BGT: Bumrah becomes leading wicket-taker in WTC 2023-25 cycle

Brisbane (The Uttam Hindu): Indian pace spearhead Jasprit Bumrah became the leading wicket-taker in the ongoing ICC World Test Championship (WTC) 2023-25 cycle. The 31-year-old surpassed teammate and veteran spinner Ravichandran Ashwin during the third Test against Australia at the Gabba. No. 1 in the ICC Test bowler Bumrah have 66 wickets in 13 Tests, while Ashwin, who announced his retirement at the end of the third Test on Wednesday, has 63 wickets in 14 Tests. Bumrah’s brilliance was on full display in Brisbane. In Australia’s second innings, after dismissing Khawaja, the pacer scalped Marnus Labuschagne for 1 and returned to clean up Pat Cummins on the first ball of his second spell. Across both innings, Bumrah finished with a remarkable match haul of 9-94 in 34 overs. Bumrah’s meteoric rise has put him in contention to break several records. If he manages to pick up six wickets in the remaining two matches of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy, he will surpass Ravichandran Ashwin’s record of most wickets for India in a single WTC cycle.

Ashwin, who remains India’s second-highest wicket-taker in Test history, had claimed 71 scalps in 14 Tests during the inaugural 2019-21 WTC, with Australian spin wizard Nathan Lyon leading the chart with 88 wickets in 20 matches, a feat he achieved during the 2021-23 edition. Moreover, on Wednesday, Bumrah also became India’s leading Test wicket-taker in Australia. He surpassed Kapil Dev’s previous record of 51 wickets during the second session on the final day of the Gabba Test. Earlier, the 31-year-old pace maestro registered his third Test five-wicket haul in Australia on day two of the third Test. Among Indian bowlers, only Kapil Dev has more five-wicket hauls in Australia, with a total of five, while Anil Kumble sits second in the list with four five-fers on Australian soil. This was Bumrah's 12th five-wicket haul in Test cricket and his 8th in SENA countries (South Africa, England, New Zealand and Australia). He has become the first Indian to do so. Bumrah broke the record of Kapil Dev, who is second in the list with 7 fifers to his name.