Shami, Umesh on course to become world-class bowlers: Shoaib Akhtar

Impressed by Mohammad Shami and Umesh Yadav’s “mature performance” in the ongoing cricket World Cup, former Pakistan pacer Shoaib Akhtar feels the duo are on the path to become “world-class” bowlers and have been the key to India’s success in the tournament. The pace duo shared four wickets between themselves as India humbled Ireland by eight wickets in their previous league encounter to register nine consecutive World Cup wins and also confirm their top spot going into the quarterfinal. India have also had the distinction of bowling their opponents out in all the five outings and Akhtar is all praise for the pace duo’s contribution.

“50 wickets in 5 matches is an incredible task. I am glad to see such matured performances from Shami and Umesh in all the matches and I believe its not long before they are regarded as world-class bowlers. It is truly a joy to watch them bowl so beautifully and enjoy their cricket. The pitch complemented the playing conditions very well on Wednesday,” said Akhtar, who bagged 247 wickets for Pakistan in 163 ODIs. Recently, Shami also credited Akhtar for bringing back rhythm into his bowling after the former Pakistan speedster advised him to shorten his run-up, which has helped him increase his pace.