Australia’s Mitchell Starc, Pakistan’s Shaheen Shah Afridi, and India’s Jasprit Bumrah are among the best pacers in current times across formats. They are proven match-winners for their teams, often delivering crucial performances whenever their teams needed them to step up.
And having such bowlers in the lineup is no less than a blessing to restrict opposition batters from scoring runs. These three pacers have different starting points, but they haven’t failed to showcase their wicket-taking abilities.
As they tussle to emerge as the greatest pacer of this era, we look at the all-format stats of Starc, Shaheen Afridi, and Bumrah.
Mitchell Starc vs Shaheen Afridi vs Jasprit Bumrah: Test Stats
| Player | Matches | Wickets | Avg | Econ | SR | BBI | 5W |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mitchell Starc | 94 | 376 | 27.79 | 3.42 | 48.77 | 6/48 | 15 |
| Shaheen Afridi | 31 | 116 | 27.88 | 3.14 | 53.1 | 6/51 | 4 |
| Jasprit Bumrah | 45 | 205 | 19.42 | 2.77 | 42.1 | 6/27 | 13 |
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Looking at the numbers, you can see Bumrah has better control over the red ball. The Indian pacer averages close to 20, while leaking only 2.75 runs per over and striking a wicket after 43.4 balls.
Starc and Afridi have a higher average, giving away almost 28 runs per wicket. However, the Australian quick strikes earlier than Afridi, who takes almost 53 deliveries to dismiss a batter.
Starc’s wicket tally is obviously the highest among the three, as he started playing Tests in late 2011. Bumrah and Afridi made their Test debuts 11 months apart in 2018, though the Indian speedster is quite ahead of his Pakistani counterpart.
Mitchell Starc vs Shaheen Afridi vs Jasprit Bumrah: ODI Stats
| Player | Matches | Wickets | Avg | Econ | SR | BBI | 5W |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mitchell Starc | 127 | 244 | 23.41 | 5.26 | 26.6 | 6/28 | 9 |
| Shaheen Afridi | 59 | 119 | 23.14 | 5.5 | 25.26 | 6/35 | 3 |
| Jasprit Bumrah | 89 | 149 | 23.55 | 4.59 | 30.7 | 6/19 | 2 |
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The three fast bowlers average almost the same in ODI cricket, with their averages hovering around 23. But Afridi has a slightly better strike rate, inflicting a dismissal after 25.5 deliveries, while Starc and Bumrah have strike rates of above 26 and 30, respectively.
Bumrah, though, takes the cake when it comes to the economy rate. The right-arm pacer is the most economical among the three, conceding fewer than five runs per over.
Starc is inching closer to 250 wickets, having made his ODI debut back in 2010. Bumrah trails the Australian pacer by almost 100 scalps after playing his first game in 2016, while Afridi crossed 100 dismissals within six years after his debut in 2018.
Mitchell Starc vs Shaheen Afridi vs Jasprit Bumrah: T20I Stats
| Player | Matches | Wickets | Avg | Econ | SR | BBI | 5W |
| Mitchell Starc | 65 | 79 | 23.81 | 7.74 | 18.4 | 4/20 | 0 |
| Shaheen Afridi | 75 | 100 | 21.24 | 7.79 | 16.36 | 4/22 | 0 |
| Jasprit Bumrah | 70 | 89 | 17.74 | 6.27 | 16.9 | 3/7 | 0 |
After his effectiveness in Tests, Bumrah has shown his efficiency with the white ball in T20Is as well. He is way ahead of the other two quicks in terms of the bowling metrics.
The Indian pacer’s ability to control the runflow and take wickets more frequently has made him the best bowler in the shortest format. Bumrah averages and strikes close to 17 per wicket while leaking just 6.27 runs per over, which is commendable given how batters perform in this format.
Starc and Afridi, on the other hand, tend to be expensive with not much consistency in their performances. The Australian left-arm pacer has pace and pinpoint yorkers up his sleeve, but he isn’t a potent weapon in T20Is. Afridi’s story is a bit similar to that of Starc, but his strike rate is slightly better than the other two bowlers.
Starc and Bumrah are aiming to complete their 100 scalps in this format, while Afridi recently clinched his 100th T20I wicket.
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Mitchell Starc vs Shaheen Afridi vs Jasprit Bumrah: Who is Better?
Looking at the above stats comparison, Bumrah seems to be slightly ahead of the other two pacers based on his efficiency with the ball across formats. He can turn the match on its head by bowling tight overs.
While there’s no doubt about Starc’s pace and his swinging yorkers, he is marginally expensive in all formats. But the left-arm speedster can create wicket-taking opportunities out of nowhere, giving his team an edge.
Afridi’s numbers are good in T20Is, though he needs to up his game in the other two formats, especially in Test cricket. But he has a chance to overtake both of these bowlers with so many years to play across formats.
