Shaheen Afridi Is As Efficient As Jasprit Bumrah: Analysis Reveals Surprising Likeness

Jasprit Bumrah and Shaheen Shah Afridi [Source: AFP Media]

Jasprit Bumrah has earned the reputation of being the best bowler in the world. He has attained the heights of supremacy, especially in the T20 format. On the other hand, Shaheen Afridi burst onto the scene as a bowler with great potential, but has not yet attained the heights that were expected of him. 

However, when examined closely, we would see that Afridi matches Bumrah when it comes to one of the most crucial metrics: wickets per match efficiency.

Jasprit Bumrah vs Shaheen Afridi: Phase-Specific Performance Breakdown

The efficiency paradox unravels when analyzing their performance across different match phases:

The Death Overs Revelation

While the great reputation of Jasprit Bumrah is centred around his efficiency in the death overs, when the numbers are closely inspected, we find that Shaheen Afridi is better in the phase than the Indian bowler.

The ace pacer from Pakistan has a strike rate of 11.7 in the 17-20th over phase, while Bumrah's strike rate is 17.7. So, Shaheen claims a wicket six balls faster than Bumrah in the last four overs of a T20 match. 

Now, if we look at the economy of the two bowlers in the phase, then Bumrah concedes around 6 runs per over and Afridi around 8 and half runs. So, this shows that maybe Afridi goes for the more aggressive approach, sacrificing economy for wickets. However, another way to look at this is that the batters are more careful against Bumrah than against Shaheen.

Reputation vs Reality

Bumrah's reputation of being the best bowler in the format stems from his consistency in all the phases. The Indian bowler has an excellent economy across powerplay (6.00), middle-overs (6.04) and death overs (6.04).

On the other hand, the fact that Shaheen's superior strike rate in the death overs creates match-defining moments that hard numbers don't capture. 

The Strategic Deployment Factor

The data reveals the contrast in the team strategies around these two key bowlers. While India uses Bumrah across all phases with consistent excellence from him, Shaheen maximises his impact through an aggressive approach in the death phase.

This deployment strategy, in turn, explains why Shaheen Afridi matches the wicket-taking efficiency of Jasprit Bumrah, despite the overall inferior numbers. The 

The secret of Afridi lies in the fact that he gets more opportunities in high-stakes situations where his aggressive style proves most effective.

The Verdict

The efficiency paradox demonstrates that T20 bowling impact transcends traditional statistics. While Bumrah represents sustained excellence across all match phases, Shaheen's ability to deliver match-changing death overs performance creates equal wicket-taking value through a completely different approach.

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