Pakistan’s legendary pacer Wasim Akram seems to be pretty impressed with Indian pacers and reckons that they can be lethal in this year’s tour of England if Mohammed Shami corrects a run-up flaw and Jasprit Bumrah devotes some time to county cricket.

Akram examined the current Indian bowling attack, which he feels has gained in confidence unlike the teams of the earlier era. He said, “Shami is a good bowler but sometimes I feel he is a bit laidback. As a fast bowler, irrespective of the match situation, he should just sprint in and try to hurry the batsmen, who have a front foot trigger movement.”

Also read: Holding finds Bumrah unsuitable for England

Asked to elaborate on the technical aspects, Akram explained, “During his run-up, Shami, at times, tends to take small strides before his final load up to the crease. Now when he is in rhythm, his strides are correct and equally measured but the moment he gets a bit wayward, his strides get smaller. It should always be the opposite.”

Michael Holding recently expressed that Jasprit Bumrah is unlikely to be successful in England due to his hit-the-deck action but Akram feels that it is something that can be worked upon. He said, “I agree with Mike that you can’t hit the deck on English surfaces but that would only come with experience. Look the BCCI doesn’t allow the Indian boys (main international stars) to play county cricket. If Bumrah plays at least a month in the county every year, trust me, he will be a better bowler.”

Wasim also shared that Bumrah will surely get better with the experience, he said, “He has had a good start to his Test career after starting off as a T20 specialist. So it’s a kind of change in mindset that is slowly happening for him. If people are talking about not having an outswinger, I won’t be bothered much. But if Bumrah can learn how to straighten the ball after pitching coming from wide off the crease, more often than not, it will be his wicket-taking delivery. He just needs to use a bit of wrist for that.”

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According to Wasim Akram, Bhuvneshwar Kumar is the best Indian fast bowler on view. He said, “Bhuvneshwar Kumar has been the most impressive pacer in South Africa as far as my assessment goes. He was getting the ball to swing both ways. And with increased pace now, he has become all the more effective.”

Akram concluded by stating that the Indian pacer will be even more lethal with the Dukes ball which will be available in England, he said, “This Indian pace attack has potential to do well in England. They were very impressive in South Africa with the kookaburra which is a difficult ball to bowl with so Dukes which does a lot after pitching will be easier for them.”