Bumrah has best yorker in world cricket: Wasim Akram
New Delhi, Jan 19: Back in his time, he knew a thing or two about bowling 'toe-crushers' and no wonder Wasim Akram is all praise for Jasprit Bumrah's ability to bowl the "most effective yorker" currently in world cricket.
Bumrah, who played a pivotal role in India's maiden Test series win on Australian soil, has been an 'x' factor in Virat Kohli's set-up.
"Jasprit Bumrah has the best and the most effective yorker among fast bowlers playing international cricket now," Akram told during an interaction.
Arguably the greatest left-arm fast bowler to have ever played the game, Akram believes that Bumrah will make a difference during death overs at this year's World Cup with his 'go to ball'.
"Bumrah has an exceptional action, very different from other fast bowlers and yet he gets the ball to swing and also move off the deck at good pace," Akram said.
"But what makes Bumrah special is his ability to bowl yorkers on a regular basis. Also yorker is not just used for ODIs but for Test matches too as me and Waqar did in our times," the Sultan of Swing said.
A lot of it Akram believes could be attributed to tennis ball cricket, which helps aspiring bowlers perfect their yorkers.
"If you see, whether it's me coming from Pakistan or Bumrah coming from India, we are all products of tennis ball cricket," said Akram, who is a mentor in the upcoming 10PL tennis ball tournament in UAE.
"When you play gully cricket with buildings on both sides and the batsman being deprived of playing cross batted shots on both sides, they are forced to play straight then.
"And then you start pitching it up and in the process learn to bowl at the base and prevent the batsman from going down the ground. You will see a lot of yorkers in 10PL," said Akram.
He was all praise for India, which became the first country from Asia to win a Test series in Australia.
"It's a huge achievement to win a Test series in Australia. I don't subscribe to the view that this is a weakened Australian side. Let's not take away any credit from Virat and his boys. The kind of consistency they have shown is indeed a big deal," said Akram.
Whenever a young talent is discovered in Pakistan, they start comparing him with Kohli, only to fade away like an Umar Akmal.
So why do potential 'Kohli's' of Pakistan fall off the radar, Akram said:"Had we known what the problem is, wouldn't we have addressed the issue?"
"On a serious note, it is Virat's mindset that makes all the difference. When I mean mindset, it also includes off the field preparation also."
The Indian captain's awareness is in a different league, feels Akram.
"Awareness about all the worldly things, what needs to be done to become the best in the world and it's not just about having the perfect technique. It is about having a perfect mindset. He is one of the most popular cricketer in Pakistan," said the owner of 900 plus international wickets.
Akram, who has been the face of 10PL in 2018, expects the tournament to grow with passage of time.
"The organisers have kept 250,000 Dirham (USD 68,00,000) prize money for this tennis ball tournament where as back in 1992, we got USD 40,000 for winning World Cup," Akram said.
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Jharkhand horror: Man kills live-in partner, chops body into 40 pieces
Ranchi (PTI): A 25-year-old man, who works as a butcher, allegedly strangled to death his live-in partner and chopped her body into 40 to 50 pieces in a forested area in Jharkhand’s Khunti district, police said on Wednesday.
The accused, identified as Naresh Bhengra, was arrested.
The matter came to light after around a fortnight after the killing when a stray dog was found with human body parts near Jordag village in Jariagarh police station on November 24.
Bhengra was in a live-in relationship with the deceased, a 24-year-old woman also from Khunti district, in Tamil Nadu for the past couple of years. Sometime back, he returned to Jharkhand, got married to another woman without telling his partner anything and went back to the southern state without his wife to join her.
"The brutal incident occurred on November 8 when they reached Khunti as the accused who had married another woman did not wish to take her home. Instead, he took her to a forest near his house at Jordag village in Jariagarh police station and chopped the body into pieces. The man has been arrested," Khunti Superintendent of Police Aman Kumar told PTI.
Inspector Ashok Singh who investigated the case said the man worked in a butcher shop in Tamil Nadu and was expert in slicing chicken.
“He admitted chopping the body parts of the woman into 40 to 50 pieces before leaving those in the forest for wild animals to feast on. The police recovered several parts on November 24 after a dog in the area was seen with a hand," Singh told PTI.
Singh said that the woman, who was unaware of his marriage, pressured him to return to Khunti. After reaching Ranchi, they boarded a train on November 24 and headed to the man's village.
"Under a plan, the man took her to Khunti in an autorickshaw near his home and asked her to wait. He returned with sharp weapons and strangulated her with her dupatta after raping her. He then cut the body into 40 to 50 pieces and left for his home to live with his wife," Singh said.
The woman, however, had informed her mother that she had boarded a train and would be living with her partner, the police officer said.
Following the recovery of body parts, a bag was also found in the forest with the murdered woman's belongings including her Aadhaar card. The mother of the woman was called at the spot and she identified her daughter's belongings.
"The mother suspected the man behind the crime who after being nabbed by the police admitted to chopping the woman into pieces," the official added.
The incident has sent shockwaves among people in the region, with the Shraddha Walker murder case of 2022 still fresh in their memory.
Walker was killed by her live-in partner who chopped her body into pieces before dumping them in the jungle in South Delhi’s Mehrauli.
