Shoaib Akhtar calls star England batsman Jonny Bairstow 'overrated' player of current era

Former Pakistan speedster Shoaib Akhtar has once again stirred a controversy after calling England batsman Jonny Bairstow the most over-rated player of the current generation. Akhtar, while speaking to Sportskeeda, said Jonny Bairstow is an over-rated batsman from the current era. Bairstow is one of the most prolific batsmen for England and has achieved many laurels while playing for his country. The 31-year-old was part of England's 2019 World Cup-winning team, where he scored 532 runs and was the sixth-highest run-scorer in the tournament. 

Bairstow's career

Bairstow made his international debut against India 10 years ago as a 21-year-old boy from Bradford. Since then, he has played 74 Tests and 89 ODIs from his country, scoring 4,197 and 3,498 runs at an average of 34.12 and 47.91 respectively. Bairstow has six centuries in the longest format and 11 in the 50-over cricket while playing for England. 

Bairstow plays for Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) in the Indian Premier League, where he often provides explosive starts batting upfront with teammate David Warner. Bairstow was bought by the Hyderabad-based franchise in 2019, where he impressed everyone with 39 off 35 balls on debut. He went on to score his maiden IPL hundred in the same season as he hit 114 off just 56 balls against star-studded Royal Challengers Bangalore. 

Bairstow was expected to take part in the remaining matches of IPL 2021, which was postponed earlier this year after COVID-19 hit several camps. However, Bairstow's and other English players' involvement in the postponed IPL 2021 has come under scrutiny as ECB director Ashley Giles stated that their cricketers are most likely to miss the cash-league event since they will be taking a break from the game before the T20 World Cup.

(Image Credit: JonnyBairstow/ShoaibAkhtar/FB)