Bowling has always been considered as one of the most important departments of One Day cricket. Experts believe that if you have good bowlers then you can dominate almost any team in the world. Bowling requires agility, fitness and patience. Some bowlers tend to go in for pace and swing while others use turn and deception to outwit the batsman and get him out. In a country like India, where there is a lack of role models, training centres and quality bowling pitches, the development of bowlers has been retarded. The slow pitches have contributed to the development of spinners and medium pacers. But all over the world bowling has flourished and produced some of the best bowlers of all times. Today we list the top 10 leading wicket takers in ODI cricket.
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Top 10 Leading Wicket Takers in ODI Cricket
10. SanathJayasuriya (Highest Wicket Takers in ODI) – Being a batsman just did not contend him, and hence he went ahead and became a bowler. In doing so he scalped his way through to the 10th highest wicket-taker in ODIs with 323 wickets and best bowling figure of 6 for 29
09. Anil Kumble (Highest Wicket Takers in ODI) – Anil Kumble surmounted all odds and became a spinner in a land that favoured the batsmen. Perhaps this determination is the reason why he bowled even with a bandaged head. Nonetheless his efforts were not in vain as he finds a spot in the top 10 leading wicket takers with 337 wickets in 271 ODIs.
08. ShahidAfridi (Highest Wicket Takers in ODI) – You can hate him for being arrogant or love him for being the best. From scoring the fastest hundred to taking 7 wickets for 12 runs in a match, he has done it all. Boom boomAfridi is in the number 8 spot in the leading wicket takers of all times with 358 wickets in 359 matches.
07. Brett Lee (Highest Wicket Takers in ODI) – He can play the guitar as easily he can launch a 150 km per hr. ball from his hands. The multi-talented Brett Lee is the 7th highest wicket taker in ODIs with 380 wickets in 221 matches for Australia.
06. Glenn McGrath (Highest Wicket Takers in ODI) – Just ahead of Lee in the number of wickets is Glen McGrath with 381 wickets. The Aussie bowler who formed the spearhead of the Australian pace attack dominated world bowling till his retirement in 2007. He has a best bowling figure of 7 wickets for just 15 runs.
05. Shaun Pollack (Highest Wicket Takers in ODI) – Son of the legendary Peter Pollack, Shaun followed his father’s footsteps to become the world’s 5th highest wicket taker in ODIs. He has taken 393 wickets and has a best bowling figure of 6 wickets for 35 runs. Another cap in Shaun’s hat is his economy rate, which is the lowest among the top 5 highest wicket takers at 3.67. For Top 10 run scorers in One Day Internationals see here
04. Chaminda Vaas (Highest Wicket Takers in ODI) – The most penetrative and successful of Sri Lankan bowlers, ChamindaVaas struck fear into the heart of any batsman who faced him. Known for his late in swinger and reverse swinging deliveries Vaas could deceive even the best defenders of the game. He has amassed during his decade long career a total of 400 wickets and has a best bowling figure of 8 wickets for 19 runs – the best among the top 5.
03. Waqar Younis (Highest Wicket Takers in ODI) – This legendary fast bowler from Pakistan could reverse the reverse swinging deliveries. He bucked the safe trend of pitching the ball short and fast by pitching the ball full and fast. Easy to hit you think?? Well it is, until you factor in a prodigious late in swing, which is designed to smash into the base of leg stump or the batsman’s toes. This was the ability of WaqarYounis. He along with WasimAkram formed the most deadly bowling combination of modern cricket. He picked up a total of 416 wickets in his 262 matches.
02. WasimAkram (Highest Wicket Takers in ODI) – The world’s best swing bowler is in the number 2 slot of the leading wicket takers of all time. He has in his ODI career taken 502 wickets with a best bowling figure of 5 wickets for 15 runs. When he was at his best he could swing the ball both ways and combined it with a lethal pace. He also possessed a slower Yorker in his armoury which most batsmen found too hot to handle.
01. Muttiah Muralitharan (Highest Wicket Takers in ODI) – Some people admire him and call him a magician with the ball, while others hate him and say that there is nothing more to him than a fancy way of throwing the ball. Whatever way you see him, you cannot but ignore the awesome wickets tally he has. He leads the wicket takers in ODIs by taking 534 wickets in 350 matches. See the Top 10 run scorers in One Day Internationals
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