Now, into the 19th season of the Indian Premier League (IPL), the race to declare the "best players" to have ever graced the league is already underway. Apart from the batters dominating the scene, some exceptional bowlers have truly made their mark with consistent performances and game-winning displays over the years. On the podcast, "Fast Bowling Cartel", Aussie legends, Glenn McGrath, Damien Fleming and Jason Gillespie, decided to debate about the finest fast bowlers to ever grace the IPL. After reviewing years of performances and numbers, only two names stood out. Lasith Malinga and Jasprit Bumrah were chosen as the top two in an esteemed list. McGrath Picks Malinga and Bumrah as the top two fast bowlers Picking the best was a herculean task for the legendary fast bowler, Glenn McGrath, however, when it came down to the finest two, he eventually settled for Lasith Malinga and Jasprit Bumrah, and had a great take as to why Bumrah could eventually top Malinga in the list. McGrath said: “It was tough for me to decide the top two. I think the only reason Bumrah is second in my list is because he is still playing. I think by the end of his career, he would leapfrog Malinga. Malinga was class with 170 wickets in 122 matches. Not many bowlers could nail yorkers at the death as Malinga did.” Malinga was impeccable in his numbers. The 38-year-old Sri Lanka speedster has taken 170 wickets in 122 IPL games at an average of 20.76, a strike rate of 16.63 and an economy of 7.14. With Malinga’s control of yorkers at the death was unmatchable in the history of the tournament. The fast bowler was a crucial part of the Mumbai Indians, and at a very early stage of Bumrah's career, helped him to polish his bowling skills. Bumrah, on the other hand, has etched his name in the history books. The Indian pacer has taken 183 wickets in 146 games at an economy of 7.26 and a strike rate of 18.37. Bumrah's calm nature and control, even under the most pressurised situations makes him one of the best bowlers in world cricket. Also Read | IPL 2026: Kevin Pietersen Picks Top 4 Teams, Leaves Out RCB – Here’s Why Other bowlers to be recognized in the list Damien Fleming and Jason Gillespie too agreed with McGrath's two picks and even spoke about their lists being almost identical prior to the recording of the podcast. He said: “I think we are going to be pretty similar here, boys, not sure about one or two." Fleming discussed Bumrah's unique rhythm saying: "Commentators in this IPL have been saying that when playing against the Mumbai Indians, you just have 16 overs to attack. That’s crazy. He has a stutter in his run-up and unbelievable execution." Gillespie even went to the extent of sharing an interesting story about Malinga's bowling saying: "When I was with the Punjab Kings (then Kings XI Punjab), during a practice session, he just put a shoe at the middle stump and kept hitting it with precision. That shows you why he was able to execute it so efficiently." Along with these two speedsters, Trent Boult from New Zealand was too a common name in their list and was placed fourth. Dwayne Bravo also was part of the conversation where the Aussie bowlers questioned if he would fall under the category of a pure fast bowler. McGrath said: “Do you class Bravo as a fast bowler? He is an exceptional all-rounder and quality player. He is a champion like that song which Brian Lara used to sing." Apart from Bravo, Dale Steyn was also recognized for his outstanding economy of 6.91, whereas Mohammed Shami was picked by McGrath at fifth. Both McGrath and Fleming picked Bhuvneshwar Kumar as their number three pick, while Gillespie picked Kagiso Rabada for the third position in his list. With all these gems unearthed from the annals of IPL history, the fast bowlers have time and again shown their importance, even in the batsman-dominated T20 format.