‘Has A High Risk’: Shoaib Akhtar Issues Warning To Jasprit Bumrah

“Very good fast bowler for shorter formats and one-dayers, because he understands the length. I think he does a great job in death overs, in powerplay and he can swing the ball both ways.”

“But you know, in Test cricket, you have to bowl longer spells. You need pace because the batters aren’t trying to hit you. Length becomes irrelevant. You struggle if the ball doesn’t seam or reverse along with that lack of pace. When you start struggling, then people start questioning”, Shoaib said.

“In Test cricket, you have to bowl longer spells. Pace becomes critical because batters aren’t looking to hit you. When the ball doesn’t seam or reverse, and if you lack pace, it can become a struggle. This can lead to questions about performance.”

“But if he wants to continue playing Test cricket, he has to increase the pace. With the injection of increasing pace, he has a high risk of getting injured. If I was him, I would have stuck to shorter formats”, he added.

“It only depends on how I feel. If I’m feeling good, okay, I’ll go out there, I’ll bend my back, make sure I take wickets for the team in Test matches. That is fine with me but he has to look after himself, because he wants to play the IPL, he wants to play ODIs, he wants to play Test matches as well,” said Akhtar.

The Indian team is currently taking part in the five-match Test series against Australia with both teams winning 1 game each.