Glenn McGrath picks the top five Indian ODI bowlers of all-time

Former Australian players Glenn McGrath, Jason Gillespie, and Damien Fleming have selected the top five Indian ODI bowlers of all time during their exclusive conversation on The Fast Bowling Cartel, a YouTube show. 

Speaking about the picks made by McGrath, he went ahead with Jasprit Bumrah, Kapil Dev, Mohammad Shami, Ajit Agarkar, and Javagal Srinath. The former Aussie great termed Bumrah as unbelievable. 

“For me you know, Bumrah has to be number one. Bumrah is just unbelievable. He's got such a unique action, so different to anyone else in world cricket. It's not a run-up or technique you would teach, because it does place a lot of stress on the body. Those last two steps as he powers into the crease are unbelievable. I think if you slow his action down, where he releases the ball is about a couple of feet closer to the batsman than most other bowlers, which is quite unique. But he found what works for him, and now it's just about keeping his body strong enough to keep bowling day in, day out. His stats are unbelievable. I think he is comfortably number one,” McGrath shared on the YouTube show The Fast Bowling Cartel.

On the other hand, Damien Fleming has picked up Jasprit Bumrah, Kapil Dev, Javagal Srinath, Mohammed Shami and Zaheer Khan. He went on to heap praises on the Indian pace spearhead Bumrah.

“I am going with the fifth bowler Zaheer Khan. Great competitor, swung the ball early, and bowled in the death. At the fourth spot, I'm going for Mohammad Shami. I just love his action. For kids out there, if you want to mimic someone who's so efficient, gets through the crease... he's probably less than six foot and gets a steep bounce, but he's so well skilled. And at three, Javagal Srinath. He led the attack and didn't have a lot of mates on those wickets that were really barren back then. Number two, Kapil Dev. I used to mimic his action, big outswingers and a power hitter. And number one, Jasprit Bumrah has to be one of the greatest fast bowlers of all time. He's a constant threat through every stage of 50-over cricket, isn't he? Opening up or at the death. But in the middle overs, he'll come on and get wickets, which we know is premium,” shared Fleming.

Later, Jason Gillespie made his picks with Bumrah occupying the pole position. Later, he racked up the names of Mohammed Shami, Kapil Dev, Ajit Agarkar, and Javagal Srinath. 

“I looked through the numbers and the statistics and came up with the top 12 fast bowlers for each country. I added a little metric, a formula I use that is a combination of averages, strike rates, and economy rates. Javagal Srinath, with 315 wickets from 229 games, averaged 28 with an economy rate of almost four and a half—I thought he was an excellent bowler. Number four is the diminutive, smart little swing bowler Ajit Agarkar, who bowled deceptively quick and was very effective for India with 288 wickets from 191 games. And number three is the great Kapil Dev: 253 wickets from 225 games. He opened the bowling a lot, would swing the ball away, and a key for my metrics was his economy rate of 3.71. That’s absolutely elite. Number two, and first among modern-day players, is Mohammad Shami. And number one is Jasprit Bumrah: 149 wickets from 89 games, an average of 23.55, and an economy rate of 4.59 in the modern game is very, very good,” Gillespie shared.

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