23 June 2025: If his performance in Australia last season wasn’t enough, Jasprit Bumrah took the definition of greatness to another level with his masterclass in Leeds. Over two days, he single-handedly denied England a first-innings lead. But it wasn’t just the five-wicket haul—remarkable in itself—that cemented his status. It was the sheer dominance with which he outshone every other fast bowler on a dry, batting-friendly Headingley track. No wonder English media couldn’t stop raving, calling him “the most complete fast bowler of all time.”
That was precisely the phrase that former England international Steven Finn used in his column for the BBC after his five for 83 in the first innings against England, where he had three catches dropped and had Harry Brook caught off a no ball.
It was his 14th career five-wicket haul and 12th away from home – the most by an Indian fast bowler alongside Kapil Dev.
While Finn largely analysed Bumrah’s bowling techniques, from his run-up to his bowling arc and the ‘hyper-extension’, which has been talked about in great detail over the years, he also statistically showed why the 31-year-old is “the most consistent fast bowler in history” across formats.
“He is like a computer constantly calibrating what is needed in any given situation, and he is able to implement almost exactly what he wants to with absolute precision. Consider this for versatility. Of pace bowlers from major nations to have sent down at least 500 deliveries in T20 internationals, Bumrah’s economy rate of 6.27 is the best. At the same time, Bumrah has comfortably the best bowling average of any bowler in Test history with at least 200 wickets. At 19.33, Bumrah is miles ahead of West Indies legend Malcom Marshall in second place on 20.94.
Taking it a stage further, the only bowlers with more than 100 wickets at a lower average than Bumrah all played before World War I,” he wrote.
In a column in Telegraph.co.uk, veteran writer Scyld Berry hailed Bumrah as “the finest red-ball fast bowler that ever drew breath,” as he drew comparison with the contemporaries of his generation – Kagiso Rabada and Pat Cummins.
Summary: Jasprit Bumrah’s masterful performance in Leeds, grabbing a five-for, led English media to label him the “most complete fast bowler ever,” with career “written in two volumes.”