Who Is The Current Best Bowler In The World?

With batters dominating the cricket with their performance and unorthodox shots it has become severely difficult, for a bowler to pick wickets. But few bowlers in the cricketing world still rule with their lethal deliveries and toe-crushing yorkers. Through this new piece, we will talk about the best bowler in the world in all three formats for his respective team, who have made their team win several matches with their impressive bowling performance.

It’s no other than India’s yorker King, Jasprit Bumrah, who currently represents the Indian team in all three formats. Bumrah was born on 6 December 1993 to a Sikh Punjabi family, in Ahmedabad, Gujarat.

The Right-arm fast bowler started playing cricket during his school hours when his coach at that time, Kishore Trivedi, taught him tricks on how to be the best bowler in the world! Even though Jasprit always wanted to be a bowler, his mother wasn’t sure about it being a long-term career. She always instructed him to play quietly around the house as it interfered with her afternoon sleep. He tried different bowling techniques to see which one would make less noise, and that's how he mastered the art of bowling toe-crushing yorkers.

It took a lot of convincing for her mother to accept his desire to play cricket and ultimately represent Team India. Finally, when he was 14, he followed his passion and was soon selected by the Gujarat Cricket Association for a summer camp. Currently, India’s leading bowler is married to the model and presenter, Sanjana Ganesan in Goa on 15th March 2021. She is a former Miss India finalist and also participated in MTV's Splitsvilla, 2014.

Jasprit Bumrah's Domestic Career 

Bumrah made his domestic debut in Ranji Trophy when he represented Gujarat against Vidarbha during the 2013-14 season. He displayed impeccable bowling skills during his debut match and needless to say, Bumrah did the magic by picking 7 crucial wickets. After the tournament, the right-arm bowler was the leading wicket-taker, the match was a hit as he took 7 wickets! When the tournament ended, he was also the lead wicket-taker.

Following his success as a bowler to look out for, he made his T20 debut in the 2012–13 Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy, against Maharashtra. By this time, he had established himself as a right-arm fast-medium pacer with unusual bowling skills, which also landed him the much-deserved Man of the Match title and also helped win Gujarat over Punjab in the finale!

Jasprit Bumrah's International-T20I Career 

Having been a consistent performer in domestic matches, his debut in International cricket was waiting to happen. His unique bowling action paved the way for International Cricket when he debuted in the T20I series against West Indies in 2016. He became the first bowler to take  the most wickets in one calendar year, 28 to be exact, breaking Dirk Nannes’ record.

In Jan 2017, during the second match of the T20I series of England's India tour, he took two wickets and was also the, Player of the Match. However, in the 2017 Sri Lanka Tour, he became the first player to take the most wickets, 15, by any bowler in a bilateral ODI series of five (or fewer) matches. 

Jasprit Bumrah’s IPL Career

A 19-year-old Bumrah made his much coveted IPL debut for Mumbai Indians in 2013. In his maiden season, he got the chance to play two games, taking only three wickets. In 2014, he again got the chance to showcase his bowling skills but failed to make an impact. He ended the 2014 IPL season with a total of 5 wickets. 2015 wasn't particularly good for him as well.

It was in 2016 when exhibited why he is indeed the Yorker King when he took 15 wickets in 14 matches, becoming the leading wicket-taker for his team. 2017 was even better for Bumrah as he was the leading wicket-taker for Mumbai Indians, clinching 20 wickets in 16 matches. With incredible bowling performances in 2016 & 17, he made his way to the integral team. He played alongside another bowling maestro and the Yorker King, Lasith Malinga, who gave him important tips on how to play yorkers and take wickets successfully. In the 2018 edition of IPL, he again displayed remarkable bowling skills as he made his way to the top wicket-takers in the tournament, again.

Under the captaincy of Rohit Sharma in 2019, he took 19 wickets in 16 matches, becoming the highest wicket-taker for the fourth time consecutively. Apart from this Bumrah is in the list of bowlers who have taken the most wickets in IPL for a single franchise.

Jasprit Bumrah’s Test Match Career

With his unorthodox bowling action, he had already grabbed everyone's eye on the Indian team, but the question remained- whether he could play a test match for the Indian team or not. He proved to everyone that he can by taking his first five-wicket haul against Proteas in his third test match during the India tour of South Africa in 2017.

The yorker King made a global sports headline when he became the first Asian bowler to take 5 wickets against Australia, South Africa and England in the same calendar year. In 2018, he became the first Asian bowler to take 5 wickets against Australia, South Africa, and England- all in the same year. This remarkable feat happened on the Boxing Day Test of the 2018 India Tour of Australia. He finished the series as the joint-highest wicket-taker with 21 wickets, along with Australian bowler Nathan Lyon.

He ended the year 2018, with an impressive 48 wickets, which holds a record for the most wickets taken by an India bowler in their Test Match debut. His magnificent performances led to him being named in both World Test XI and ODI XI by the ICC series.

In just three years of his debut, Bumrah achieved every feat, from becoming the first Asian bowler to take five wickets against Australia, South Africa and England to become the third Indian to take a hat-trick in a Test Match. After playing 17 Test Matches overseas, he played his first Test Match in Feb 2021 at the M. A. Chidambaram Stadium. The match was played against West Indies during the England Tour of India 2021. In Feb 2022, he was named Vice-Captain of India for the T20I and Test series against Sri Lanka as KL Rahul wasn't available at that time. 

He also captained the Indian Test Team, against England, on July 1, 2022, as Rohit Sharma was down with COVID-19. The next day, he hit 35 runs in an over, beating an 18-year-old record set by Brain Lara (who had scored 28 runs in an over). 

Jasprit Bumrah’s ODI Career

Jasprit Bumrah made his ODI debut on 23 January 2016 in an Australia vs India match in Sydney. In 2019, he was named in India's squad for the Cricket World Cup, 2019, where he was named as one of the five exciting talents making their World Cup debut by ICC. The opening match of the World Cup, June 5, marked Bumrah's 50th ODI match.

On July 6, 2019, he took his 100th wicket in an ODI match and became the second fastest Indian player to do so, after Mohammed Shami. Later, He finished the tournament as the fastest wicket-taker for India and the fifth-best, among international players.  In April 2022, Bumrah was named among the Wisden Five Cricketers of the Year!

On July 12, he took 6 wickets in just 19 runs, in an ODI Match against England; India's third-best figure in ODIs. On 17 July 2022, he was ranked as the number 1 bowler by ICC! He was also featured in two out of three T20 Matches against Australia, but during the eve of the South Africa series, he pulled out due to extreme back pain. 

Bumrah Made a solid comeback in the T20Is series against Ireland in 2022 after going through surgery in New Zealand for a back injury he missed the 2022 T20 World Cup due to injury and all eyes were on him regarding his comeback, especially with the ODI World Cup set to be played in India from October 5.

2023 ICC Cricket World Cup

Bumrah was the second-highest wicket-taker for the Indian team in the ICC Mens Cricket World Cup 2023 after Mohammed Shami finished the tournament with 24 wickets in 7 matches. Bumrah picked 20 wickets in 11 games with an economy of 4.06 by conceding just 373 runs. No doubt! Bumrah’s performance in the Marquee event helped the Indian team to reach the finals. However, India lost the match against Australia by 6 wickets at Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad. Recently, Jasprit Bumrah finished the IPL 2024 tournament after being the highest wicket-taker, till the group stage. However, after MI’s elimination Punjab’s Harshal Patal has replaced him in the race of purple cap. 

Jasprit Bumrah will seen playing for the Indian team in upcoming ICC Men's T20 World Cup, which is scheduled to take place from June 2nd in USA and West Indies.