cricket – Demystifying a skeptic's world

Alfred North Whitehead once famously said, “All of western philosophy is a footnote to Plato.” I couldn’t borrow a better assertion to highlight the contribution of Jasprit Jasbirsingh Bumrah. Today marks what would have been the fifth day of the final test between England and India at Dharamshala. The series marked a few great moments, starting with 700 wickets to James Andreson, who doesn’t seem to age. Ravichandran Ashwin both reached 500 wickets and also completed 100 tests. Sarfraz Khan got a chance to play for India after knocking the door fibre by fibre over the last 3 years. Yashasvi Jaiswal has raised the bar so high that falling doesn’t look like an option anymore. Shubman Gill managed to show why he has been rated quite high. Why on earth am I talking about Jasprit Bumrah? I will use statistics and highlight the impact.

Test Matches

Test matches continue to be the grand stage for cricketers of substance. The nature of the game has moved from an era of negotiating defensively to asserting positively, whether it is batting, bowling or fielding. I want to start by how Jasprit Bumrah compares with other Indian Fast Bowlers.

Stats

Amongst fast bowlers who have taken over 50 test wickets, Bumrah has the best average, economy and strike rate.

Player	Span	Mat	Inns	Wkts	BBI	Average	Econ	Strike Rate
JJ Bumrah	2018-2024	36	69	159	6/27	20.69	2.74	45.1
B Kumar	2013-2018	21	37	63	6/82	26.09	2.94	53.1
Mohammed Shami	2013-2023	64	122	229	6/56	27.71	3.3	50.2
N Kapil Dev	1978-1994	131	227	434	9/83	29.64	2.78	63.9
Mohammed Siraj	2020-2024	27	50	74	6/15	29.68	3.35	53.1

While, India always boasted of spinners who can win series in their homeland, the issue was the lack of penetrating fast bowlers to take 20 wickets abroad. Bumrah again tops the charts in terms of average, economy rate and strike rate.

Player	Span	Mat	Inns	Wkts	BBI	Average	Econ	SR
JJ Bumrah	2018-2024	28	54	126	6/27	21.83	2.72	48
IK Pathan	2003-2008	15	28	73	7/59	25.57	3.45	44.4
Mohammed Siraj	2020-2024	17	32	61	6/15	28.65	3.3	52
Mohammed Shami	2013-2023	43	80	153	6/56	30.49	3.38	54
Z Khan	2000-2014	54	95	207	7/87	31.47	3.4	55.4

Impact

The impact of a player is not just performing but contributing to the victory of the team. Again, not only does Bumrah have the best average, economy and strike rate amongst the fast bowlers in victories, he has the second best percentage of wickets taken for the winning cause amongst everyone.

Player	Span	Mat	Inns	Wkts	BBI	Average	Econ	SR	Win %	Wicket %in wins
JJ Bumrah	2018-2024	17	33	91	6/27	15.19	2.7	33.6	47.22%	57.23%
N Kapil Dev	1979-1994	24	48	90	7/56	18.3	2.42	45.2	18.32%	20.74%
J Srinath	1993-2002	17	34	68	6/21	20.3	2.5	48.7	25.37%	28.81%
Mohammed Shami	2013-2023	31	62	118	5/28	20.34	3.09	39.3	48.44%	51.53%
IK Pathan	2003-2008	13	26	67	7/59	20.52	3.15	39	44.83%	67.00%

If these statistics aren’t amazing enough, then a quick comparison across eras on fast bowlers with over 150 wickets places Bumrah third in the list, surpassing Malcolm Marshall, Joel Garner, Curtly Ambrose and even Glenn McGrath.

Player	Span	Mat	Inns	Wkts	BBI	Average	Econ	SR
SF Barnes (ENG)	1901-1914	27	50	189	9/103	16.43	2.36	41.6
AK Davidson (AUS)	1953-1963	44	82	186	7/93	20.53	1.97	62.2
JJ Bumrah (IND)	2018-2024	36	69	159	6/27	20.69	2.74	45.1
MD Marshall (WI)	1978-1991	81	151	376	7/22	20.94	2.68	46.7
J Garner (WI)	1977-1987	58	111	259	6/56	20.97	2.47	50.8
CEL Ambrose (WI)	1988-2000	98	179	405	8/45	20.99	2.3	54.5
FS Trueman (ENG)	1952-1965	67	127	307	8/31	21.57	2.61	49.4
GD McGrath (AUS)	1993-2007	124	243	563	8/24	21.64	2.49	51.9

ODIs

Against my natual inclination, I decided to also compare him with in One Day Internationals. This is because, the nature of the game has change more than tests. An economy rate of 4 was high in 1970s while it is insane in 2020.

Stats

While the economy rates may be varied, Bumrah still tops Indian fastbowever with over 100 wickets in terms of average. Mohammed Shami the unlucky second with a even better strike rate goes for one run per over more than Bumrah.

Player	Span	Mat	Inns	Wkts	BBI	Average	Econ	SR
JJ Bumrah	2016-2023	89	88	149	6/19	23.55	4.59	30.7
Mohammed Shami	2013-2023	101	100	195	7/57	23.68	5.55	25.5
N Kapil Dev	1978-1994	225	221	253	5/43	27.45	3.71	44.2
AB Agarkar	1998-2007	191	188	288	6/42	27.85	5.07	32.9
J Srinath	1991-2003	229	227	315	5/23	28.08	4.44	37.8

Impact

If we look at contribution of Bumrah in wins, the statistics are even more staggering. The economy rate comes down even further. What is even more impressive is that India has won 70% of the matches he has played and 80% of his wickets have come in a winning cause.

Player	Span	Mat	Inns	Wkts	BBI	Average	Econ	SR
JJ Bumrah	2016-2023	63	63	119	6/19	18.69	4.21	26.6
Mohammed Shami	2013-2023	62	62	139	7/57	18.74	5.17	21.7
S Madan Lal	1975-1987	34	34	50	4/20	19.68	3.66	32.2
Mohammed Siraj	2019-2023	33	33	59	6/21	20.49	4.83	25.4
RMH Binny	1980-1986	33	33	54	4/29	20.7	4.16	29.8

The other way I want to look at impact is how well Bumrah has inspired people to perfrom around him. Brett Lee or Jason Gillespie were never the same without Glenn McGrath. I want to compare three players who played before and with Jasprit Bumrah. The changes to the average and strike rate are quite drastic in matches with Jasprit Bumrah.

In matches before Jasprit Bumrah

Player	Span	Mat	Inns	Wkts	BBI	BBM	Average	Econ	SR
B Kumar	2013-2018	21	37	63	6/82	8/96	26.09	2.94	53.1
Mohammed Shami	2013-2018	39	75	142	6/56	9/118	29.52	3.38	52.3
I Sharma	2007-2018	90	161	267	7/74	10/108	34.28	3.19	64.4

In matches with Jasprit Bumrah

Player	Span	Mat	Inns	Wkts	BBI	BBM	Average	Econ	SR
B Kumar	2018-2018	2	4	10	4/87	6/120	20.3	3.02	40.2
I Sharma	2018-2021	16	30	58	5/43	8/74	20.81	2.56	48.6
Mohammed Shami	2018-2022	25	47	91	6/56	8/107	26.9	3.22	50.1

Number don’t lie. So, it is easy to see how well Bumrah has done as compared to the greats of this era and that of the past. However, I do want to look into the intagible qualifiers of the bowlers. As someone who has watched from Kapil Dev to Javagal Srinath and then Zaheer Khan, it is hard for me not to compare the impact they all had on the game. With absolute respect to each of those players who performed well, Jasprit Bumrah is on a league of his own. He has broken traditions not just in terms of actions but also in terms of the expectations of a test bowler. The only bowler I can compare from my memory is Malcolm Marshall. Marshall came on the back of Holding, Garner and Roberts. He left behind Courtney Walsh and Curtly Ambrose. Many of the them took more wickets and they were all greats but Malcolm was the GOAT, who galvanised the unit. Jasprit Bumrah is that galvaniser for the Indian Cricket. There were philosophers before and after but Plato will forever be remembered as the icon of western philosophy. Similarly, Jasprit Bumrah will be icon for Indian Fast Bowling or rather Fast Bowling in India will be a footnote to Jasprit Bumrah, a true modern great.

Tag: cricket

All of Fast Bowling in India is a footnote to JJ Bumrah