Former Indian player turned cricket analyst has picked facing Jasprit Bumrah as more intimidating than former Pakistani pace legend Shoaib Akhtar, who was known as one of the most lethal pacers in the world for his sheer pace and toe-crushing yorkers.
India and Pakistan have always faced a fist fight over the years along all platforms, be it politically, on the border shared by the neighbouring nations, or even in the International sports events. Both nations have produced some legendary names in the game of cricket.
Two such names could easily be modern-day Indian great Jasprit Bumrah and former Pakistani pacer Shoaib Akhtar. Ahead of the Asia Cup 2025, as several players engage in fun interactions, a former Indian batter picks Bumrah over Akhtar as a speedster.
Your daily dose of cricket!
Jasprit Bumrah elevated to a new high in International cricket
Former Indian batter Aakash Chopra, during his recent appearance on the YouTube channel of Crex, was asked whether he could name who was more intimidating, whether it was Pakistani legend Shoaib Akhtar or Indian star Jasprit Bumrah.
Chopra, who played for India during the time when Akhtar was in his peak years for Pakistan, did not hesitate to pick the Indian pacer as the more intimidating bowler to face instead.
Jasprit Bumrah might undoubtedly be said to be the greatest of pacers in the world currently; however, the bowler is not known to be as lethal or brutal as Shoaib Akhtar, who used to frighten batters with his insane pace.
Jasprit Bumrah made his debut for India in 2016, and in this one decade of international cricket, he has played 48 Tests, 89 ODIs, and 70 T20Is and has picked up 219, 149, and 89 wickets for India across all three formats, respectively.
Aakash Chopra names one batter he would pay to watch
Further, in the video, when Aakash Chopra was asked to pick a batter whom he would pay to watch, he picked Indian veteran Virat Kohli. Virat has already retired from the Test and T20I formats and will feature only in One-Day cricket.
He was last seen in India colours back in the 2025 ICC Champions Trophy and was last seen with the willow in the IPL 2025 for the Royal Challengers Bangalore. Kohli has been part of India’s victorious campaigns at the 2011 ICC World Cup, the 2013 ICC Champions Trophy, the 2024 ICC T20 World Cup, and the 2025 ICC Champions Trophy.
He is the Indian player to have played the most ICC finals for India, as he has featured in 7 ICC finals as of now. He will soon be seen in action with the Men in Blue on their white ball tour to Australia. He has 9,230, 14,181, and 4,188 runs across the Test, ODI, and T20I formats for India.
Chopra picks former IPL star to talk cricket all day
When picking a player with whom he could talk cricket all day, he picked former India and CSK star Ravichandran Ashwin, who recently retired from IPL cricket as well, but is regularly seen involved with the game through his podcast on YouTube as well as coaching activities.
Ashwin was picked for the same role by former Indian teammate Cheteshwar Pujara as well. The veteran all-rounder has featured in 106 Tests, 116 ODIs, and 65 T20Is for India and finished with a tally of 765 wickets, the second most for India.
ALSO READ: Jasprit Bumrah’s slaughtering over workload issues continues; new Pat Cummins mirror shown
