4 min readFeb 15, 2026 10:14 PM IST Pakistan was once the world’s (read the neighbour’s) envy. Fast bowlers pounced from everywhere, from the alleys and gallis, from universities and academies, from plains and peaks. So abundant was the stock that some of the gifted ones never received their due love or affection. Aaquib Javed, for instance, a svelte swing-seam merchant whose virtues were lost in the era of the two Ws. Now, in a shocking reflection of a lost heritage, they look over the border and envy the dazzling oeuvre of Jasprit Bumrah. He seems to be a bowler accidentally born in India; spiritually he belongs to the Pakistan school of fast-bowling oddities. He wowed Pakistan fans and pundits, transfixed them in a trance like once Wasim Akram and Waqar Younis had subjected India’s supporters to. The night was remarkable in capturing the changing tides of India-Pakistan rivalry, in more ways than one. Pakistan used only one fast bowler, Shaheen Shah Afridi, His two overs were outright bland, bereft of heat, hostility and magic. …