Jasprit Bumrah vs Shaheen Afridi: Statistical comparison after 70 T20I matches

Jasprit Bumrah and Shaheen Afridi are generational talents in the modern-day of cricket. Both the players have proved out to be match winners for the two heavyweights – India and Pakistan – in all three formats. 

Bumrah is the go-to bowler in clutch situations with captains relying on his golden arm to provide wickets or create pressure when the chips are down. One does not need to go much back to remember his ever-lasting impact. In the T20 World Cup 2024 final against South Africa when the India’s title hopes were all but over with Proteas needing 30 off the final 30 balls to bag the title. Heinrich Klaasen was in a butcher mode, having tamed Axar Patel for a 24-run over. 

With the prayers running out, tall stood Bumrah with a gold four-run over to create pressure. And as they say, the rest is history. For his brilliance in the tournament, Bumrah was named the Player of the Match.

In the same league is Shaheen Afridi. While he came inches close to lead Pakistan to the 2022 T20 World Cup title, he was the cornerstone of Pakistan’s only World Cup win against India in the T20 World Cup 2021. He took apart the cream of the Indian batting in Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli and KL Rahul to set-up a brilliant win. A team that used to defeat them for fun in World Cups was hammered down that day in Dubai and Shaheen was the Player of the Match.

But who is the best among them in terms of stats. Check some stats here.

Both the players have played 70 T20I matches so far in their career. Bumrah has taken 89 wickets in his T20I career so far which has spanned eight years now. Shaheen, on the other hand, is inches away from the 100-wicket mark, having 98 scalps to his name. 

But Bumrah’s average and economy are way better than Shaheen. The Indian speedster’s average reads 17.74, economy stands at 6.27 and strike rate is 16.95. Insane numbers. Shaheen’s average is 20.39, his economy is 7.65 and his striking rate is 15.95, the last thing better than Bumrah.