Over the recent years, Jasprit Bumrah has established himself as one of the finest bowlers in the history of cricket for his pace, accuracy and ability to perform across conditions.
With a bowling average of 19.48 for his 217 Test wickets, he is also often compared to the great generation of West Indian fast bowlers from the 1970s and 1980s.
Among those who have heaped praise on the Indian pacer is West Indies great Brian Lara, who has himself played with and against some of the great pacers.
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When asked to rate some modern-day greats, he placed Bumrah alongside the great Glenn McGrath in the GOAT (Greatest of All Time) category.
Interestingly, despite winning the T20 World Cup and Champions Trophy as the captain in the last two years, Rohit Sharma could only find a place in a tier below.
Here's how he rated the players.
Brian Lara puts Jasprit Bumrah in the GOAT category over Rohit Sharma
In a discussion with The Overlap Cricket, Brian Lara was invited to rank players in three different tiers, i.e., GOAT, Legend and Great.
Among the listed players were two Indians — Jasprit Bumrah and Rohit Sharma, who were both placed in different positions.
Bumrah found his name at the top of the list alongside the Australian duo of Glenn McGrath and Adam Gilchrist and all-rounder Jacques Kallis.
India's ODI captain Rohit Sharma found his name among some batting legends like Kevin Pietersen, Chris Gayle and Kane Williamson.
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Below is the full list of players:
- GOAT: Glenn McGrath, Jasprit Bumrah, Jacques Kallis, Adam Gilchrist.
- Legends: Rohit Sharma, Kevin Pietersen, Chris Gayle, Kane Williamson, Shaheen Afridi,
- Great: None.
See the video below:
THE GOAT VOTE with Brian Lara 🐐🏏 pic.twitter.com/idd091ZLdC
— Stick to Cricket (@StickToCricket) July 18, 2025
Why did Lara put Bumrah in the GOAT category?
The Indian ace-pacer found a place at the top for some of his decisive performances in the ICC events, including the final of the T20 World Cup in 2024, where India defended 30 runs in the last 5 overs.
In 47 Tests, he has picked 217 wickets to go with 149 in 89 ODIs and 89 in 70 T20Is.
| Format | Matches | Innings | Wickets | Avg/SR | Economy | Best figures | 5w |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tests | 47 | 90 | 217 | 19.48/42.1 | 2.77 | 6/27 | 15 |
| ODIs | 89 | 88 | 149 | 23.55/30.7 | 4.59 | 6/19 | 2 |
| T20Is | 70 | 69 | 89 | 17.74/16.9 | 6.27 | 3/7 | 0 |