cordons, also picked Pakistan pacer Shaheen Afridi in his top-5.

Waugh, a member of Australia’s 1999 Cricket World Cup winning team, said, “We will go with another great Pakistan opener, Shaheen Afridi, who is a terrific left-arm fast bowler to open the bowling at the other end.” on ICC.

“He’s a wicket-taker. He elevates the team. He’s the guy the other players follow. He’s a left-hander, so that’s another difference. He swings the ball back to the right. Well, he’s fast, that’s why I put him at number two,” Waugh said of Afridi, who is ranked 19th among bowlers.

The other three Waughs include Afghanistan spinner Rashid Khan (4th in T20I ranking for bowlers), England captain Jos Buttler (T20I batting ranking 15th) and Australian all-rounder Glenn Maxwell (T20I batting ranking 29th, all-rounder ranking 6th).

“In all the competitions he (Rashid) plays in, he is just someone you know is going to bowl four overs,” said K Waugh, the Afghanistan cricketer.

“He’ll probably get two or three wickets and go for 20, and he can bat. He can also hit the ball over the fence.”

As for Butler, England’s white-ball captain, Waugh said, “I think he is probably the number one batsman in world cricket in the T20 format. He is just a clean striker of the ball. We have seen him in all tournaments, He just sees the other players to a different level.”

On Maxwell, Waugh said, “He’s the kind of player who can win you a game on the field and with the bat. With the ball, he’s probably underrated. And I think if he bats 30 balls, So he’ll win you the game. So I think Maxwell, even though he’s not a consistent player, is the X-factor who can win your game any day.”

Originally published at Pen 18