Dale Steyn, the old South African fast bowler, sure thinks highly of Kagiso Rabada (also from South Africa) and India’s Jasprit Bumrah. He calls them the gold standard for a quick bowler. It’s not just about bowling fast, but being smart and able to adjust to what’s happening in the game.
Steyn was talking about how some guys he’s seen playing cricket at the international level for years still don’t get how to change the field to suit what they’re bowling. He said it makes him want to tear his hair out when he sees it.
Right now, the ICC ranks Bumrah and Rabada as the top two Test bowlers. They’re also some of the few players who are great in all forms of the game. If you check their numbers, Rabada’s got averages of around 22 in Tests, 27 in ODIs, and 27 again in T20s. Bumrah’s Test average was down around 19 earlier this year, and he grabs wickets at about 23 in ODIs and just under 18 in T20s. Those are all superb numbers, but you have to watch them bowl to appreciate how good they are.
Steyn explained in an interview that he watches international players bowl six balls without changing the field even once, despite having ten whole years of experience. And sometimes I sit there and I’m pulling my hair out, he said, wondering if they couldn’t see what was coming. Steyn thinks Bumrah and Rabada are the full package: able to bowl at any time and grab a wicket, therefore they are gold.
Shane Bond, a former New Zealand pacer and IPL coach, agrees. Speaking in the same interview, Bond said that most international bowlers — about 70% of them — don’t know what they are doing. What makes Bumrah special, according to Bond, is how well he prepares and how good his instincts are.
Bond mentioned that many people just assume that any international bowler knows their stuff. He suggests captains not be shy to tell a bowler what to bowl and set the field for them! He believes that keeping it simple can make a big difference.
Bond went on to state that Bumrah’s preparation, skill, hard work and instincts make the difference. “If you look at Bumrah, who’s the best bowler in the world, he’s that combination of, obviously, skill, [but he] works really hard, does his preparation on the batsman and has the ability to use his instinct as well. Because when you put those things together, that’s why he is No. 1 in the world. Many bowlers don’t have them, he said.
In IPL news, word is Bumrah will probably miss the first few games for the Mumbai Indians in 2024. Rabada, on the other hand, will be playing for Gujarat Titans.
