TOP 10 Fast Bowlers in India in the History of Cricket

Have you ever wondered “Who must be the No.1 Fast bowler of India across all the formats ? ” So to find out the answer of the question , read the blog till the end . Hey guys !! Today I will be sharing the detailed list of the TOP 10 Fast Bowlers in India with you all.

Like the world believes in numbers and results , the greatness of a fast bowler too is unfortunately measured by the quantity of wickets taken or matches played by him.Therefore , the rankings in the list are purely based on the number of wickets taken by fast bowlers across all the formats in cricket and not on my personal thoughts or opinions . Major qualities of bowlers such as their skills , impact, consistency under pressure , control etc. sadly will not be considered here.

If you like the video format too, you can watch this 3-minute video on my Youtube channel ‘Cricket Cordon’ :

LIST OF TOP 10 FAST BOWLERS IN INDIA

Here is the detailed list of top 10 Fast bowlers in India :

11. Umesh Yadav (2010- Present) – 283 Wickets

• Umesh Kumar Tilak Yadav (born 25 October 1987) is an Indian cricketer who currently plays for Indian national team . He is a right-handed batsman and right-arm fast bowler . His shirt number is 19 . He has played for Vidarbha at domestic level since 2008 and is the first player from the team to have played International Test cricket . 

• Umesh is considered one of the fastest bowlers ever in India with his top speed being 152.5 km/h against Sri Lanka in Brisbane. He was the first fast bowler of India who could easily bowl at speed of 140+ kmph consistently and threaten the batsmen with his raw pace .
• Early on in his career , Yadav was all about pace and inaccuracy in line and length but as he got experienced , he improved with time and cemented his place in Tests and ODI’s for a long period . In the 2015 World Cup, Umesh was India’s leading wicket-taker with 18 scalps in eight matches and was behind Trent Boult (22) and Mitchell Starc (22) in overall bowlers with most wickets in the tournament .
• He still plays for India in Test matches bowling over 140 kmph. Till January 2023, he has taken a total of 283 wickets in his massive career for India spanning from 2010. Detailed statistics of his fantastic international bowling career is as follows :

UMESH YADAV’S CAREER BEST BOWLING FIGURES IN:

TEST MATCH – 10/133 ( 2018 v West Indies, Hyderabad )
TEST MATCH INNINGS – 6/88 ( 2018 v West Indies, Hyderabad )
ODI MATCH – 4/31 ( 2015 v Bangladesh , Melbourne )
T20I MATCH – 2/19 ( 2018 v Ireland , Dublin )

10. Venkatesh Prasad (1994-2001) – 292 Wickets

• Bapu Krishnarao Venkatesh Prasad (born 5 August 1969) is a former Indian cricketer who played Tests and ODIs. He made his debut in 1994. He was a right-handed batsman and right-arm medium fast bowler . Primarily a right-arm medium-fast bowler, Prasad was noted for his bowling combination with Javagal Srinath.

• He took a total of 292 wickets in his massive career for India spanning from 1994 to 2001. That is why he is considered one of the best fast bowlers in India .Detailed statistics of his fantastic international bowling career is as follows :

VENKATESH PRASAD’S CAREER BEST BOWLING FIGURES IN:
TEST MATCH – 10/153 ( 1996 v South Africa , Durban )
TEST MATCH INNINGS – 6/33 ( 1999 v Pakistan , Chennai )
ODI MATCH – 5/27 ( 1999 v Pakistan , Manchester )

9. Bhuvneshwar Kumar (2012-Present) – 294 Wickets

• Bhuvneshwar Kumar Singh (born 5 February 1990) is an Indian international cricketer who is is considered to be one of the best and most consistent swing bowlers in the world. Kumar swings the ball both ways efficiently, with his inswingers more effective than outswing.
• Initially starting his career as an opening swing bowler, Bhuvneshwar Kumar upgraded his bowling armoury with reverse swing, slower balls like Knuckle Ball, Leg Cutters outside the off-stump and Yorkers to become a death over specialist too. This skillset of Kumar made him a main pillar of Indian Bowling attack in the national T20 side . However, he afterwards lost his place in the Test side.
• He made an unforgettable international debut in December 2012 against Pakistan in December 2012, taking three wickets in an Twenty20 International, which included 3 dream inswinging as well outswinging deliveries to Nasir Jamshed (4th ball), Ahmed Shahzad and Umar Akmal. He went on to make his One Day International (ODI) debut in the series which followed and who can forget his surprising 1st ODI ball crashing the stumps of amazed Mohammad Hafeez .
• He is the first Indian bowler to take a five-wicket haul in Test cricket, ODIs and T20Is.
• He was a right-handed batsman and right-arm medium fast bowler . His shirt number is 15 . He has taken a total of 294 wickets in his massive career for India spanning from 2012 . That is why he is considered one of the best Indian swinging fast bowlers right behind Kapil Dev . Detailed statistics of his fantastic international bowling career is as follows :

BHUVNESHWAR KUMAR’S CAREER BEST BOWLING FIGURES IN:
TEST MATCH – 8/96 ( 2017 v Sri Lanka, Kolkata )
TEST MATCH INNINGS – 6/82 ( 2014 v England, London )
ODI MATCH – 5/42 ( 2017 v Sri Lanka, Colombo )
T20I MATCH – 5/4 ( 2022 v Afghanistan, Dubai )

8. Irfan Pathan (2003-2012) – 301 Wickets

• Irfan Khan Pathan ( born 27 October 1984) is a former Indian cricketer who played all the formats . He was an all rounder and a member of the Indian cricket team that won the inaugural 2007 ICC Twenty20 World Cup and also the 2013 ICC Champions Trophy . He was one of the very few fast bowlers in the world who could swing the ball in both the directions at will .
• He was a left-handed batsman and left-arm medium fast bowler . His shirt number was 56 . He took a total of 301 wickets in his massive career for India spanning from 2003 to 2012. That is why he is considered one of the best fast bowlers in India . Detailed statistics of his fantastic international bowling career is as follows :

IRFAN PATHAN’S CAREER BEST BOWLING FIGURES IN:
TEST MATCH – 12/126 ( 2005 v Zimbabwe, Harare )
TEST MATCH INNINGS – 7/59 ( 2005 v Zimbabwe, Harare )
ODI MATCH – 5/27 ( 2005 v Zimbabwe, Harare )
T20I MATCH – 3/16 ( 2007 v Pakistan , Johannesburg )

7. Jasprit Bumrah (2016-Present) – 319 Wickets

• Jasprit Jasbirsingh Bumrah (born 6 December 1993) is an Indian international cricketer, who plays for the Indian national cricket team in all formats of the game. He is a right-handed batsman and right-arm fast bowler . His shirt number is 93 .
• Right from the his debut series in Australia, he showed the world his class of bowling toe-crushing yorkers in death overs and beacame the new yorker king after Lasith Malinga . Initially ,everyone looked at Bumrah as a death over specialist but later on he made his Test debut in 2018 against South Africa and also developed his swing bowling with new ball .
• He is the first Asian bowler to take 5 wickets in a test innings in South Africa, England and Australia during the same calendar year. After his success in SENA , he became a more confident and go-to bowler for any captain he played under . At the moment he is being considered one of the best fast bowlers in the world across all the formats .
• Till January 2023, he has taken a total of 319 wickets in his small but massive career for India spanning from 2016. That is why he is already considered one of the best fast bowlers in India. Detailed statistics of his fantastic international bowling career is as follows :

JASPRIT BUMRAH’S CAREER BEST BOWLING FIGURES IN:

TEST MATCH – 9/86 ( 2018 v Australia , Melbourne )
TEST MATCH INNINGS – 6/27 ( 2019 v West Indies, Kingston )
ODI MATCH – 5/27 ( 2017 v Sri Lanka , Kandy )
T20I MATCH – 3/11 ( 2016 v Zimbabwe , Harare )

6. Ajit Agarkar (1998-2007) – 349 Wickets

• Ajit Bhalchandra Agarkar (born 4 December 1977) is a former Indian cricketer who has represented India in more than 200 international matches in all three formats of the game. He was a right-handed batsman and right-arm fast-medium bowler . His shirt number was 19 .
• He is the third highest wicket-taker for India in One Day Internationals (ODIs) and has represented India in the 1999 Cricket World Cup and the 2007 World Cup . He took a total of 349 wickets in his massive career for India spanning from 1998 to 2007 . He is considered one of the best fast bowlers in India .Detailed statistics of his fantastic international bowling career is as follows :

AJIT AGARKAR’S CAREER BEST BOWLING FIGURES IN:
TEST MATCH – 8/160 ( 2003 v Australia , Adelaide )
TEST MATCH INNINGS – 6/41 ( 2003 v Australia , Adelaide )
ODI MATCH – 6/42 ( 2004 v Australia , Melbourne )
T20I MATCH – 2/10 ( 2006 v South Africa , Johannesburg )

5. Mohammed Shami (2013-Present) – 399 Wickets

• Mohammed Shami Ahmed (born 3 September 1990) is an Indian international cricketer, who plays for the Indian national cricket team in all formats of the game as a medium fast bowler . He is currently one of the best seam bowlers around the world and backbone of Indian bowling unit .
• He has been one of the very few fast bowlers in the history of International cricket who has the ability to hit almost every ball on the ground right on its seam . This makes it even difficult for the batsmen to judge the course of the ball after pitching . Along with James Anderson , his bowling is often regarded as picture-perfect or textbook style bowling where everything is perfect from run-up to his follow-through.
• He is a right-handed batsman and a right-arm fast bowler, who has bowled consistently at around 140 km/h (87 mph) . His shirt number is 11 . He is the fastest Indian bowler to take 100 ODI wickets. During the 2019 Cricket World Cup, he became the second Indian bowler to claim a hat-trick in a World Cup match. He is currently one of the best seam bowlers around the world .
• Till January 2023, he has taken a total of 399 wickets in his massive career for India spanning from 2013. That is why he is considered one of the best fast bowlers of India . Detailed statistics of his fantastic international bowling career is as follows :

MOHAMMED SHAMI’S CAREER BEST BOWLING FIGURES IN:

TEST MATCH – 9/118 ( 2013 v West Indies, Kolkata )
TEST MATCH INNINGS – 6/56 ( 2018 v Australia , Perth )
ODI MATCH – 5/69 ( 2019 v England , Birmingham )
T20I MATCH – 3/15 ( 2021 v Scotland , Dubai )

4. Ishant Sharma (2007-Present) – 434 Wickets

• Ishant Sharma ( born 2 September 1988) is an Indian cricketer who has represented India in Tests, ODIs and T20Is. He is a 6 ft 5 in tall right-arm medium-fast bowler. His fastest ball being 152.2 km/h bowled to Ricky Ponting on Boxing Day Test in 2011.

• His main weapon is his ability to swing as later in his career he lost his speed due to injuries and currently playing as a Test specialist . Who can forget his magic spell in the 2014 tour of England, where he secured his career-best figures of 7/74 at the Lord’s, with an aggressive spell in England’s second innings, bowling India to a 95-run win.
• In February 2021, during the series against England, Ishant took his 300th wicket in Test cricket .
• He was a right-handed batsman and right-arm fast bowler . Till January 2023, he has taken a total of 434 wickets in his massive career for India spanning from 2007. That is why he is considered one of the best fast bowlers in India .Detailed statistics of his fantastic international bowling career is as follows :

ISHANT SHARMA’S CAREER BEST BOWLING FIGURES IN:
TEST MATCH – 10/108 ( 2011 v West Indies, Bridgetown )
TEST MATCH INNINGS – 7/74 ( 2014 v England , Lord’s )
ODI MATCH – 4/34 ( 2014 v Sri Lanka , Odisha )
T20I MATCH – 2/34 ( 2009 v Bangladesh , Nottinghamshire )

3. Javagal Srinath (1991-2003) – 551 Wickets

• Javagal Srinath ( born 31 August 1969) is a former Indian cricketer who played Tests and ODIs . He is considered among India’s finest fast bowlers, and is the first Indian fast bowler to take more than 300 wickets in One Day Internationals.

• Srinath was the second Indian pace bowler (after Kapil Dev) to take 200 Test wickets. Srinath is India’s second-highest ODI wicket-taker with 315 (second to Anil Kumble’s 337) .Srinath is one of eleven bowlers who took 300 wickets in one-day international cricket, and the only Indian fast bowler to take 300 wickets.
• He was a right-handed batsman and right-arm fast bowler . His shirt number was 7 . He took a total of 551 wickets in his massive career for India spanning from 1991 to 2003. That is why he is considered one of the best fast bowlers in India .Detailed statistics of his fantastic international bowling career is as follows :

JAVAGAL SRINATH’S CAREER BEST BOWLING FIGURES IN:
TEST MATCH – 13/132 ( 1999 v Pakistan , Kolkata )
TEST MATCH INNINGS – 8/86 ( 1999 v Pakistan , Kolkata )
ODI MATCH – 5/23 ( 1998 v Bangladesh , Dhaka )

2. Zaheer Khan (2000-2014) – 610 Wickets

• Zaheer Khan (born 8 October 1978) is an Indian former professional cricketer who played all forms of the game for the Indian national team from 2000 till 2014. He was a fast left-arm bowler. He was the second-most successful Indian pace bowler in Test cricket, behind Kapil Dev. He is often considered one of the best Indian fast bowlers.
• It was him only who introduced the knuckle ball to the World during the 2011 ICC World Cup .
• He was a right-handed batsman and left-arm fast bowler . His shirt number was 34 . He took a total of 610 wickets in his massive career for India spanning from 2000 to 2014. That is why he is considered one of the best left-arm fast bowlers in India .Detailed statistics of his fantastic international bowling career is as follows :

ZAHEER KHAN’S CAREER BEST BOWLING FIGURES IN:
TEST MATCH – 10/149 ( 2010 v Bangladesh , Dhaka )
TEST MATCH INNINGS – 7/87 ( 2010 v Bangladesh , Dhaka )
ODI MATCH – 5/42 ( 2007 v Sri Lanka , Goa)
T20I MATCH – 4/19 ( 2009 v Ireland , Nottinghamshire )

1. Kapil Dev (1978-1994) – 687 Wickets

• Kapil Dev Ramlal Nikhanj ( born 6 January 1959) is an Indian former cricketer and a living legend. He was a fast-medium bowler and a hard-hitting middle-order batsman .
• Dev captained the Indian cricket team that won the 1983 Cricket World Cup, and in the process became first Indian captain to win the Cricket World Cup, and is still the youngest captain (at the age of 24) to win the World Cup for any team . It was only his belief and contribution that India won that World Cup being underdogs which became a turning point for the cricket and future generations of India.
• He is the first player to take 200 ODI wickets. He is the only player in the history of cricket to have taken more than 400 wickets (434 wickets) and scored more than 5000 runs in Tests, making him one of the greatest all-rounders in the history of cricket. Kapil Dev will always be considered as one of the best swinging fast bowlers in the world .
• He was a right-handed batsman and right-arm fast bowler . He took a total of 687 wickets in his massive career for India spanning from 1978 to 1994 because of which he is considered one of the best fast bowlers in India . Detailed statistics of his fantastic international bowling career is as follows :

KAPIL DEV’S CAREER BEST BOWLING FIGURES IN:
TEST MATCH – 11/146 ( 1980 v Pakistan , Chennai )
TEST MATCH INNINGS – 9/83 ( 1983 v West Indies, Ahmedabad )
ODI MATCH – 5/43 ( 1983 v Australia , Nottinghamshire )

CONCLUSION

Since , Kapil Dev has taken the highest number of wickets in world cricket , therefore Kapil Dev is the No. 1 fast bowler in Indian cricket history . And below is the detailed list of TOP 10 fast bowlers in India :