Kannan Nair
- Sep 2, 2023
- 3 min read

Asia Cup 2023, IND vs PAK: The rivalry of pace - Jasprit Bumrah vs Shaheen Shah Afridi

Asia Cup 2023, India vs Pakistan: A comparative analysis of Jasprit Bumrah vs Shaheen Shah Afridi in ODIs, across conditions, ICC events and opposition wise.

Asia Cup 2023, India vs Pakistan_ Jasprit Bumrah vs Shaheen Shah Afridi comparative analysis in ODIs _Walking wicket (Images_ ©ICC_Twitter) — Bumrah vs Shaheen Afridi comparative analysis in ODIs (Images: ©ICC/Twitter)

An India versus Pakistan match is played with passion, watched with reverence and is a different ballgame altogether. The El Clasico of cricket is scheduled to happen today, in the Asia Cup 2023 group stage.

The past three decades of encounters between the two sides on the cricket field have been filled with intense competitions between India’s legendary batting order and Pakistan’s outstanding bowling attack. However, the game has evolved today, along with the players and the nations.

Though Pakistan still remains an outstanding bowling unit, India have nurtured menacing fast bowlers like Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammad Shami and Mohammad Siraj. Also, while India’s batters continue to dominate, Pakistan’s batting has also become prominent with the emergence of Babar Azam, Fakhar Zaman and Imam ul-Haq.

Therefore, today’s contest will also be judged on the parameters of two fiery fast bowlers going head-to-head on the 22 yards. Yes, we are talking about the spearheads of the two countries’ bowling line-ups - Jasprit Bumrah for India and Shaheen Shah Afridi for Pakistan.

So, here’s how the two pacers have fared so far, especially in the ODI format of the game, and more insights into where they have proved to be more efficient.

Deep-dive into their ODI performances of Shaheen and Bumrah

Let us start off with how the leaders of the pack fare off in ODI’s as a whole.

Player	Span	Innings	Wkt	BBI	Avg	Eco	SR	4w/5w
Shaheen Afridi	2018-2023	39	78	6-35	23.08	5.42	25.5	5/2
Jasprit Bumrah	2016-2023	72	121	6-19	24.3	4.63	31.4	5/2

Crunching the ICC ODI events numbers of Shaheen and Bumrah

Every player’s greatness at the end of their careers boils down to their performance in ICC tournaments. In ICC events, Afridi seems to be ahead in the number of wickets taken and he has done it with a better average than Bumrah’s. The stats are as follows:

Player	Span	Innings	Wkt	BBI	Avg	Eco	SR	4w
Shaheen Afridi	2019-2022	18	38	6-35	22.81	5.36	25.5	2
Jasprit Bumrah	2017-2020	17	26	4-55	29.84	4.99	35.8	1

The knock-out pressure: Numbers in tournament semi-finals/finals

The difference between the two bowling wizards is the number of times their teams have reached the tournament’s final/semifinals in ODI cricket. The Indian pacer has played in four such knock-out matches and has picked four wickets.

The numbers don’t seem to be doing justice to Bumrah in knockout games, as he has an average of 66.5 and strike rate of 72.5 in knock out games.

The only solace is that the Pakistan’s ace pacer is yet to feature in an ODI knock-out game for Pakistan ever since his debut.

Whom do they like bowling to? Left-handers or Right Handers

The numbers are very contrasting for both the players. While one might have assumed that the tall left-arm pacer with a beautiful in-swinger to the right handers would have better numbers against right handers compared to left handers and Jasprit Bumrah with his action and the ability to bring the ball back into the left-handers would be successful against them, the results paint a completely different picture.

Player	vs Player Type	Innings	Wkts	Eco	Avg	SR	Dot%
Jasprit Bumrah	Left	69	43	4.93	27.4	33.4	61.1
Shaheen Afridi	Left	37	26	5.64	22.9	24.3	57.7
Jasprit Bumrah	Right	72	78	4.45	22.6	30.4	63.1
Shaheen Afridi	Right	38	50	5.3	23.9	27.1	60.4

Performance comparison on different soils

In Asia, where the pitches tend to support the spinners, the two fast bowlers have taken the pitch out of the equation as Afridi has picked 43 wickets in 21 innings in Asian pitches at an average of 19.81, while Bumrah has picked 63 wickets in 37 games in Asian conditions at an average of 23.95.

Shaheen Shah Afridi's Record

Grouping	Span	Innings	Wkts	Ave	Eco	SR
In Africa	2019-21	7	12	27.75	5.59	29.7
In Asia	2018-23	21	43	19.81	4.93	24
In Europe	2019-21	12	23	26.78	6.14	26.1
Home	2020-23	12	24	21.87	5.14	25.5
Away	2019-21	14	19	37.63	6.35	35.5
Neutral	2018-23	14	35	16.02	4.76	20.1

Jasprit Bumrah's Record

Grouping	Span	Innings	Wkts	Ave	Eco	SR
In Africa	2016-22	12	22	17.31	3.89	26.6
In Asia	2016-20	37	63	23.95	4.65	30.8
In Europe	2017-22	16	30	21.63	4.52	28.6
In Oceania	2016-20	7	6	67	5.78	69.5
Home	2016-20	28	40	30.3	4.93	36.8
Away	2016-22	27	52	20.46	4.47	27.4
Neutral	2017-19	17	29	22.93	4.4	31.2

Spell Comparison: - New Ball or Old ball?

With both Jasprit Bumrah and Shaheen Shah Afridi usually opening the bowling for the two countries, it also becomes important to see who’s better with the new ball and who proves to be efficient in the death overs. While Bumrah has picked up 34 wickets in 67 innings with the new ball, Afridi doesn’t lag behind much (31 wickets) and that too in fewer innings (39).

With New ball (Overs 0-10)

Player	Innings	Overs	Wkts	Eco	Avg	SR	Dot %
Bumrah	67	254	34	4.04	30.2	44.8	72.9
Shaheen	39	155.5	31	4.85	24.4	30.2	69.6

With Old ball (Overs 40-50)

Player	Innings	Overs	Wkts	Eco	Avg	SR	Dot %
Bumrah	58	172.1	61	5.8	16.4	16.9	48
Shaheen	26	74.1	36	7.12	14.7	12.4	41.8

Jasprit Bumrah, however, is more economical than Shaheen Shah Afridi in the death overs.