In a rapid-fire round with ESPNCricinfo, some former international cricketers faced very tough questions – looking at all three formats of the game, who is the best fast bowler of all-time?
Anil Kumble, Faf du Plessis, Yash Jha and Raunak Kapoor had to handle the rapid fire round. The central character of this comparison was Jasprit Bumrah. According to the rules of the game, as soon as a specialist found a better bowler than Bumrah, he had to leave the room.
Jasprit Bumrah is compared with some of the greatest pacers the world has ever seen.
The Indian fast bowlers were compared to some of the greatest fast bowlers of the game, as the objective of the game was to find out the best fast bowler of all time in the history of cricket. While Jha and Kapoor left the room early, Kumble and Plessis remained in the room for a long time.
Ultimately, it was former South Africa captain Faf du Plessis who refused to leave the podium. He was the only person in the room who believed that Jasprit Bumrah was the best fast bowler of all time.
Comparison of Indian fast bowlers in the rapid fire round: Lasith Malinga (Sri Lanka), Kagiso Rabada (South Africa), Trent Boult (New Zealand), Kapil Dev (India), Allan Donald (South Africa), Josh Hazlewood (Australia), Mohammad Asif (Pakistan), Stuart Broad (England), Pat Cummins (Australia), Shaun Pollock (South Africa), Brett Lee (Australia), Ian Botham (England), Was done by Waqar. Younis (Pakistan), Courtney Walsh (West Indies), James Anderson (England), Richard Handley (New Zealand), Mitchell Starc (Australia), Curtly Ambrose (West Indies), Dale Steyn (South Africa), Glenn McGrath (Australia), Malcolm Marshall (West Indies), Wasim Akram (Pakistan), and Dennis Lillee (Australia).
Faf du Plessis chose Jasprit Bumrah
Out of all the great players mentioned above, Faf du Plessis chose Jasprit Bumrah as the best of all time. However, as soon as the name of West Indies legend Malcolm Marshall came up in the discussion, Kumble left the conversation.
Faf du Plessis described Jasprit Bumrah as the greatest fast bowler of all time. Brother knows the ball. pic.twitter.com/tXng2ZxQYd
– Ratneesh (@LoyalSachinFan) 27 February 2026
Why did Plessis choose the fast bowler of the current Team India? He explained that, since the discussion was valid for the T20I format, he had to go with Bumrah.
“Since the greats of the game did not play T20, it is difficult to measure them against someone who is so effective in T20,” Plessis explained on why he ranked Bumrah at the top.
Plessis specifically mentioned Pakistan’s legendary fast bowler Wasim Akram.
However, the former international cricketer made special mention of Wasim Akram after the game. He acknowledged Pakistan’s legendary yorkers and his trademark reverse swing in the death overs.
“But all those guys, I mean, I think especially Wasim Akram with his yorkers in the death overs. But the ball used to reverse swing a lot during the day. It’s not swinging that much…Bumrah is my number one”, concluded Faf du Plessis.
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