Jasprit Bumrah is Usman Tariq of fast bowlers: Pakistan selector Aaqib Javed

Pakistan selector Aaqib Javed has made a bizarre statement calling India’s Jasprit Bumrah, the Usman Tariq of fast bowlers. Bumrah was recently seen at his best again in the T20 World Cup 2026, finishing as the joint-highest wicket taker of the tournament with 14 wickets from eight innings.

He topped the charts alongside his teammate Varun Chakravarthy, who also finished with 14 scalps from nine games. Recently, Aaqib Javed mentioned how Bumrah’s unique action separates him from the rest, comparing him with Pakistan spinner Usman Tariq.

“In today’s era, across this entire World Cup, there is only one bowler like that - Bumrah. Because he is different. He is not a normal bowler. Even his action is unusual. When he comes in to bowl, I always say he is like the Usman Tariq of fast bowlers,” Javed said in a press conference in Lahore.

He further explained how Bumrah never allows any batter to settle against him, calling him a rare commodity in the modern era.

“He bowls so quickly and in such a unique manner that a batter never really finds any flow or rhythm against him. He simply doesn’t allow it. Other than him, tell me one more bowler in this entire World Cup - from any team - whom you can look at and feel satisfied that he carries the reflection of a Wasim Akram, Waqar Younis, or anyone like that. You won’t find one anymore,” he added.

Meanwhile, the Pakistan national selector also shared his thoughts on the team’s future and said that they will have to rise above the scapegoating culture after another disappointing World Cup campaign.

We'll have to move past scapegoating people: Javed

"In our setup whenever a team loses, there is always a demand to punish someone. It happened at the previous World Cup, then the Champions Trophy, and the Asia Cup. Whenever we lose, we'll go over the top, demanding the whole team or coach or selectors be changed. The way we change coaches and selectors never happens anywhere else in world cricket. We'll have to move past scapegoating people,” said Javed.

Pakistan were knocked out of the T20 World Cup 2026 after failing to defeat Sri Lanka by 65 runs or more in the last Super 8 fixture. As a result, the Men in Green failed to reach the knockout stages of the event for the second successive time after earlier facing a group stage exit in the 2024 edition as well.

Pakistan are currently playing in a three-match ODI series against Bangladesh, which is levelled at 1-1 after their commanding 128-run win in the second ODI.