India cricket team pacer Jasprit Bumrah 164 wickets to his name already despite playing just 37 Tests so far. The premium pacer has been in and out of action in the past, majorly due to injuries which has impacted his red-ball career greatly. Over the last few years, the team management has treaded cautiously when it comes to managing ‘Boom Boom’s’ workload management, given that he is the spearhead of the Indian pace attack and more so is an integral part of the team in all three formats of the game.
While Bumrah’s record in just 37 matches is indeed spectacular, there have been his counterparts from other Test playing nations who fared extremely well at the same point. Take for example, both South Africa’s Kagiso Rabada and Australia’s Pat Cummins had a better record in comparison to the Indian pacer by the time they finished playing their 37th Test match. Does that make them better than Bumrah despite his lethal ability with the ball and the tag of the best bowler in the world? Were they not impacted by injuries in the course of their career in their early days? What do the numbers say? Let’s find out.
Bumrah vs Cummins vs Rabada after 37 Tests
Pat Cummins was the first among the three to make his Test debut, having featured in his first red-ball international game in 2011. Rabada is the next on the list, having debuted for South Africa in 2015. Bumrah was the last among the lot to make his Test debut, having played his first game only six years before in 2018.
Coming to the number of wickets taken in 37 Test matches, both Rabada and Cummins managed to bag 178 scalps. Meanwhile, Bumrah’s tally after the same 37 games stands at 164, a little short of the aforementioned duo. Rabada had a higher average compared to the other two pacers after 37 Tests while Bumrah has the same economy rate as Cummins had after 37 Tests which is 2.76.
| Bowler | Matches | Wickets | Economy | Average |
| Pat Cummins | 37 | 178 | 2.76 | 24.33 |
| Kagiso Rabada | 37 | 178 | 3.29 | 28.75 |
| Jasprit Bumrah | 37 | 164 | 2.76 | 20.51 |
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Predominantly, all three pacers began playing Test cricket regularly between 2015-2018. Even though Cummins made his Test debut in 2011, his second Test came six years later, in 2017. Rabada and Bumrah were regulars in the longest format of the game from 2015 and 2018 respectively.
The South African pacer played his 37th Test in 2019 while the Australian all-rounder played his 37th match in 2022. Bumrah, on the other hand, played his 37th Test in 2024 in Chennai in the IND vs BAN series.
Australia’s Steve Smith recently acknowledged the danger posed by Bumrah despite playing lesser number of Tests in comparison with other Australian stalwarts and the rest of India’s pace attack. His remarks come ahead of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy where the fiery pacer is all set to trouble the Australian batters in their own backyard.
“He (Bumrah) is a wonderful bowler; regardless of when I face him, whether it’s brand new, slightly older, or even the old ball, he’s got great skills with that as well, so he’s a great bowler, arguably the best fast bowler over three formats, so it’s going to be a challenge as always,” Smith said.
Bumrah not a home bully
Out of the three pacers, Bumrah has played the least number of games at home while the other two have played majority of their first 37 matches in their own backyard. Both Pat Cummins and Kagiso Rabada played 23 Tests out of 37 at home while Bumrah has played only 8 Tests at home so far.
The Indian pacer has tasted enormous success while bowling overseas, getting majority of his wickets in the SENA countries (South Africa, England, New Zealand and Australia). The other two pacers, meanwhile, have taken majority of the wickets in 37 Tests largely at home, having played only 14 Tests outside their home country.
