Jasprit Bumrah has done it again. At this point, it almost feels illegal for him to play a match without breaking a record. After his two wickets against South Africa in the first T20I, Bumrah has become the first Indian in history to take over 100 wickets in all 3 formats of the game.
Read that again - no other Indian bowler has ever done this. Bumrah now has 234 wickets from 52 Tests, 149 wickets in 89 ODIs and 101 wickets from 81 T20Is.
On the global stage, the list is even shorter. In the entire history of international cricket, only Lasith Malinga, Tim Southee, Shakib Al Hasan, and Shaheen Afridi have reached this landmark before him. That’s it. Five men in over 20 years since all 3 formats came into being. Bumrah is now part of that elite club.
And here’s another staggering fact: After Arshdeep Singh, Bumrah is just the second Indian bowler to take over 100 wickets in T20Is alone. That’s despite missing long stretches of cricket because of injuries.
However, this milestone T20I wicket came with a pinch of controversy. Dewald Brevis was his 100th T20I wicket when he was caught by Suryakumar Yadav off Bumrah's bowling. But replays showed that his front foot might have been over the line. However, the 3rd umpire never gave it a no-ball. While it left the internet divided, commentator Murali Karthik stated that the camera angle wasn't conclusive enough to prove that it was a no-ball. Not that, it would have made any difference to the result, though.
Nevertheless, the true scale of his greatness is visible when you combine all formats. Across 222 international matches, Bumrah has taken 484 wickets, almost one every 20 runs. And in an era where batters are swinging like it’s a video game, his economy of 3.65 is not just rare, it’s borderline supernatural.
So, you can debate your favourite pacers. You can argue over eras, conditions or formats. But there’s one undeniable truth: There are great bowlers. There are legendary bowlers. And then there is Jasprit Bumrah - a category of one.
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