If his performance in Australia last season wasn’t enough, Jasprit Bumrah took the definition of greatness to another level with his masterclass in Leeds. Over two days, he single-handedly denied England a first-innings lead. But it wasn’t just the five-wicket haul—remarkable in itself—that cemented his status. It was the sheer dominance with which he outshone every other fast bowler on a dry, batting-friendly Headingley track. No wonder English media couldn’t stop raving, calling him “the most complete fast bowler of all time.”
That was precisely the phrase that former England international Steven Finn used in his column for the BBC after his five for 83 in the first innings against England, where he had three catches dropped and had Harry Brook caught off a no ball.
It was his 14th career five-wicket haul and 12th away from home – the most by an Indian fast bowler alongside Kapil Dev.
While Finn largely analysed Bumrah’s bowling techniques, from his run-up to his bowling arc and the ‘hyper-extension’, which has been talked about in great detail over the years, he also statistically showed why the 31-year-old is “the most consistent fast bowler in history” across formats.
“He is like a computer constantly calibrating what is needed in any given situation, and he is able to implement almost exactly what he wants to with absolute precision. Consider this for versatility. Of pace bowlers from major nations to have sent down at least 500 deliveries in T20 internationals, Bumrah’s economy rate of 6.27 is the best. At the same time, Bumrah has comfortably the best bowling average of any bowler in Test history with at least 200 wickets. At 19.33, Bumrah is miles ahead of West Indies legend Malcom Marshall in second place on 20.94.
Taking it a stage further, the only bowlers with more than 100 wickets at a lower average than Bumrah all played before World War I,” he wrote.
In a column in Telegraph.co.uk, veteran writer Scyld Berry hailed Bumrah as “the finest red-ball fast bowler that ever drew breath,” as he drew comparison with the contemporaries of his generation – Kagiso Rabada and Pat Cummins.
“When Jasprit Bumrah’s career is written up, it will have to be in two volumes with two separate titles. The first could be called: “The definitive biography of the finest white-ball fast bowler that ever drew breath”. The second volume, because the game has evolved with all respect to Fred, would have to be titled: “The definitive biography of the finest red-ball fast bowler that ever drew breath,” he wrote.
In reminding that Bumrah remains the only Test bowler ever to average less than 20 (19.33) among all 86 players who have taken 200 or more wickets in the format, Berry added: “He can do what Kagiso Rabada of South Africa does with a new ball, by swinging it on the line of the stumps, and what Pat Cummins of Australia does with an old ball, AND more besides.”
Berry further admitted that had Bumrah been born in England, he would never have made it past the county academy without being told to change his action, the one that makes him so “unique, quirky and quick.”
In Times Sports, Simon Wilde headlined his article in Bumrah saying: “There were two games here: one when Bumrah was bowling, one when he wasn’t.” It particularly highlighted the vast difference in the level of bowling between Bumrah, who conceded just 83 runs in picking five wickets, and his fellow Indian quicks, who managed 283 runs for the other five wickets in 53 overs.
