IND vs NZ: Hanuma Vihari praises Prince Yadav, stops short of Jasprit Bumrah comparison

Former India batter Hanuma Vihari has praised express bowler Prince Yadav for his performance in the ongoing India vs New Zealand T20I series. In his praise for the Delhi-based bowler, who is a product of the IPL, Vihari stopped just short of comparing him to Jasprit Bumrah – one of the modern Indian legends of the game. India has fielded a new-look bowling attack in the ongoing T20I series, including Prince, Mayank Yadav, Arshdeep Singh, and Bhuvneshwar Kumar, who has made a comeback after four years.

Vihari praises express bowler Prince Yadav

"Prince Yadav is bowling the important overs. I think he is one bowler who will serve Indian cricket for a long time, especially in the white-ball format. I would not compare him to Bumrah, but he is there. He is getting there. He is creating impact. He has got a good yorker and can be a death-overs specialist," he said in a video on his YouTube channel.

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Prince has played two of the first three T20I matches, bowling his full quota of four overs in each game. In total, Prince has conceded 74 runs in those two matches at an economy rate of 9.25 – which is good enough, given the scoring rate in the series. He has, however, taken only one wicket in the two matches.

IND vs NZ T20I series

India has already taken an unassailable 3-0 lead in the five-match series. In the first T20I, India chased down a target of 226 runs with four wickets in hand. In the next match, India chased down an 182-run target, again by four wickets, in a thriller before crushing the hosts in the third match by six wickets as they chased down 199 runs in 13.2 overs, including hitting 118/0 in the powerplay – the highest score in the first six overs by a team in a T20I.