'In past, 150 is routine ball speed' - Rashid Latif reacts to Ian Bishop praising Anrich Nortje

South African fast bowler Anrich Nortje has set the stage on fire in his debut season of the Indian Premier League. Nortje was roped in by the IPL franchise Delhi Capitals as a replacement for English all-rounder Chris Woakes ahead of the 2020 league. The 26-year-old has emerged as a vital cog for Delhi and has contributed to the team’s success by taking 10 wickets in 8 matches at an economy rate of 7.34.

In a reverse-clash against Rajasthan Royals on October 14 (Wednesday), Anrich had bowled the fastest delivery of IPL 2020 by clocking the ball at 156.22 kmph or 97 mph. Capitals had won the match by 13 runs to register their sixth win of the 2020 edition.

Impressed by his bowling abilities, West Indies former cricketer Ian Bishop had praised Nortje via Twitter. He had made his tweet after Nortje had dismissed the RR opening batsman Jos Buttler by constantly bowling over a speed of 150 kmph. He had tweeted: “Anrich Nortje just knocked Buttler over with a 155kph rocket of a ball.”

Rashid Latif doesn’t agree with Ian Bishop

However, the tweet by Bishop didn’t go well with the former Pakistan captain Rashid Latif as he called out the former saying there was nothing unique about the delivery. Rashid believes bowling above 150 kmph is a routine ball speed and many have achieved this in the past.

Tagging the bowling legends like Curtly Ambrose, Brett Lee, Shoaib Akhtar, Waqar Younis, and Shane Bond, Latif wrote, “In past 150 is routine ball speed you, Sir curtly Ambrose, Walsh, Anthony, Brett Lee, Waqar, Bond, Shoaib and Sami consistently bowled fast in ODI and Test matches.”

In past 150 is routine ball speed you , Sir curtly Ambrose , Walsh, Anthony , Brett Lee , Waqar , Bond , shoaib and Sami consistently bowled fast in ODI and Test matches.@ambrose_curtly @BrettLee_58 @shoaib100mph @waqyounis99 @ShaneBond27 pic.twitter.com/921aTYZ2Ss

— Rashid Latif ®️🇵🇰🌹 (@iRashidLatif68) October 14, 2020

Meanwhile, the man in question Anrich Nortje looked surprised after knowing about his record of bowling the fastest delivery in IPL 2020. Anrich believes that sticking to his strengths and practicing for the last few days paid him off as he could get an important wicket for his team.

“Really? No idea. Hearing it for the first time,” Nortje replied after the match on being asked about his record-breaking delivery. “[I’ve] been feeling it the last few days. Nice to see some results. Buttler played them really well. Maybe I was a touch too full. Didn’t expect him to go for a six first ball. Maybe he was expecting something else off that delivery. Stuck to my strength and paid off,” Anrich said as quoted by Hindustan Times.