Jasprit Bumrah Creates History: 200 Wickets With Less Average

One of the greatest pace bowlers of all time, India superstar Jasprit Bumrah created history on Sunday, December 29. He has become the first bowler in the history of Test cricket to take more than 200 wickets with an average of less than 20. Bumrah, who is playing his 44th Test match for India against Australia in Melbourne these days, has 202 wickets to his name at an average of 19.38.

In the list of bowlers with more than 200 wickets in Test cricket, Bumrah takes the No. 1 position. He is followed by the West Indies trio of Malcolm Marshall (376 wickets, 20.94 avg), Joel Garner (259 wickets, 20.97 avg), and Curtly Ambrose (405 wickets, 20.99 avg).

In fact, Bumrah is the first bowler in the history of the game to have claimed 200 wickets in Tests while maintaining an average of under 20. Burmrah achieved multiple milestones as he completed 200 wickets in the longest format of the game. As the pacer dismissed Travis Head (1) for his 200th victim in the post-lunch session, he joined Jadeja as the second-fastest Indian to have bagged 200 wickets in Tests.

Both Bumrah and Jadeja achieved the feat in their 44th Test, and overall he is the 12th Indian bowler in the format to complete the milestone.

The recently retired Indian spinner Ravichandran Ashwin was the quickest among Indians to have taken 200 wickets, a feat that he achieved in his 37th Test.

Bumrah has a total of 74 wickets to his name in 14 matches of WTC 2023-25. He broke Ashwin’s record of taking the most wickets in a single edition of the WTC for India. Ashwin dismissed 71 batters in 14 matches of the 2019-21 edition of WTC. Only Nathan Lyon on Australia has picked up more wickets than Bumrah in one edition of the WTC now. The legendary spinner accounted for the dismissal of 88 batters in 20 matches for Australia in the 2021-23 edition of WTC.