Top 5 Bowlers Who Can Break Shoaib Akhtar’s Record Of The Fastest Delivery In International Cricket
Jul 20, 2020 at 10:27 AM
While the bowlers require a good amount of skills to become successful in international cricket, the fastest deliveries provide a big advantage for the bowlers. Former Pakistan fast bowler Shoaib Akhtar was famous for his furious deliveries, which even hurt many top-class batsmen.
Shoaib Akhtar is holding the record of the fastest delivery in international cricket which was 161.3 kmph (100.23 mph) during the match against England in the ICC Cricket World Cup 2003. Though there were a few deliveries in the recognised cricket matches which were clocked more than 161.3 kmph, those were not approved as the record due to some doubts on the accuracy of the speed meter. It is still very tough to beat Shoaib Akhtar’s fastest delivery record.
Here we are talking about the top five bowlers who can break Shoaib Akhtar’s record of the fastest delivery in international cricket
Navdeep Saini
Indian pacer Navdeep Saini has impressed in the early days of his international career. Apart from his impressive bowling skills, Saini is very much consistent to deliver the balls over 150 kmph. In the IPL 2019, the right-arm fast bowler proved this claim in an impressive way. His fastest delivery in the IPL 2019 was clocked around 152.85 kmph.
Saini has played five ODIs and 10 T20Is where the right-arm fast bowler has picked up five and 13 wickets respectively.
Kagiso Rabada
South African right-arm fast bowler Kagiso Rabada is famous for his accurate bowling skills by properly using his pace. He is currently one of the best and most consistent fast bowlers in international cricket. After playing 43 Tests, 75 ODIs and 24 T20Is, he has picked up 197, 117 and 30 wickets respectively.
Rabada has already shown his fast bowling quality as he once delivered a ball in 154.23 kmph during the IPL 2019. Apart from that, he also delivered multiple balls over 150+ kmph in that tournament. He is surely one of the frontrunners who can break Shoaib Akhtar’s fastest delivery record, but to successfully achieve this, he has to raise more pace.
Jofra Archer
The Barbados-born England right-arm fast bowler Jofra Archer, who played the very crucial roles for his team to win the ICC Cricket World Cup 2019 and levelling the home Ashes 2019, is now famous for his furious deliveries. During the Ashes 2019, Archer shook the Aussie batting line-up with his consistent fiery pace-bowling.
Archer has played seven Tests, 14 ODIs and only T20I, where he has taken 30, 23 and two wickets respectively. In the ICC Cricket World Cup 2019, Archer once delivered a ball over 153 kmph.
Jasprit Bumrah
While the Indian pace-bowling line-up has now grown up as the match-winner, the right-arm fast bowler Jasprit Bumrah has played a very important role to make this dream successful. By utilising his unorthodox bowling action properly, Bumrah has grown up in the game very quickly and effectively, especially after his Test debut.
Bumrah has played 14 Tests, 64 ODIs and 50 T20Is where he has taken 68, 104 and 59 wickets respectively. The right-arm fast-bowler is the leading T20I wicket-taker for India.
Bumrah has the ability to deliver a ball in 150+ kmph while his average bowling speed is over 140 kmph. During the Adelaide Test in 2018, Bumrah delivered a ball in around 153.26 kmph. He also proved his consistent fast-bowling skills in the past IPL tournaments.
Mitchell Starc
Australian left-arm fast bowler Mitchell Starc is now one of most prestigious pacers among the active pacers. Starc, who finished as the most wicket-taker in the ICC Cricket World Cup 2015 (won Man of the Tournament award) and 2019, is famous for his furious deliveries, and it can be seen more often when he remains fit.
Starc has already played 57 Tests, 91 ODIs and 31 T20Is where he has taken 244, 178 and 43 wickets respectively. His average speed generally remains over 140 kmph.
The left-arm fast bowler was once very close to breaking Shoaib Akhtar’s fastest delivery record as he delivered 160.4 kmph against the New Zealand batsman Ross Taylor during the 2015 Perth Test. However, it was only the fastest recorded delivery in a Test match. So, undoubtedly, the fit Starc is the hot favourite in this list who can create a new record of the fastest bowling in international cricket history.