"Bumrah is sort of in that category" - IPL winning captain makes huge Don Bradman comparison after RR vs MI IPL 2025 match
Former Australian wicketkeeper-batter Adam Gilchrist has hailed Jasprit Bumrah as the Sir Donald Bradman of fast bowling. This came after the Mumbai Indians' IPL 2025 match against the Rajasthan Royals (RR) on Thursday, May 1. Gilchrist added that the right-arm speedster was well ahead of his peers.
Bumrah, who has been pivotal in the Mumbai Indians' all five title wins, took two wickets in his first over and registered outstanding figures of 4-0-15-2 against the Royals on Thursday. The Ahmedabad-born cricketer dismissed Riyan Parag and Shimron Hetmyer in back-to-back deliveries, as Mumbai coasted to a 100-run victory.
Speaking to Cricbuzz, Gilchrist opined that the 31-year-old could be the best fast bowler of all time, considering his adaptability across conditions. He said (via Hindustan Times):
"He's maybe the best bowler, fast bowler of all time. When you start stacking up the statistics and the varying conditions that he has to go out and execute those skills in, I guess you look at Sir Donald Bradman's numbers compared to his peers and he's just so far ahead, so I think Bumrah is sort of in that category across all the different variations that you get in conditions and pitches that you've got to bowl on. He's significantly further ahead than the peers around him, so that tells you we are truly watching greatness."
The game against the Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) on April 27 saw Bumrah become the Mumbai Indians' highest wicket-taker, going past Lasith Malinga's tally of 170. The Indian star has picked up 176 wickets in 140 IPL matches.
"India looked a different side and he looked a different bowler against Australia" - Murali Kartik on Jasprit Bumrah during BGT 2024-25
Ex-India spinner Murali Kartik said that during the Border-Gavaskar Trophy (BGT) 2024-25, Indian fans wanted Bumrah to bowl from both ends due to the cricketing brain the fast bowler has. While India lost the five-Test series 3-1, the Indian pacer finished as the leading wicket-taker with 32 scalps in nine innings.
Kartik praised him for his adaptability to different surfaces and conditions, saying (via Hindustan Times):
"He's a national treasure, I think at the moment for us a lot, whoever follows cricket and wants India to do well, during the BGT, I think all of us were wishing that he could bowl from both ends."
"India looked a different side and he looked a different bowler against Australia, he is, look, one of the things which I felt with Bumrah over the period of time is that he acclimatises to any pitch very quickly and I think many bowlers have a certain length that they bowl, but he doesn't have a certain length, he bowls the length which is required on that surface and that's his greatness, the oddity of his action, obviously everybody talks about, but coupled with the skills that he has and a great brain, when to use it," he added.
The 100-run victory over the Royals also meant that the Mumbai Indians are now at the top of the points table.