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Jasprit Bumrah started his professional career as a death-over specialist while playing for Mumbai Indians franchise in 2013. Since then, his stock has risen gradually, with the Gujarat-born bowler becoming an all-format spearhead in the bowling department for India. Recently, in the second Test of the India vs England serie s, Jasprit Bumrah became the fastest pacer for India to achieve the record of 150 scalps in Test cricket. He surpassed the 1983 World Cup-winning captain, Kapil Dev, who achieved the feat in 39 tests.
Also, Bumrah has the best bowling average in a decade after Sydney Barnes, with the bowlers over 150+ wickets in test cricket. Interestingly, Jasprit Bumrah was initially considered the white-ball specialist when he came into the mix and was renowned for his toe-crushing yorker abilities.
With time, he generated the art of swinging balls in both directions, making him lethal with the new ball. It was in 2018 that his career took a steep incline. He was considered for the South Africa tour, fashioning the policy of the Virat-Shastri era to make India a pacer-dominated side. He repaid the hope by scalping 14 wickets in the three-match series, including a five-fer in the last test.
He followed it up with a commendable display in England and Australia tours. Within half a decade, he established himself as the leader of the pack. Apart from test cricket, he holds exceptional numbers in limited-overs cricket, holing out 149 wickets in the ODI format and 74 in the shortest format.
What do these numbers suggest? Jasprit Bumrah has already created a debate on whether he is the greatest-ever pacer to grace Indian cricket. Let's take a look at the three reasons which suggest so:
Exceptional home and away record:
Jasprit Bumrah holds an excellent record in away and home matches, especially in Test cricket. With home conditions being slow and spinner-friendly, Bumrah has often amazed everyone with his skill set and performances in Tests in India. In the ongoing India vs England series too, he has grabbed the most wickets with an unbelievable strike rate of under 30 in three tests. He is currently ahead of spin bowling maestros Ravichandran Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja.