Cricket: Can Bumrah bowl a spell like 8/15? Alastair Cook raised a big question on Bumrah’s greatness.

News India Live, Digital Desk: After India’s victory in the T20 World Cup 2026 and Bumrah’s disastrous performance, a heated debate was seen between two former England captains on the ‘Stick to Cricket’ podcast. While on one hand Bumrah was compared to Messi and Ronaldo, Cook changed the course of the discussion by asking a ‘tough’ question. Alastair Cook’s ‘8/15’ question (Alastair Cook’s Challenge) Alastair Cook praised Bumrah, but doubted his ‘impact’ in Test cricket: Cook’s statement: “Without any doubt, he is the best all-format bowler in the world at the moment. But what? Has he ever bowled a spell like Stuart Broad’s 8/15 (2015 Ashes) in a Test match, where he can single-handedly destroy the entire team? Or is he not that kind of bowler? Argument: Cook believes that Bumrah is very economical, but can he bring the opposition team to its knees by taking 8-9 wickets in a Test innings like Broad or Anderson? Vaughan’s counterattack: “Bumrah is the Messi-Ronaldo of cricket.” Former England captain Michael Vaughan rejected Cook’s argument outright: Greatest bowler: Vaughan said, “I started watching cricket closely from 1985 and Bumrah is the best bowler I have ever seen.” Comparison with football legends: Vaughan compared Bumrah to Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi. As told by the player, who single-handedly has the power to change the course of the match. World Cup Winner: Vaughan even said that if Bumrah had been in the England team, England would have won the T20 World Cup 2026. What do Bumrah’s Test statistics say? (Bumrah’s Test Record) These records of Bumrah can answer Cook’s question: Best innings: 6/27 (against West Indies, 2019 – which also included a hat-trick). Best in the match: 9/86. Specialty: Bumrah has won many Test matches for India on the pitches of Australia, England and South Africa (SENA country). Although, he has not yet taken 10 or 8 wickets in a Test innings, but his strike rate is better than many of the greats of the world.