Anil Kumble ditches Jasprit Bumrah, but Faf du Plessis crowns him GOAT pacer

In a rapid-fire round with ESPNCricinfo, some of the former international cricketers had to face a set of very tough questions- who is the best fast bowler of all-time, considering all three formats of the game?

Anil Kumble, Faf du Plessis, Yash Jha, and Raunak Kapoor had to handle the rapid-fire round. The central character of the comparison was Jasprit Bumrah. According to the rules of the game, as soon as an expert found a better bowler than Bumrah, he had to leave the room.

Jasprit Bumrah compared with some of the great pacers on the planet ever seen

The Indian pacer was compared with some of the great pacers of the game, as the purpose of the game was to find out the all-time best pacer in the history of cricket. While Jha and Kapoor left the room early, Kumble and Plessis remained in the room for a long time.

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Ultimately, it was the former South Africa captain Faf du Plessis who refused to leave the podium. He was the only one in the room who believed that Jasprit Bumrah is the all-time best pacer.

In the rapid fire round, the Indian fast bowler was compared with Lasith Malinga (Sri Lanka), Kagiso Rabada (South Africa), Trent Boult (New Zealand), Kapil Dev (India), Allan Donald (South Africa), Josh hazelwood (Australia), Mohammad Asif (Pakistan), Stuart Broad (England), Pat Cummins (Australia), Shaun Pollock (South Africa), Brett Lee (Australia), Ian Botham (England), Waqar Younis (Pakistan), Courtney Walsh (West Indies), James Anderson (England), Richard Handlee (New Zealand), Mitchell Starc (Australia), Curtly Ambrose (West Indies), Dale Styen (South Africa), Glenn McGrath (Australia), Malcolm Marshall (West Indies), Wasim Akram (Pakistan), and Dennis Lillee (Australia).

Faf du Plessis chose Jasprit Bumrah

Among all of the above-mentioned greats, Faf du Plessis chose Jasprit Bumrah as the all-time best. Though Kumble left the chat as soon as West Indies legend Malcolm Marshall’s name popped up in the discussion.

Faf Du plessis rates Jasprit Bumrah as the greatest fast bowler of all time. Bro knows ball. pic.twitter.com/tXng2ZxQYd

— R A T N I S H (@LoyalSachinFan) February 27, 2026

Why did Plessis choose the current Team India pacer? He explained that, as the discussion was valid for the T20I format, he had to go with Bumrah.

“Because the greats of the game didn't play T20, so it's difficult to judge them against someone that's so effective in T20,” Plessis explained why they kept Bumrah above all.

Plessis especially mentioned Pakistan's legendary pacer Wasim Akram

Though the former international cricketer especially mentioned Wasim Akram after the game. He acknowledged the Pakistan legends Yorkers in death overs, and his trademark reverse swing.

“But all of those guys, I mean, I think especially Wasim Akram with his Yorkers at the death. But the ball reverse swung a lot back in the day. It's not swinging as much… Bumrah is my number one”, Faf du Plessis concluded the conversation.

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