‘I do not have anything personal against him’ – Abdul Razzaq clarifies his ‘baby bowler’ comment on Jasprit Bumrah

Abdul Razzaq, the former Pakistan all-rounder, said that his words on Jasprit Bumrah were blown out of proportion. Last year in December, Razzaq called the talented Indian speedster ‘a baby bowler’ and stated that he could’ve easily ‘attacked and dominated’ him. The stern words didn’t go down well with the netizens, who severely mocked the retired 40-year-old cricketer.

Even a few experts, including Aakash Chopra, criticized Razzaq for his words. Recently, after facing flak, Razzaq mentioned that he was only comparing Bumrah to a few of the legendary fast bowlers. He said that his comments were taken out of context.

Jasprit Bumrah is heading towards becoming a world-class bowler

“I do not have anything personal against Bumrah. I was simply comparing him with the likes of Glenn McGrath, Wasim Akram, Curtly Ambrose, Shoaib Akhtar. It would have been much tougher to face them. My comments were misconstrued,” Razzaq was quoted as saying in India Today.

Razzaq didn’t forget to laud Bumrah, calling him a world-class prospect. But he also said that during his playing days, bowlers of ‘higher calibre’. “He is heading towards becoming a world-class bowler. But in our times, the bowlers were of much higher calibre. Not many can dispute that,” he added.

Bumrah is currently the second ranked bowler in ICC’s ODI rankings. He was at the top at the start of 2020 before New Zealand’s Trent Boult toppled him. Earlier this year during India’s home series against Sri Lanka, Bumrah made his comeback after injury, but has strained to pick up wickets.

Last year, he also became the third Indian bowler to pick up a Test hat-trick after Harbhajan Singh and Irfan Pathan. He achieved the feat in the Jamaica Test against the West Indies. On the back of his performance, India won the series 2-0, making Virat Kohli India’s most successful Test skipper.

He played a crucial role in India’s campaign in the 2019 World Cup where the team qualified for the semi-final. Bumrah made his debut back in 2016 after he impressed for the Mumbai Indians in the IPL. Gradually, he has been able to cement his place in all the three formats.