In the world of cricket, the pacers are just known for sheer pace or the number of wickets. However, Jasprit Bumrah has made his identity as a saviour. He stunned the fans and the experts after delivering a top-notch performance in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy. The player took 32 wickets in the series, before pulling up injured midway through Australia’s first innings at the SCG in the final Test. He becomes the top wicket-taker pacer in India’s history to take this many wickets in a single Test series. Despite his team losing the series, he was awarded with the player of the tournament. Maybe this is the peak Bumrah we are witnessing. Is he the best all-format player of all time?
Clarke on Bumrah
Recently, Australia’s great cricketer Michael Clarke called Bumrah as the best all-format player. “The thing I’ve thought about Bumrah, after the series finished and I was sitting and thinking about his performances, is that I actually think he’s the best fast bowler ever across all three formats,” he told ESPN. “He’s actually that good in any conditions; that’s what makes him great; any conditions, any format, this guy’s a freak.” he added.
Is he better than the bowlers who played all three formats?
Comparing him with Lasith Malinga, the Sri Lankan bowler was fired in the T20Is and ODIs. The bowler alone has more than 400 wickets in white-ball cricket, however, he didn’t see much success in Test cricket. Similarly, Steyn has a great ODI and Test Legacy but he has only played 47 T20Is in his career. Compared to Bumrah, who has played 70 T20Is and took 84 wickets.
It’s too early to say if he is better than Starc or Trent Boult in the scenario, who have started their careers much before Bumrah and are past their prime now. Currently, they have more wickets and success for their team in all formats.
Comparing with Kagiso Rabada
South Africa’s pacer Kagiso Rabada is one who’s actually a really good format pacer. Rabada has more wickets than Bumrah, but he has played more matches too. Talking about Test cricket, Bumrah has played 45 matches and taken 205 wickets. Meanwhile, Rabada has taken 327 wickets in 70 matches he has played. However, Bumrah has a better average of 19.40 compared to the South African speedster who has 22.20. Bumrah has a better average, economy, and strike rate than Rabada in ODIs. Similarly, Bumrah holds more wickets than him in T20Is with five more matches but has a better economy of 6.27 as well compared to his 8.30.
Cannot compare Bumrah with Legends
When talking about comparing Bumrah with cricket legends like Wasim Akram, Waqar Younis, Curtly Ambrose or Glenn McGrath, it’s irrelevant because none of these played have played T20 cricket. It’s really early to call him the best all-format player of all time. Since he is in his prime right now and still has a long career ahead, it’s not possible to term him the best all-format player.
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