English media hails Jasprit Bumrah as 'most complete fast bowler of all time' after inspirational show at Headingley: 'There were two games here'

The English media was full of praise for Jasprit Bumrah as a columnist and former cricketer described him as “the finest red-ball fast bowler that ever drew breath” after the Indian took a five-wicket haul on Sunday at Headingley during the first Test against England.

Bumrah took five wickets for 83 as England were bowled out for 465 after Indian fielders dropped five catches, including three off the pacer’s bowling. With his latest five-for, Bumrah became the first Asian bowler to take 150 Test wickets in SENA countries (South Africa, England, New Zealand, and Australia).

He also became the first Indian bowler to take three five-wicket hauls in England and matched Kapil Dev’s record of 12 five-wicket hauls in overseas Tests.

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Bumrah hailed as ‘most complete fast bowler of all time’

Former England fast bowler Steven Finn, in his column for the BBC, called Bumrah the most complete fast bowler in the history of the game.

“It is getting harder and harder to reject the claim that India’s Jasprit Bumrah is the most complete fast bowler of all time,” Finn wrote.

“The impact he has on a match every time he bowls is remarkable and he has been a cut above anything else we have seen in the first Test at Headingley. Bumrah took 5-83 in England’s first innings, along with having three catches dropped and Harry Brook caught off a no-ball.

“Whenever Bumrah gets the ball in his hand it is box-office viewing. It feels as though something is happening every ball. He makes the bowlers at the other end look as though they are playing a different sport.”

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Simon Wilde’s piece in The Times Sport carried the headline, “There were two games here: one when Bumrah was bowling, one when he wasn’t,” underlining just how far ahead Bumrah was compared to the other pacers in the match.

Veteran columnist Scyld Berry, in a column in Telegraph.co.uk, labelled Bumrah as one of the best bowlers of all time.

“When Jasprit Bumrah’s career is written up, it will have to be in two volumes with two separate titles. The first could be called: “The definitive biography of the finest white-ball fast bowler that ever drew breath”. The second volume, because the game has evolved with all respect to Fred, would have to be titled: “The definitive biography of the finest red-ball fast bowler that ever drew breath,” he wrote.

Berry also wrote that Bumrah alone can do what both Kagiso Rabada and Pat Cummins can do, the two of the best pacers of this generation.

“He can do what Kagiso Rabada of South Africa does with a new ball, by swinging it on the line of the stumps, and what Pat Cummins of Australia does with an old ball, AND more besides.”