Former India all-rounder Irfan Pathan heaped praises on star pacer Jasprit Bumrah as Team India registered a thrilling win over England in the semi-finals of the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2026 at the iconic Wankhede Stadium on Thursday.
Pathan said on his YouTube channel that Bumrah is a rare talent and said India should feel lucky to have a bowler like him. The former pacer highlighted Bumrah’s complete skill set and his ability to perform well under pressure at crucial moments.
Pathan said on his YouTube channel: “I have spoken about Bumrah many times before and I will say it again. We are lucky to have a bowler like Jasprit Bumrah playing for India. India has never had a bowler like him before. Maybe the world has rarely seen a bowler like him. He has it all, including yorkers, slow balls, outside swing, in swing and bouncer. He also knows very well how to bowl under pressure.”
India had earlier posted a mammoth score of 253/7 behind the bat, largely thanks to Sanju Samson’s 42-ball 89. However, England remained firmly in the lead for most of the innings, buoyed by a sublime century from Jacob Bethell.
With England still staring at the target at the end of the innings, Bumrah’s decisive moment came in the 18th over. The match started with England demanding 45 runs in the last three overs but Bumrah conceded only 6 runs while sending out 4 accurate yorkers. The pressure was then amplified by Hardik Pandya, who bowled a brilliant penultimate delivery that cost him just nine runs and also bowled Sam Curran. England ended with 246/7, seven runs shy of India’s total.
Bumrah had also scored 16 earlier in the innings, conceding only eight runs, and further strengthened India’s control in the closing stages.
Pathan felt Bumrah deserved the Man of the Match award for his efforts, especially as he bowled the toughest ball on a batting-friendly pitch and had smooth runs.
“In my opinion, Jasprit Bumrah should be the man of the match. If you watch the match, you will see that all other bowlers have an economy rate around 10. Some are even above 10 or close to 15. On such a flat pitch, the score is 500. The one who does the tough job in such conditions is the real man of the match. Jasprit Bumrah The job is to throw the tough shots,” he said.
Pathan also highlighted Bumrah’s tactical awareness, pointing out how the pacer beat Harry Brooke through clever changes rather than pace.
“Again, when he bowled, the first batsman he faced was Harry Brooke. He didn’t try to bowl fast because he has a great cricket mind. He immediately trapped Harry Brooke with slower balls. Bumrah could hit a yorker or a bouncer on the first delivery and bowled with his ego , ‘I was Jasprit Bumrah. ‘ But he didn’t do that. He knew the pitch, the conditions and read the batsman well. So instead of giving him pace, he trapped him with a slower delivery that ended up being caught by Axar Patel.”
India’s innings was built on Samson’s explosive batting, blasting 89 off 42 balls, including eight fours and seven sixes. Shivam Dube (43 off 25), Ishan Kishan (39 off 18), Pandya (27 off 12) and Tilak Varma (21 off 7) also made valuable contributions as India posted a respectable 253/7 in 20 overs.
England were struggling at 95/4 until Bethell’s aggressive 105 off 48 balls, coupled with Will Jacks’s 77 runs (35 off 20 balls), got them back into the game. Jofra Archer’s brief four-ball blitz of 19 nearly swung the game in England’s favour, but India kept their composure in the final seconds.
With this win, India has booked a place in the final of the tournament where they will take on the New Zealand national cricket team at the Narendra Modi Stadium on March 8 as they aim to clinch another major ICC title.
