There is no doubt that in the realm of cricket, the Indian Team is giants. Since their introduction into the game, the sport has over taken the country and the nation’s cricketers are held with great reverence by the people. The sport has also given birth to online cricket bets for enthusiasts.
As a sports loving country, India has provided the world with many remarkable cricketers, whether it bowlers or batsmen.
Today, we will be looking at the 5 all-time best bowlers of Team India.
- Anil Kumble
Regarded as one of the best test cricketers ever, Anil Kumble made his international debut at 19, in the Austral-Asia Cup in 1990, following with his test debut against England the same year.
Kumble is a right-arm leg spinner, however, when he first started out he was a fast bowler and this gave him a much faster delivery. Kumble’s bowling style is based on accuracy rather than spinning the ball. He bowls with subtlety to confuse and trap the batsman.
The early 90’s saw Kumble’s best performance, among those included a stunning 6 wickets for 12 runs against the West Indies. He was the best performing bowler in the 1996 World Cup, where he picked up 15 wickets with an average of 18.73.
- Kapil Dev
Considered a legend of Indian cricketing, Kapil Dev led India to winning their first World Cup in 1983. With over 400 (434) wickets and 5000 runs in tests, he is regarded as one of the best allrounders in the history of test cricket.
Kapil Dev was a fast bowler who was able to throw outswingers with ease, it went on to become one of his trademark balls. He would bowl in a direction and length that kept right handers on edge as he looked to hit the outside edge of the bat. He later developed an inswinger as he became a more experienced bowler.
Kapil Dev is most known for being the captain who led India to their first ODI world cup victory in 1983. He became Team India’s coach in 1999, but following losses and controversy, he retired, and later returned in 2004 as a consultant.
- Harbajan Singh
Bhajji or Harbajan, whoever you know him as, is a prolific spinner amongst in the ranks of Indian cricketers. Harbajan is a right arm off-spinner and bowls with aggression, his way of whipping during bowling led to reports of throwing but were put to rest after further scrutiny.
Bhajji’s unique style led him to being able to bowl a doosra. He is the second highest wicket taking off-spinner in test cricket, with a total of 417 under his belt.
He debuted in 1998 but his early career was beset with allegations of on field misconduct. After Anil Kumble suffered an injury in 2001, he was made part of the team and played in the Border-Gavaskar series against Australia. During the series, Bhajji became the first Indian player to score a hat-trick in test cricket.
He ended the series with 32 wickets, cementing himself as India’s top spinner. Harbajan’s career went into slow decline after this, with several injuries through it but later became the world’s third best bowler in the 2007-8 season.
- Ravichandran Ashwin
Ashwin is a right arm off-break bowler and is the highest ranked spinner in test cricket and the highest ranked Indian test bowler for India in the rankings. As a bowler, he flights the ball to make it spin as much as it can, to trick the batsman.
He is able to bowl an arm-ball, a carom-ball, leg-breaks and googlys. He is an impressive player who reached 400 test wickets in the fastest time, in terms of innings played.
He’s played in all formats of the game and continues to impress everyone with strong batting and bowling performances. Ashwin’s IPL career is also to be noted, as he has taken 139 wickets with 13 in the latest season.
- Zaheer Khan
A left arm fast-medium, Zaheer Khan had a prolific cricketing career. He sits behind Kapil Dev in terms of bowling success in the test format. Khan developed an aggressive seam bowling style and also made use of the knuckle ball.
Zaheer’s bowling was incremental to India’s success in the 2011 World Cup, he finished the tournament as the highest wicket taker with 21 wickets. With the highs and lows of his career, Zaheer has had many recurring injuries which led him to retire in late 2015.
Cricket is revered in India and the best players are often compared to gods. A great list of bowlers made the team to what it is right now.
