Broad and Finn say Bumrah may be the best quick bowler ever after T20 World Cup semi-final heroics
If you needed any more proof that Jasprit Bumrah operates on a different level, the T20 World Cup semi-final at the Wankhede on March 5 provided it.
With England's Jacob Bethell in the middle of a sensational century and the required rate within reach, India turned to Bumrah in the 18th over. He conceded just six runs. His figures of 1 for 33 from four overs do not begin to tell the story of how he strangled the chase at the death. England fell seven runs short of India's 253, and Bumrah's control in the pressure overs was the difference.
"The best I've ever seen live"
Speaking on their podcast For the Love of Cricket, former England pacers Stuart Broad and Steve Finn went further than most pundits have dared in their praise.
Finn set the tone. "Everyone else is mortal. There's great bowlers, there's good bowlers, but then there's Jasprit Bumrah who sits above all of them at the moment, and I include people like Cummins, Starc. I think he is just on another planet to any other bowler in the world at the moment."
Broad did not hesitate to go bigger. "He could arguably, you could put a really strong argument that he's the best quick bowler ever."
Finn then revealed he had written a piece for the BBC making exactly that case and received pushback from older cricket fans. "I had a lot of angry 50 and 60-year-olds telling me that Malcolm Marshall was miles better," he said.
Broad acknowledged the weight of those comparisons. "Malcolm Marshall, Hadlee, or, you know, for me, Ambrose, all these, McGrath, all these guys. It's difficult because we didn't see Malcolm Marshall in a T20 World Cup semifinal where the ball was flying to all parts. And I think I would lean on your article and it's certainly the best I've ever seen live, that is for sure."
500 international wickets and counting
The semi-final also brought a personal milestone. When Bumrah dismissed England captain Harry Brook, caught by Axar Patel for 7, he became the latest bowler to reach 500 international wickets across all formats. At 32, his career record reads 234 Test wickets, 149 in ODIs and 117 in T20Is.
Two years ago, Bumrah was the Player of the Tournament when India won the 2024 T20 World Cup, taking 15 wickets at an average of 8.26 and an economy rate of 4.17. That remains one of the great individual bowling performances in a World Cup.
"Like having a genie"
Former South Africa captain Faf du Plessis put it in simpler terms on ESPNcricinfo's TimeOut show. "It's a superpower that any captain dreams of. It's like having a genie; you just rub the lamp, and out comes Bumrah. Team India doesn't understand how fortunate they are to have him."
Whether Bumrah truly belongs above Marshall, Ambrose and McGrath is a debate that will run as long as cricket exists. But Broad's point about context counts for something. None of those legends bowled in a T20 World Cup semi-final where 499 runs were scored on the night. And none of them, in that moment, would have been expected to deliver the sort of spell Bumrah produced.
He has one more chance to add to the argument. India play New Zealand in Sunday's T20 World Cup final at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad.
