former indian allrounder Irrfan Pathan Thumbs up for starpacer Jasprit Bumrah He played a decisive role in India’s thrilling semi-final victory over the England cricket team in the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2026 at the iconic Wankhede Stadium on Thursday.Speaking on his YouTube channel, Pathan described bangla Hailed as a rare talent and said India should consider themselves lucky to have a bowler of his caliber. 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 after batting, largely thanks to a 42-ball 89 run from Team India. Sanzhou Samson. 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. Then the pressure is amplified Hardik Pandyahe bowled an excellent penultimate over, costing just nine runs and also accounting for 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.“As per 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 of around 10. Some even exceed 10 points or close to 15 points. On such a flat pitch, the score reached 500 points. The man who accomplishes this difficult task under these conditions is truly the man of the match. Jasprit Bumrah’s job is to overcome difficulties,” 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 bowls, the first batsman he faces is Harry Brooke. He doesn’t try to bowl fast because he has a great cricket mind. He immediately trapped Harry Brooke with a slower ball. Bumrah could have bowled a yorker or a bouncer on the first delivery and played on his ego, “I am Jasprit Bumrah”. But he didn’t do that. He knows the pitch, the conditions, and reads hitters well. He knew Harry Brooke loved rhythm. So instead of giving him pace, he trapped him with slower passes that ultimately led to Axar Patel catching the ball. “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. A short four-goal blitz, scoring 19 points Jofra Archer The match almost went in England’s favour, but India kept their cool in the closing moments.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.
