Has cricket found its most complete fast bowler in Jasprit Bumrah? Ashes winner Finn thinks so

Cricket has had countless bowling heroes over the years – from Sydney Barnes and Sir Richard Hadlee to the greats like Malcolm Marshall, Michael Holding and Wasim Akram. Even considering the unforgettable Aussie quicks like Dennis Lillee, Jeff Thompson and Glenn McGrath, let alone picking anyone from the past three decades, this packed order has all-time greats on it. So, who sits on top? Former England pacer and Ashes winner Steve Finn has picked Indian bowling God Jasprit Bumrah as the most complete fast bowler in cricket history. Is it harsh on others? Perhaps, but Finn details what separates Bumrah from the rest.

Taking to his social media handle X, Finn wrote, “Making a case for Jasprit Bumrah as the most complete fast bowler in the history of the game. It’s hard to refute in my opinion,” referring to his BBC column.

Meanwhile, Bumrah is like no one cricket has seen, let alone from India. Be it for his line and length, the zip he gets off the pitch, what he makes out of the thin air and how lethal he is across all conditions, he stands tall as this generation’s greatest ever; however, if Finn’s words and explanation are to look, Bumrah is the most complete fast bowler in cricket history.

“Guys…It’s impossible to compare eras exactly; I know that. I love fast bowling and all the greats everyone is mentioning. But, I think Bumrah is complete,” Finn wrote in his column for the BBC.

Finn also mentioned some of the top names around in world cricket in the same breath as that of Bumrah, while putting the ranked number one quick in the world ahead of them.

“We’re lucky to be in an era of great fast bowlers. From recent international retirees Stuart Broad and James Anderson to Kagiso Rabada, Cummins, Hazlewood and Mitchell Starc, Bumrah sits atop of them all as the finest fast bowler to have played the game. Some accolade,” he added.

A bowler himself, Finn knows what goes into bowling, how Bumrah bowls, and perhaps also has an idea of what, as a tailender, it is like to face someone like him.

“If I ever had the misfortune of facing Bumrah, he’d be done with me in a maximum of two deliveries. A good short ball, then a searing yorker would do the trick. I’d hold out hope he’d go straight for the second of those options as, by all accounts, it is incredibly hard to see the ball when Bumrah is bowling. He would cause a tailender like me some harm,” Finn noted.

Meanwhile, Bumrah completed his 14th Test five-wicket haul in the first innings of the Leeds Test against England, his 12th abroad – an Indian record in itself. While he had already surpassed Akram on the list of Asian pacers with most wickets in the SENA countries a day earlier, he equalled Kapil Dev’s record for most five-fors in away Tests on day three, that too in fewer Tests than the bowling legend.