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Best fast-bowlers from Asia in ODI history

K

kron

First Class Captain
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Opinions on how you would rank the greatest fast bowlers in odi history. will chaminda vaas be in the top 10? could any of the young gen bowlers usurp the throne by the end of their careers to be crowned as the best ever asian bowler in odi history ?

my personal rankings would be as follows based on ability at their best. i will try to be as fair as possible;

1. wasim akram
2. imran khan
3. bumrah - can be moved given he hasnt delivered yet in icc ko events
4. waqar
5. shoaib akthar
6. shami
7. shaheen afridi - could be argued as he hasnt played enough yet but he is playing for a much inferior pakistani side
8. siraj - he could move higher. he is a terrific bowler. he hasnt played enough. ability wise he is better than zaheer and chaminda to me
9. zaheer khan - ability wise imo shaheen is better
10. chaminda vaas




if this has been posted before please delete mods.
 
I watch cricket since 1997. So, I don't know much about pre-1997 bowlers.

Here are some best ones since 1997:

Wasim
Waqar
Shoaib Akthar
Asif
Bumrah
Shami
Vaas
Malinga
Shaheen
Srinath
Zaheer Khan.
 
kron said:
Opinions on how you would rank the greatest fast bowlers in odi history. will chaminda vaas be in the top 10? could any of the young gen bowlers usurp the throne by the end of their careers to be crowned as the best ever asian bowler in odi history ?

my personal rankings would be as follows based on ability at their best. i will try to be as fair as possible;

1. wasim akram
2. imran khan
3. bumrah - can be moved given he hasnt delivered yet in icc ko events
4. waqar
5. shoaib akthar
6. shami
7. shaheen afridi - could be argued as he hasnt played enough yet but he is playing for a much inferior pakistani side
8. siraj - he could move higher. he is a terrific bowler. he hasnt played enough. ability wise he is better than zaheer and chaminda to me
9. zaheer khan - ability wise imo shaheen is better
10. chaminda vaas




if this has been posted before please delete mods.
Click to expand...

I think Siraj shouldn't be mentioned yet. He is still new. Same with Naseem.
 
Pakistan fast bowlers will dominate , no doubt about that.

Wasim , Waqar , Shoaib , Aquib Javed , Shaheen Shah , Naseem Shah , naved Hassan , Razzak , Asif etc
 
sweep_shot said:
I watch cricket since 1997. So, I don't know much about pre-1997 bowlers.

Here are some best ones since 1997:

Wasim
Waqar
Shoaib Akthar
Asif
Bumrah
Shami
Vaas
Malinga
Shaheen
Srinath
Zaheer Khan.
Click to expand...
interesting. any reason for srianth and vaas plus malinga over zaheer who helped india win the 2011 wc ?
just want to know.
 
kron said:
interesting. any reason for srianth and vaas plus malinga over zaheer who helped india win the 2011 wc ?
just want to know.
Click to expand...

My list wasn't in any particular order. But, I think Malinga was better than Zaheer and Srinath.
 
sweep_shot said:
My list wasn't in any particular order. But, I think Malinga was better than Zaheer and Srinath.
Click to expand...
yea thats absolutely fine. srinath was fast but inconsistent. i agree with that assessment however zaheer winning the wc for india tilts it in his favour for me.
 
In odis my top 10 fast bowlers from Asia would be (100+ odi wickets)

Wasim
Bumrah
Waqar
Akhtar
Malinga
Dev
Imran
Zaheer
Vaas
Gul
 
jeeteshssaxena said:
In odis my top 10 fast bowlers from Asia would be (100+ odi wickets)

Wasim
Bumrah
Waqar
Akhtar
Malinga
Dev
Imran
Zaheer
Vaas
Gul
Click to expand...
dev dint cross my mind. i might have to slot him in. gul is better in t20. not as good in odi.
dev or zaheer though ? or vaas? i would put the latter 2 bowlers over him tbh.
 
Bumrah at #3? Hilarious.

Wasim, Waqar, Imran, Shoaib and eventually Afridi and Naseem will all feature in the top ten.

Bumrah is already 29 and he's injury prone. He simply won't get enough wickets. India's best ODI pacers will be Zaheer and Siraj.
 
Bilal7 said:
Bumrah at #3? Hilarious.

Wasim, Waqar, Imran, Shoaib and eventually Afridi and Naseem will all feature in the top ten.

Bumrah is already 29 and he's injury prone. He simply won't get enough wickets. India's best ODI pacers will be Zaheer and Siraj.
Click to expand...
That's fair. I was basing it off ability. But you are right. Bumrah hasn't shown up in icc events. That is certainly a knock. So bumrah below shoaib ? Just above shami and shaheen would you say?
 
If ICC tournaments are the criteria then which ICC tournament Waqar performed well ?
Got hit around in 96 and 03 world cups.
Couldn't make it to XI in 1999 ahead of Azhar Mahmood or Razzaq.
 
SamNJ said:
If ICC tournaments are the criteria then which ICC tournament Waqar performed well ?
Got hit around in 96 and 03 world cups.
Couldn't make it to XI in 1999 ahead of Azhar Mahmood or Razzaq.
Click to expand...
just your personal opinion. any would do.
so i am guessing for you waqar should be lower ? behind shoaib but just above zaheer, srinath and vaas ? malinga
 
sweep_shot said:
I watch cricket since 1997. So, I don't know much about pre-1997 bowlers.

Here are some best ones since 1997:

Wasim
Waqar
Shoaib Akthar
Asif
Bumrah
Shami
Vaas
Malinga
Shaheen
Srinath
Zaheer Khan.
Click to expand...
What did Asif do in ODI, which ranked him higher than Malinga or Vaas. Don't say ability, please. He averages over 33, with more than commendable 'support' bowlers to boot with.
 
kron said:
just your personal opinion. any would do.
so i am guessing for you waqar should be lower ? behind shoaib but just above zaheer, srinath and vaas ? malinga
Click to expand...
What exactly did Shoaib Akhtar do in ICC events ?

Had 1 good game in 1999 ( vs New Zealand ). Got hammered in 2003 & 2011. Missed 2007 due to doping ! Got thrown out of 2007 T20 Worlds due to fight with Afridi

By ur logic Zaheer should be ahead of Shoaib, Waqar & Asif. Zaheer was top wicket taker in 2011 WC & did very well in 2003 as well !
 
NishanKonar said:
What exactly did Shoaib Akhtar do in ICC events ?

Had 1 good game in 1999 ( vs New Zealand ). Got hammered in 2003 & 2011. Missed 2007 due to doping ! Got thrown out of 2007 T20 Worlds due to fight with Afridi

By ur logic Zaheer should be ahead of Shoaib, Waqar & Asif. Zaheer was top wicket taker in 2011 WC & did very well in 2003 as well !
Click to expand...
thats fair. its your pejorative. do you feel WC performances hold more value over bilaterals ? i agree to an extent but averaging 32 vs 25 is definitely an issue for me. i mean what do you think would be an appropriate way to judge a player ?

i do agree zaheer out performed shoiab, even waqar in world cup events. can that be the sole criteria though ?
because in that case wouldnt gambir be ranked higher than kohli too?

averages overall need to count for something too right? there needs to be a balance. i guess 50% in terms of bilateral performances based on their averages plus 50% weightage to count towards the player's WC performances.

Its also about conditions. which conditions would the player excel in. shoaib was clearly superior in bouncy wickets, in general he was better in flat wickets of asia too. zaheer excelled in swing friendly conditions. disclaimer being zaheer out performing shoaib when the world cup was hosted in asia in terms of numbers. it is very tough for me but i am going with the former given he induced more fear into the opposition. he also had to play the monstrous australian side of late 90s and early 2000.
zaheer won in 2011 against a very good australian side in the QF but not the dominant force it once was. by the way both failed vs australia prior to the 2011 world cup events at the ICC level.
 
Bilal7 said:
Bumrah at #3? Hilarious.

Wasim, Waqar, Imran, Shoaib and eventually Afridi and Naseem will all feature in the top ten.

Bumrah is already 29 and he's injury prone. He simply won't get enough wickets. India's best ODI pacers will be Zaheer and Siraj.
Click to expand...
Btw, Imran only had 182 wickets and that too in 175 matches.
Bumrah is easily ahead of him even Kapil dev for that matter.
 
sweep_shot said:
I watch cricket since 1997. So, I don't know much about pre-1997 bowlers.

Here are some best ones since 1997:

Wasim
Waqar
Shoaib Akthar
Asif
Bumrah
Shami
Vaas
Malinga
Shaheen
Srinath
Zaheer Khan.
Click to expand...

Amir, Shaheen all are better than Asif. Asif was a successful test and T20 bowler, not ODIs.
 
kron said:
thats fair. its your pejorative. do you feel WC performances hold more value over bilaterals ? i agree to an extent but averaging 32 vs 25 is definitely an issue for me. i mean what do you think would be an appropriate way to judge a player ?

i do agree zaheer out performed shoiab, even waqar in world cup events. can that be the sole criteria though ?
because in that case wouldnt gambir be ranked higher than kohli too?

averages overall need to count for something too right? there needs to be a balance. i guess 50% in terms of bilateral performances based on their averages plus 50% weightage to count towards the player's WC performances.

Its also about conditions. which conditions would the player excel in. shoaib was clearly superior in bouncy wickets, in general he was better in flat wickets of asia too. zaheer excelled in swing friendly conditions. disclaimer being zaheer out performing shoaib when the world cup was hosted in asia in terms of numbers. it is very tough for me but i am going with the former given he induced more fear into the opposition. he also had to play the monstrous australian side of late 90s and early 2000.
zaheer won in 2011 against a very good australian side in the QF but not the dominant force it once was. by the way both failed vs australia prior to the 2011 world cup events at the ICC level.
Click to expand...
I do not believe ICC events should be sole criteria. That what many posters are using to downplay Bumrah's pedigree. BUt if u do so - then it must be the same for Waqar, SHoaib , Asif & even Imran. None of them set the World Cup on fire as bowlers. Imran did well as batter & captain in 1992 but largely ineffective as bowler
 
sweep_shot said:
Forgot to add Amir and Gul.

But, I think Asif should be there too. It is not just about statistics.
Click to expand...

Forget statistics, he wasn't a successful ODI bowler itself. Played 34 games and averages 33 with bowl.

It is like putting Rishabh Pant name in white ball cricket.
 
NishanKonar said:
I do not believe ICC events should be sole criteria. That what many posters are using to downplay Bumrah's pedigree. BUt if u do so - then it must be the same for Waqar, SHoaib , Asif & even Imran. None of them set the World Cup on fire as bowlers. Imran did well as batter & captain in 1992 but largely ineffective as bowler
Click to expand...
I agree. If bumrah leads india to a final and wins or loses then I will definitely have to rank him above Waqar etc easily.
 
kron said:
Opinions on how you would rank the greatest fast bowlers in odi history. will chaminda vaas be in the top 10? could any of the young gen bowlers usurp the throne by the end of their careers to be crowned as the best ever asian bowler in odi history ?

my personal rankings would be as follows based on ability at their best. i will try to be as fair as possible;

1. wasim akram
2. imran khan
3. bumrah - can be moved given he hasnt delivered yet in icc ko events
4. waqar
5. shoaib akthar
6. shami
7. shaheen afridi - could be argued as he hasnt played enough yet but he is playing for a much inferior pakistani side
8. siraj - he could move higher. he is a terrific bowler. he hasnt played enough. ability wise he is better than zaheer and chaminda to me
9. zaheer khan - ability wise imo shaheen is better
10. chaminda vaas




if this has been posted before please delete mods.
Click to expand...
Wasim and waqar was and is always my personal best pacer. Started loving cricket due to guru wasi ❤️
 
kron said:
Opinions on how you would rank the greatest fast bowlers in odi history. will chaminda vaas be in the top 10? could any of the young gen bowlers usurp the throne by the end of their careers to be crowned as the best ever asian bowler in odi history ?

my personal rankings would be as follows based on ability at their best. i will try to be as fair as possible;

1. wasim akram
2. imran khan
3. bumrah - can be moved given he hasnt delivered yet in icc ko events
4. waqar
5. shoaib akthar
6. shami
7. shaheen afridi - could be argued as he hasnt played enough yet but he is playing for a much inferior pakistani side
8. siraj - he could move higher. he is a terrific bowler. he hasnt played enough. ability wise he is better than zaheer and chaminda to me
9. zaheer khan - ability wise imo shaheen is better
10. chaminda vaas




if this has been posted before please delete mods.
Click to expand...
To have Bumrah ranked above Waqar, Zhaeer and Vaas is an absurdity. He hasn't even had a fraction of the career longevity those guys have had.

Absurd!

For me it would be:

Wasim
Waqar
Imran
Akhtar
Malinga
Vaas
Zaheer
Dev
Bumrah
Gul
 
owenhcricket said:
To have Bumrah ranked above Waqar, Zhaeer and Vaas is an absurdity. He hasn't even had a fraction of the career longevity those guys have had.

Absurd!

For me it would be:

Wasim
Waqar
Imran
Akhtar
Malinga
Vaas
Zaheer
Dev
Bumrah
Gul
Click to expand...
Going based of the player's ability. I absolutely understand if you have different opinions. I don't see
how vaas zaheer dev are above bumrah and shami in terms of sheer talent and ability. My personal view. When their careers are finished I feel the latter 2 would be above those mentioned in this comment. Waqar I agree was on another level but his world cup exploits does leave a lot to be desired. It all depends on whether bumrah can help his team win the world cup or atleast reach finals whilst having a good tournament to get ranked amongst the best ever from Asia.
 
kron said:
Going based of the player's ability. I absolutely understand if you have different opinions. I don't see
how vaas zaheer dev are above bumrah and shami in terms of sheer talent and ability. My personal view. When their careers are finished I feel the latter 2 would be above those mentioned in this comment. Waqar I agree was on another level but his world cup exploits does leave a lot to be desired. It all depends on whether bumrah can help his team win the world cup or atleast reach finals whilst having a good tournament to get ranked amongst the best ever from Asia.
Click to expand...

Ability is not something which is abstract, it translates into performances which translate into numbers. Bumrah's numbers certainly look exceptional no doubt but guys like Vaas, Malinga and Waqar had hundreds more wickets and did in longer careers, with more matches and against better opponents.


There's a massive gap between gap between Wasim, Waqar and Imran and many other top level ODI pace bowlers at the global level, let alone Asia. Bumrah isn't there yet. An argument could be made at the lower rung of the ladder with Bumrah, Dev and Zaheer but you having him at 3 is absurd. That was my point.
 
owenhcricket said:
Ability is not something which is abstract, it translates into performances which translate into numbers. Bumrah's numbers certainly look exceptional no doubt but guys like Vaas, Malinga and Waqar had hundreds more wickets and did in longer careers, with more matches and against better opponents.


There's a massive gap between gap between Wasim, Waqar and Imran and many other top level ODI pace bowlers at the global level, let alone Asia. Bumrah isn't there yet. An argument could be made at the lower rung of the ladder with Bumrah, Dev and Zaheer but you having him at 3 is absurd. That was my point.
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That's totally fair. I am not sure if we can really say better opponents though.

It's much tougher to bowl in odi given the rules favour batsmen compared to how it was in the past.

I put him there based on ability but yes you are absolutely correct as he hasn't quite played enough games. Also he has choked in a few icc events. Someone above mentioned how Waqar himself was a no show in icc events which is a fair comment. But I can't just go off icc events cause if I do then a case could be made to put gambit above kohli for example. Or inzamam over imran khan for us. We know that isn't true in general. It's a combination of both which need to be factored into the equation.

Bumrah needs to stay at this level for another 3 to r years and maintain his numbers to be at 3 or 4 according to you? That is totally fair and understandable. If he does perform in the current world cup I may have to put him above Waqar. If he fails or averages poorly in this upcoming WC then he will be moved back to 5 or 6. Anything below a final is a failure in a home WC imo.

You are 100% correct. The gap between wasim, imran and the rest is huge. Humongous. So long way to go for these bowlers.

We are not even thinking about those 2 right now. But a comparison with shoaib, zaheer, vaas, dev can definitely be made. I feel bumrah is better than the above mentioned 4 from what I have seen personally.

Just letting you know I dint want to gave bumrah at 3 per se. Just what I feel about his ability. It's hypothetical. Can be changed. Given the amount of games he ha splayed 5 or 6 is more reasonable.
 
kron said:
That's totally fair. I am not sure if we can really say better opponents though.

It's much tougher to bowl in odi given the rules favour batsmen compared to how it was in the past.

I put him there based on ability but yes you are absolutely correct as he hasn't quite played enough games. Also he has choked in a few icc events. Someone above mentioned how Waqar himself was a no show in icc events which is a fair comment. But I can't just go off icc events cause if I do then a case could be made to put gambit above kohli for example. Or inzamam over imran khan for us. We know that isn't true in general. It's a combination of both which need to be factored into the equation.

Bumrah needs to stay at this level for another 3 to r years and maintain his numbers to be at 3 or 4 according to you? That is totally fair and understandable. If he does perform in the current world cup I may have to put him above Waqar. If he fails or averages poorly in this upcoming WC then he will be moved back to 5 or 6. Anything below a final is a failure in a home WC imo.

You are 100% correct. The gap between wasim, imran and the rest is huge. Humongous. So long way to go for these bowlers.

We are not even thinking about those 2 right now. But a comparison with shoaib, zaheer, vaas, dev can definitely be made. I feel bumrah is better than the above mentioned 4 from what I have seen personally.

Just letting you know I dint want to gave bumrah at 3 per se. Just what I feel about his ability. It's hypothetical. Can be changed. Given the amount of games he ha splayed 5 or 6 is more reasonable.
Click to expand...
Fair reply.

However Waqar had over 400 ODI wickets in an era where yes, he may not have lit up world cups but ODI cricket was so much more diverse, he was spectacular in Sharjah cups which used to be real lion's den cricket in those days and regular triangular series also. It was a whole different game back then.

Bumrah isn't touching the trinity of great Asian fast bowlers but yes, he is probably a great tournament away from levelling or overtaking Dev, Zaheer as you say.
 
owenhcricket said:
Fair reply.

However Waqar had over 400 ODI wickets in an era where yes, he may not have lit up world cups but ODI cricket was so much more diverse, he was spectacular in Sharjah cups which used to be real lion's den cricket in those days and regular triangular series also. It was a whole different game back then.

Bumrah isn't touching the trinity of great Asian fast bowlers but yes, he is probably a great tournament away from levelling or overtaking Dev, Zaheer as you say.
Click to expand...
It's interesting cause everyone values different metrics.

Longevity seems to be important for you and wickets taken at a good average. Given the advent of t20 games and franchise leagues, it will be very difficult to rack up those sort of numbers in the odi format. So that needs to be considered as well.

You can't average 32 or 29 like dev and zaheer yet claim to be some great bowler honestly hence why I rank them lower despite winning the world cup.

Ability to perform in all conditions is key too.

I would put bumrah shoaib at around the same level right now. Bumrah still needs to play more games.

Same with shaheen. If he has a terrific world cup and leads Pakistan to the finals, there is a good chance he could be ranked in the top 6 for me. He had already reached one final before in the short formats.
 
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jeeteshssaxena said:
Btw, Imran only had 182 wickets and that too in 175 matches.
Bumrah is easily ahead of him even Kapil dev for that matter.
Click to expand...
Bumrah with his 120 wickets is nowhere near the top ten. Unlike Shaheen and Naseem, he's not going to play ODIs for much longer either.

Imran averaged 19 in ODI world cups with a great economy and SR. Kapil averaged over 30 with a poor SR.

Saying either of them are ahead of Imran is weird. Imran played a bunch of his last ODI matches as a top-order batsman, thus the higher ratio of wickets to matches.
 
NishanKonar said:
I do not believe ICC events should be sole criteria. That what many posters are using to downplay Bumrah's pedigree. BUt if u do so - then it must be the same for Waqar, SHoaib , Asif & even Imran. None of them set the World Cup on fire as bowlers. Imran did well as batter & captain in 1992 but largely ineffective as bowler
Click to expand...
Imran averages 19 in world cups. What are you talking about? Bumrah's main issue is his 120 wickets. That's too small a sample size.

In the modern era, a bowler needs to have around 200 wickets to feature in these all-time discussions. Exceptions can be made for the likes of Ajmal that had their career cut short but Bumrah is still playing so just wait.
 
Ranking order should not taken seriously in table below. I removed entries where sample size was low.
Player OA.Mat OA.Wkts OA.Avg WC.Mat WC.Wkts WC.Avg ICC.Mat ICC.Wkts ICC.Avg Average
Mohammed Shami (IND) 80 143 26.45 6 18 14.05 20.25
Azhar Mahmood (PAK) 7 11 23.45 3 8 19.5 21.48
Imran Khan (PAK) 172 179 26.84 26 33 19.03 22.94
Hasan Ali (PAK) 53 80 31.48 5 13 14.69 23.09
Mohammad Amir (PAK) 54 78 28.56 6 16 17.87 7 11 23 23.14
MF Maharoof (SL) 82 87 33.62 5 9 13.88 23.75
Waqar Younis (PAK) 233 377 24 7 14 25.14 24.57
JJ Bumrah (IND) 70 108 26.38 7 12 23.08 24.73
ALF de Mel (SL) 9 18 24.94 24.94
IK Pathan (IND) 109 151 31.45 4 7 18.57 25.01
Shoaib Akhtar (PAK) 134 208 25.7 12 18 34.44 3 6 15 25.05
A Nehra (IND) 101 142 31.21 7 15 20.73 6 11 23.54 25.16
RMH Binny (IND) 70 73 30 7 15 20.8 25.40
B Kumar (IND) 9 11 25.54 25.54
Mustafizur Rahman (BAN) 70 114 26.69 7 18 25.11 25.90
Wasim Akram (PAK) 314 439 24.39 29 38 29 4 7 26.28 26.56
Shaheen Shah Afridi (PAK) 32 58 26.68 26.68
M Amarnath (IND) 11 13 27.3 27.30
I Sharma (IND) 79 114 30.83 7 13 23.84 27.34
Sarfraz Nawaz (PAK) 44 60 23.95 10 13 31.46 27.71
Umar Gul (PAK) 98 129 32.38 6 10 24.2 7 10 27.5 28.03
WPUJC Vaas (SL) 276 325 29.9 20 27 26.88 13 14 28.21 28.33
BKV Prasad (IND) 134 158 33.97 11 14 32.85 3 6 20.66 29.16
M Prabhakar (IND) 120 144 29.52 15 20 28.8 29.16
S Madan Lal (IND) 64 64 32.07 8 13 26.3 29.19
DNT Zoysa (SL) 82 93 31.15 5 7 28.14 29.65
Junaid Khan (PAK) 57 81 31.28 7 9 28.55 29.92
N Kapil Dev (IND) 214 241 27.65 21 24 32.29 29.97
Mohammad Irfan (PAK) 50 74 30.06 30.06
Z Khan (IND) 161 207 33.51 13 25 23.84 7 8 34.37 30.57
J Srinath (IND) 201 266 29.92 24 30 31.36 30.64
Mudassar Nazar (PAK) 120 111 30.81 30.81
CPH Ramanayake (SL) 58 63 30.84 30.84
AD Mathews (SL) 183 102 34.87 9 6 26.83 30.85
Naved-ul-Hasan (PAK) 69 105 28.83 8 9 32.88 30.86
SN Thakur (IND) 36 51 31.15 31.15
N Pradeep (SL) 3 6 31.16 31.16
MM Patel (IND) 63 76 31.18 31.18
SL Malinga (SL) 194 280 30.97 21 33 30.63 14 22 32.09 31.23
JR Ratnayeke (SL) 6 10 31.3 31.30
Mohammad Sami (PAK) 68 93 31.47 31.47
Wahab Riaz (PAK) 13 21 31.76 31.76
Mohammad Saifuddin (BAN) 6 12 32 32.00
Aaqib Javed (PAK) 147 164 31.98 12 13 32.69 32.34
S Sreesanth (IND) 48 70 32.62 32.62
Taskin Ahmed (BAN) 43 60 32.8 32.80
RMS Eranga (SL) 3 5 33 33.00
Iftikhar Anjum (PAK) 51 62 33.8 33.80
NLTC Perera (SL) 136 136 34.73 34.73
CRD Fernando (SL) 116 134 35 35.00
RJ Ratnayake (SL) 9 12 36.41 36.41
Abdul Razzaq (PAK) 227 220 34.1 15 10 44.3 8 9 32.66 37.02
KMDN Kulasekara (SL) 6 7 38.14 38.14
AB Agarkar (IND) 147 208 30.27 10 8 50.25 40.26
UT Yadav (IND) 7 7 42.14 42.14
Rubel Hossain (BAN) 10 12 42.5 42.50
GP Wickramasinghe (SL) 13 10 48.2 48.20
 
Above table only includes performance against SENEW +Ind , Pak , SL
 
I don't think it is fair to put Bumrah ahead of Waqar and Shoaib.
 
Bilal7 said:
Bumrah with his 120 wickets is nowhere near the top ten. Unlike Shaheen and Naseem, he's not going to play ODIs for much longer either.

Imran averaged 19 in ODI world cups with a great economy and SR. Kapil averaged over 30 with a poor SR.

Saying either of them are ahead of Imran is weird. Imran played a bunch of his last ODI matches as a top-order batsman, thus the higher ratio of wickets to matches.
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Bumrah is 29 not 39, he is definitely gonna take more wickets than Imran.

As for world cups Bumrah also averages 20 at a great eco and str rate.

If Imran can be in the discussion with 172 wkts then so can Bumrah who has better stats in a way more batsman friendly era.

There’s only a 40 wkts difference between them
 
Bilal7 said:
Imran averages 19 in world cups. What are you talking about? Bumrah's main issue is his 120 wickets. That's too small a sample size.

In the modern era, a bowler needs to have around 200 wickets to feature in these all-time discussions. Exceptions can be made for the likes of Ajmal that had their career cut short but Bumrah is still playing so just wait.
Click to expand...
Oh so exception can be made for chuckers who were nearly 35 but not for a 29 year old all format fast bowler who has been ranked number in all thtee formats at some point of time
 
hassan918 said:
I don't think it is fair to put Bumrah ahead of Waqar and Shoaib.
Click to expand...
if he maintains his average and helps india reach the finals of world cup. then yea. not yet.
 
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jeeteshssaxena said:
Oh so exception can be made for chuckers who were nearly 35 but not for a 29 year old all format fast bowler who has been ranked number in all thtee formats at some point of time
Click to expand...
shoaib's performance has not been the best in icc events, hence i rated him lower. i am surprised shami averages well in odi icc events.
a good world cup here might put him at the top if he helps india reach finals.
in saying that, he also needs to maintain a sub 25 average by the time he retires.
 
I don't know why, Nehra ji is missing in this list. His spell against England was something of a different dimension
 
DJhant said:
I don't know why, Nehra ji is missing in this list. His spell against England was something of a different dimension
Click to expand...
What's his average?
Had a look sorry.

Not bad at all.
Ajith has a decent average too.
 
Surely it has to include Wasim Akram, Imran KHan, Jasprit Bumrah, Waqar Younis and Shami.
 
kron said:
What's his average?
Had a look sorry.

Not bad at all.
Ajith has a decent average too.
Click to expand...
Not checked, but I am sure it would be good, he didn't play many though because of injury. Ajit Agarkar was pretty ridiculed in his playing days but was a genuine wicket-taker in ODI for India.
 
Any bowler who was ranked outside of top 10 in ODI ranking for majority of career and never made it to top 3 shouldn't be hyped. Too much hype without any substance.

Now, bowlers don't paly all games, but earlier they used to play all if they were fit. Any gun bowler should appear consistently on top 5-10 rank otherwise we are hyping some bowlers based on random factors.
 
owenhcricket said:
To have Bumrah ranked above Waqar, Zhaeer and Vaas is an absurdity. He hasn't even had a fraction of the career longevity those guys have had.

Absurd!

For me it would be:

Wasim
Waqar
Imran
Akhtar
Malinga
Vaas
Zaheer
Dev
Bumrah
Gul
Click to expand...

I would add Srinath. One of the finest Indian bowlers from India who single-handedly carried the Indian bowling contingent.
 
kron said:
It's interesting cause everyone values different metrics.

Longevity seems to be important for you and wickets taken at a good average. Given the advent of t20 games and franchise leagues, it will be very difficult to rack up those sort of numbers in the odi format. So that needs to be considered as well.

You can't average 32 or 29 like dev and zaheer yet claim to be some great bowler honestly hence why I rank them lower despite winning the world cup.

Ability to perform in all conditions is key too.

I would put bumrah shoaib at around the same level right now. Bumrah still needs to play more games.

Same with shaheen. If he has a terrific world cup and leads Pakistan to the finals, there is a good chance he could be ranked in the top 6 for me. He had already reached one final before in the short formats.
Click to expand...
You are confusing formats, this is about ODIs. Kapil averaged 27 and Zaheer 29.
 
giri26 said:
You are confusing formats, this is about ODIs. Kapil averaged 27 and Zaheer 29.
Click to expand...
Oh right. Still a tad bit high. But they had long careers. Based on ability I still have to put them lower. Better than vaas though
 
kron said:
Oh right. Still a tad bit high. But they had long careers. Based on ability I still have to put them lower. Better than vaas though
Click to expand...
Vaas was 'vastly' improved towards last 7-8 years, before he was nothing great, rather ordinary. Murali's ascent probably helped him too
 
If we talk about Asia so no one else but the left arm magician Wasim Akram comes to mind.

other 4 I wil pick

Waqar
Shoaib
Zaheer
Malinga
 
There has been only two stand out ODI bowlers in different era from Asia with 100+ wickets.
Wasim and Bumrah stood out due to their actual performance when compared to their peers.
Average and ER is equally important in ODI format. Some bowlers have averaged in lower 20s, but they have been expensive.


Wasim in 90s averaged in lower 20s and ER was 3.8 when second best from Asia had ER of 4.2

Bumrah in the last 10 years averaged in lower 20s and ER 4.5 when second best from Asia has ER of 5.1

No one stood out in any other period. First two slots are locked and then it's between Shami, IK, Dev, Waqar etc.






stats.espncricinfo.com

Bowling records | One-Day Internationals | Cricinfo Statsguru | ESPNcricinfo.com

stats.espncricinfo.com stats.espncricinfo.com

stats.espncricinfo.com

Bowling records | One-Day Internationals | Cricinfo Statsguru | ESPNcricinfo.com

stats.espncricinfo.com stats.espncricinfo.com
 
If we talk about history, then I will take the names of:

Wasim
Waqar
Malinga
Shoaib
Bumrah (from current lot)
 
There was no stand out ODI pacer from Asia who had a great combination for Avg and ER in 80s and 00s.
 
Buffet said:
There was no stand out ODI pacer from Asia who had a great combination for Avg and ER in 80s and 00s.
Click to expand...
Wasim has a wonderful economy and look at his number of wickets as well. He took 502 wickets in 356 ODIs at an average of 23.58 and an economy rate of 3.66.
 
BouncerGuy said:
Wasim has a wonderful economy and look at his number of wickets as well. He took 502 wickets in 356 ODIs at an average of 23.58 and an economy rate of 3.66.
Click to expand...

He is not just best from Asia in ODI format. At least for me, he will be my first pick for all time world XI in ODI.

Its rare to have great Avg and ER. It's ever harder to do it for such a long time.
 
Surely, he will easily make it to the ATG 11 without a doubt. He and Waqar have been one of the most prolific due from Asia,
 
Wasim is one of the greatest ODI fast bowlers of all time.

Easily the best Asia has produced.
 
Overall, Wasim is at the top but currently, Bumrah has to be the best bowler from Asia.
 
wasim and waqar and donald were rated 3 greatest ODI bowlers of the 20th century by wisden. So wasim and waqar are first two , from 21st century only Bumrah and Shoaib makes the cut , for 5th spot we can have saqlain mushtaq a spinner for the time being , this spot is up for the grab for naseem , shaheen, siraj etc
 
Last edited by a moderator:
1. Imran Khan.
2. Wasim Akram
3. Waqar Younis
4. Shoaib Akhtar
5. Aaqib Javed
6. Vaas
7. Kapil Dev
8. Malinga
 
kron said:
Opinions on how you would rank the greatest fast bowlers in odi history. will chaminda vaas be in the top 10? could any of the young gen bowlers usurp the throne by the end of their careers to be crowned as the best ever asian bowler in odi history ?

my personal rankings would be as follows based on ability at their best. i will try to be as fair as possible;

1. wasim akram
2. imran khan
3. bumrah - can be moved given he hasnt delivered yet in icc ko events
4. waqar
5. shoaib akthar
6. shami
7. shaheen afridi - could be argued as he hasnt played enough yet but he is playing for a much inferior pakistani side
8. siraj - he could move higher. he is a terrific bowler. he hasnt played enough. ability wise he is better than zaheer and chaminda to me
9. zaheer khan - ability wise imo shaheen is better
10. chaminda vaas




if this has been posted before please delete mods.
Click to expand...
Vaas will comfortably make it to the top 10 for me.

Another data point, WC games which is the highest intensity games. No need to just compare Asian bowlers, but you can see how the best Asian bowlers did in WC compared to their peers worldwide.


Since, ODI games has changed a lot and has become very high scoring each passing decade, It will be best to look at each decade at a time, but just to make a point by taking 20 years at a time for all pacers having 25+ wickets and averaging below 25 in WC.

Wasim and Bumrah has been the standout bowlers in WC from Asia. Their career record is similarly standout among all Asian bowlers.

Bumrah is actually harder to hit than Wasim in my opinion and it's reflected in his record. He has played the last 5 years of this 20 years period where scores has been in 300-350 range and yet his ER is lowest.

20 years first one.png20 years last one.png
 
In my opinion, one of the fastest bowlers in Asian history is Waqar Younis. He holds an impressive career record, with 373 wickets in 87 Test matches and 416 wickets in 262 One Day Internationals (ODIs).

Waqar Younis is known for his remarkable strike rate, averaging around 43.4 in Tests and 30.5 in ODIs. That's why he has been formally inducted to ICC Hall of Fame in 2022.
 
FearlessRoar said:
In my opinion, one of the fastest bowlers in Asian history is Waqar Younis. He holds an impressive career record, with 373 wickets in 87 Test matches and 416 wickets in 262 One Day Internationals (ODIs).

Waqar Younis is known for his remarkable strike rate, averaging around 43.4 in Tests and 30.5 in ODIs. That's why he has been formally inducted to ICC Hall of Fame in 2022.
Click to expand...
He was good in test but I don't think he was that good in ODI. Many of us confuse his test and ODI contribution.

Since he was a non-entity in WC games, lets take a look at his career.

All bowlers with 100+ wickets and below 25 average at same time when Waqar played.

Waqar ODI.png



Waqar used to get thrashing. 4.7 ER despite playing in 90s. SR of 30.5 is not going to do much because even with 4 Waqar's bowling, opposition will get above average score of 240-250 without getting bowled out. Yes, occasionally they will score higher and occasionally lower, but that will be the average score for opposition. 240-250 was a very high score in 90s. Waqar should never be clubbed with Wasim in ODI. Difference was just too much, but many of us mix his test and ODI.
 
kron said:
Imran too low but otherwise I agree. Imran should be above shoaib
Click to expand...
No. Imran is the ultimate Asian 🐐 in test cricket. No dispute about that. But as an odi bowler, he was a couple of notches below. A bit like Steyn. Now he would have been remembered as much greater odi bowler if he didn't ruin his legacy by coming out of retirement after 87 wc. At that time his records were insanely good. Unfortunately his last five years were nothing but full of misery & mediocrity. By 92 wc he was a typical subcontinent trundler & was actually the biggest burden of his bowling attack. Shoaib & all other names were always more impactful & consistent than him.
 
Who according to you are the Top 10 fast bowlers (all formats combined) of the 21st century ( Debut from 2000- present)
There are likes of Steyn, Asif, Amir, Rabada, Bumrah, Shane Bond, Anderson etc
 
Bumrah is the only one in the list who will shoe in for world XIs in 3 formats (2000 - present)

Shorter career than many in the list.

All formats combined, why will you put bowlers like Amir, Asif or Anderson.
 
In no particular order
Bumrah, Steyn, Cummins, starc, boult, Hazelwood, rabada, shami, amir and Anderson
 
2000s debutants:-

Aus - Cummins, Starc, Johnson, Hazelwood
SA - Steyn, Rabada, Morkel
IND - Bumrah, Shami
Eng - Anderson, Broad
NZ - Boult
Pak - Amir

That's 13 names. If I have to remove 3, it would be Morkel, Amir and Broad.
 
Ab Fan said:
2000s debutants:-

Aus - Cummins, Starc, Johnson, Hazelwood
SA - Steyn, Rabada, Morkel
IND - Bumrah, Shami
Eng - Anderson, Broad
NZ - Boult
Pak - Amir

That's 13 names. If I have to remove 3, it would be Morkel, Amir and Broad.
Click to expand...
Sorry Cummins as best bowler in ODIs? He might be a great captain but as a bowler he shouldn't be mentioned anywhere close to Starc in ODIs. An average of 29 and Econ of 5.30 makes him an okay ODI bowler and should not be classified as great. In Tests he is but not in ODI. I feel Nathan Bracken was very good as he took 170+ wickets at 24 at an economy rate of 4.4. Bracken was also a crucial member of 2007 WC winning Australian side. Picked up 16 wickets at 16.12 and econ of 3.8. Even though Cummins was brilliant as captain in 2023 WC, his bowling was very ordinary.

Same with England, Broad & Anderson were pretty ordinary ODI bowlers. But again for England there haven't been better bowlers since them. Archer is good but he hardly plays and his sample size is low.
 
giri26 said:
Sorry Cummins as best bowler in ODIs? He might be a great captain but as a bowler he shouldn't be mentioned anywhere close to Starc in ODIs. An average of 29 and Econ of 5.30 makes him an okay ODI bowler and should not be classified as great. In Tests he is but not in ODI. I feel Nathan Bracken was very good as he took 170+ wickets at 24 at an economy rate of 4.4. Bracken was also a crucial member of 2007 WC winning Australian side. Picked up 16 wickets at 16.12 and econ of 3.8. Even though Cummins was brilliant as captain in 2023 WC, his bowling was very ordinary.

Same with England, Broad & Anderson were pretty ordinary ODI bowlers. But again for England there haven't been better bowlers since them. Archer is good but he hardly plays and his sample size is low.
Click to expand...

I think that list is for all formats.
 
This thread is about Asian bowlers. so here is mine list:

Wasim
Shoaib
Shami
Malinga
Bumrah
 
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