Ponting settles GOAT debate by opting out of 'proactive' gameplan against India star Jasprit Bumrah vs Glenn McGrath

India was faced with a cloud of uncertainty, particularly following their embarrassing 0-3 defeat at home against New Zealand last month. However, under Bumrah's leadership for the second time in the format and sixth time overall in international cricket, the team rose to the occasion. Bumrah showcased his skills along with a young pace attack, which included two debutants - Harshit Rana and Nitish Kumar Reddy, who also impressed with their performances.

“It was so important for the captain to stand up,” Ponting said in the latest ICC Review. “I think he showed everyone why he's clearly the best fast bowler in the world in all formats of the game.”

“What he did there, not only in the first innings but for that entire game – his pace, his consistency, his ability to move the ball, his ability to continually challenge the stumps and hit the stumps, [it] was the difference between him and everyone else that bowled in that game.”

Bumrah's performance in Perth instantly sparked questions on whether he has emerged to become the greatest fast bowler in the history of cricket. In Test cricket alone, his average of 20.06 is the second-best among fast bowlers who have picked up a minimum of 150 wickets. In Australia, he has an average of 18.80, picking 40 wickets in just eight matches a stunning strike rate of 2.46.

Besides labelling him as "India's greatest fast bowler," Ponting reckoned that Bumrah is the best fast bowler in world cricket at the moment.

"I think he's definitely India's greatest fast bowler,” he said. “A lot of the greats before him didn't play all three formats as much as he has. can put my hand up and ask people to sit back and watch and say that in T20 cricket, one-day cricket and Test match cricket, he's clearly the best right now. It's not all about wickets. It's about performing at a high level for a long period of time. We saw the other day when he gets the right conditions, just how good he can be."

The Australia legend then drew a similarity between Bumrah and legendary fast bowlers Curtly Ambrose and Glenn McGrath, saying that all three have one thing in common - they never let a batter score runs.

"It's the build-up of pressure,” said Ponting. “Curtly Ambrose was the same, Glenn McGrath was the same. Like any of the great fast bowlers, they make scoring difficult.

“You just don't score off him [Bumrah]. You don't get any runs. The best of the best make scoring difficult for batsmen, and then it makes batting uncomfortable.

“You forget about your instincts as a batsman, when you think about surviving and not scoring runs – that's when batting becomes really hard.”

The veteran batter was then asked what would have been his plan had he faced Bumrah, and Ponting subtly sent a message to the current Australian team urging them to be "proactive."

He said: "I'd charge him every ball, I'd run down the wicket, I'd hit him back over his head. That’s very much a joke, but I’d try to be proactive and put pressure back on the bowler. I'd be reacting to the ball, but I'd be trying to score. Like I said, the reason that he's so good is because he doesn't let you score. The flip side of the best bowlers not letting you score is that the best batsmen don't allow bowlers to bowl that way. That's the way I would approach it as well."