‘Fantastic bowler in all formats’ - Mark Waugh includes Jasprit Bumrah in his top five T20I players

Former Australian cricketer Mark Waugh picked his five top T20I players ahead of the big ICC event next month. A rare combination of Jasprit Bumrah and Shaheen Afridi, two of the finest pacers in the format were the first two picks for Waugh as he heaped praises on the speedsters for fulfilling different roles in the side.  

Waugh felt Bumrah's abilities with new ball and in the death overs is a key factor to any side while lauding Shaheen Afridi for the way he swings the ball upfront. Both the fast bowlers missed the recent Asia Cup 2022 due to injuries but have been named in the T20 World Cup 2022 squads for their respective countries.  

“I think he(Bumrah)’s a fantastic bowler in all formats, actually. His ability to get wickets in T20 cricket is key. He can bowl at the death and he can bowl up front,” Waugh told when he spoke to ICC. 

"To open the bowling at the other end we'll go with another great opening bowler, Shaheen Afridi from Pakistan, who is a tremendous left-arm fast bowler. He's a wicket-taker. He sort of lifts the team. He's a guy that other players follow.” 

"He is a left-armer so that’s another point of difference. He can swing the ball back into the right-hander, he’s quick as well, so I’ve got him number two," he added. 

Waugh picks two all-rounders and one wicketkeeper-batter in his list

Further, Waugh’s third pick was Afghanistan’s Rashid Khan who is among the best spinners in the T20I format going around. He highlighted Rashid’s all-round capabilities and how he has proved to be a bankable option.  

"In all competitions he plays in, he’s just the one guy who you know is going to bowl four overs. He’ll probably get two or three wickets and go for 20 runs, and he can bat. He can also whack the ball over the fence," Waugh revealed. 

Waugh went for England's T20I skipper Jos Buttler as his fourth option and termed him as the number one batter in the format. 

"I think he's (Buttler) probably the number one batsman in world cricket in the T20 format. He's just a clean striker of the ball. We've seen him in all tournaments, he just looks on a different level to other players," he added.  

Waugh finally picked his countrymen, Glenn Maxwell to finish his list which looked quite formidable. 

"Glenn Maxwell is the sort of player that can win you a game in the field and with the bat. With the ball, he's probably underrated. And I think if he bats 30 balls, he'll win you the game. So I think Maxwell, even though he's just not a consistent player, he's that X-factor that can win your game on any given day" Waugh concluded. 

Here's Mark Waugh's picks -  Jos Buttler, Glenn Maxwell, Rashid Khan, Shaheen Afridi, Jasprit Bumrah