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Indian Pacers With 50 Test Wickets In A Calendar Year: Bumrah Joins Kapil And Zaheer

Bhargav Dixit

Jasprit Bumrah celebrates his 50th Test wicket of 2024. [Source: AP]Jasprit Bumrah celebrates his 50th Test wicket of 2024. [Source: AP]

Jasprit Bumrah has become the third Indian fast bowler to pick 50 wickets in a calendar year. Bumrah achieved the milestone after dismissing Australia opening batter Usman Khawaja on the first day of the second Border-Gavaskar Trophy 2024-25 Test match at the Adelaide Oval.

Currently into the seventh year of his Test career, Bumrah chose his 31st birthday to enter an esteemed list which already comprises legendary pacers namely Kapil Dev and Zaheer Khan.

Apart from this trio, renowned Indian spinners such as Vinoo Mankad (1952), Bhagwath Chandrashekhar (1976), Anil Kumble (1999, 2004 and 2006), Harbhajan Singh (2001, 2002 and 2008) and Ravichandran Ashwin (2015, 2016, 2017 and 2021) have also accomplished this feat.

3 Indian Pacers Who Picked 50 Test Wickets In Calendar Year

Kapil Dev (1979 and 1983)

Third Indian bowler to dismiss 50 batters in a year, Kapil Dev was the first one to repeat the feat. Most importantly, the 1983 World Cup-winning captain also holds the first two spots in the list of most Test wickets picked by an Indian bowler in a calendar year.

Third-highest wicket-taker for India in Test cricket, Dev had played just six Tests in less than three months before the start of 1979. In the 17 Tests that he played that year, the right-arm bowler’s 74 wickets had come at an average of 22.95, an economy rate of 2.86 and a strike rate of 48.01.

Four years later, Dev bettered his own record by picking 75 wickets at an average of 23.18, an economy rate of 3 and a strike rate of 46.25 across 18 Tests.

Zaheer Khan (2002)

Fans had to wait for 19 long years before Zaheer Khan became the second Indian pacer to have 50 wickets under his belt in one year in the ancestral format. Much like Dev, even Khan hadn’t played a lot before a breakout year in international cricket.

Joint second-highest Test wicket-taker among Indian pacers, the left-armer had participated in just eight Tests across 14 months before the start of a career-changing 2002. Khan, who played 15 Tests that year, dismissed 51 batters at an average of 29, an economy rate of 3.08 and a strike rate of 56.37.

Jasprit Bumrah (2024)

Unlike Kapil and Zaheer, Jasprit Bumrah entered 2024 with 31 Test caps to his name. Currently playing his 11th match of the year, Bumrah has already picked 50 wickets at an average of 15.14, an economy rate of 2.99 and a strike rate of 30.3.

It is noteworthy that Bumrah’s average and strike rate is matchless among Indian bowlers. Furthermore, the Indian vice-captain is only behind former Pakistan captain Imran Khan (13.29 in 1982) and former England pacer Sydney Barnes (14.14 in 1912) in terms of bowling average for bowlers with 50 wickets in a year. In terms of strike rate, only former Pakistan captain Waqar Younis  (29.5 in 1993) is ahead of Bumrah.

With two more Tests scheduled this year, Bumrah has a golden opportunity to further increase his stature by outstripping these prominent names.