Cricket being one of the most popular sports in India, people are always enthusiastic to know even the minutest details of this sport. And so, here we have brought forward some information regarding the players who have taken the most wickets in ODI cricket. Or, in other words, below are some of the best bowlers of the Indian cricket team till date, that are counted amongst the top even today.
10. Manoj Prabhakar
Prabhakar was a good all-rounder with bowling as his strongest suit. He was a master of using slower balls and outswingers. Prabhakar was the best when it came to opening the bowling. He is arguably the one who brought reverse swing back to India. This player was a master opener as he opened both Bowling and Batting in 21 innings. His career-best performance came against Zimbabwe, where he took four wickets for just 19 runs. He had figures of 10-2-18-1 against Australia at Sharjah. He was Kapil Dev’s bowling partner in the squad and fulfilled the duty marvellously.
9. Irfan Pathan
Irfan Pathan was the blue-eyed boy of Indian Cricket in 2004. As he broke into the scene at the tender age of 19, he almost immediately drew comparisons to the legendary Wasim Akram because of his bowling style. Under Greg Chappell, he became a formidable all-rounder and was compared with none other than Kapil Dev. He was an important part of the 2007 T20 world cup. In the 2004 Asian Cup in a career-best performance against Sri Lanka, he was the leading wicket-taker with 14 wickets. He ultimately ended his career with 173 wickets in ODI of 120 matches.
8. Ravindra Jadeja
The 31-year-old player has made an indelible mark on international cricket. Jadeja, nicknamed “Sir”, took all that came his way in his stride, including the comments and negative outpour from the fans after a disastrous 2009 World Cup. His ODI debut was in the 2009 match against Sir Lanka, and his last ODI match was against Australia on January 19, 2020, at the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium. His ODI career is spread over 162 matches, where he has bowled for 158 innings and took a whopping 185 wickets in ODI matches. His bowling average is 36.19 and bowling strike rate 44.31.
7. Venkatesh Prasad
Venkatesh Prasad gave all the Indian fans the moment of their lives when he bowled Aamer Sohail. It was even more momentous considering Sohail sledged him during his previous ball. It was a turning point in the match as it gave way to India to gain their spot in the Semi-Final. Even after having a career-ending injury, his stats were more than amazing, having played 161 matches and scoring 196 wickets.
6. Kapil Dev
Kapil Dev is one of the icons of the Indian team. He is the one who shaped everything. It has been said that all the other members took the 1983 World Cup as an opportunity for a holiday. But not him. He was a goldsmith who took this chance and made it the destiny of Indian Cricket. Dev was not only a great leader but also a formidable player. Dev, on more than one occasion, took the entire team on his shoulders. He is literally and figuratively a figure every Cricketer of that time wanted to emulate. He was the first player to take 200 ODI wickets and, at the same time, was one of the great all-rounders of his time.
5. Harbhajan Singh
The Indian Cricket Team is known for its match-winners, and one of them is Harbhajan Singh. His journey has not been an easy one at all. When he entered the squad, it was already being led by one of the most prolific cricketers of all time, Anil Kumble. But even in the face of such adversity, he was strong and made an amazing place for himself. He has to date played 26 ODIs in which he has taken 269 wickets. And even in a stage which most will call the tail end of his career, he was one of the pivotal parts of Chennai Super Kings in their marvellous run last year.
4. Zaheer Khan
In his 14 years of cricketing career, Zaheer Khan played a huge part in changing the attitude and mindset with which the Indian team played. Khan was India’s first genuine left-arm fast bowler. He is one of the most prolific bowlers we have ever had. This dynamic player brought a revolution in not only Indian bowling but the whole landscape of Cricket with his Yorkers. He has many records to his name, but the best is winning the World Cup with 21 wickets. There is a reason he is called the Tendulkar of Indian Bowling.
3. Ajit Agarkar
Saurav Ganguly started a movement in Indian cricket, which Dhoni continued and realized. This movement included having passionate cricketers whose passion exuded through the screen. The team at that time rested on the shoulders of two fantastic Bowlers. One of them was Ajit Agarkar. Agarkar was a huge representative of the crop of Bowlers, who showed that a match could be carried on the shoulders of bowlers. He was the fastest Indian bowler to take 50 wickets. He is also the third-highest wicket-taker in the ODI format.
2. Javagal Srinath
Kapil Dev left a huge void when he left the Indian Cricket team. He was like the Caesar of the game, and the Cricket team was left as the Roman Empire in his wake. At that juncture, Javangal Srinath took the mantle in terms of Bowling. Called once an underrated bowler by Imran Khan, he cemented his legacy by spells that saved his team so many times. And his value was so much even at the end of his career that Saurav Ganguly, the then Captain, requested to have him in the team for the 2003 World Cup.
Unfortunately, even after an illustrious performance in the World Cup, becoming the second-highest wicket-taker after Zaheer Khan, the team lost the Penultimate match to Australia, and he couldn’t go out with a bang. His most remembered feat remains his earth-shattering spell against South Africa In which he took six wickets giving away just 21 runs.
1. Anil Kumble
There is a reason Anil Kumble is so revered in the Cricket Community. People not only remember his records and achievement but also his attitude. His love for cricket could defy anything, and people witnessed it so many times on the field. It is the passion that he and cricketers like him showed that made people all over the country fall in love with this sport. He holds the record of taking most wickets in ODI by an Indian Bowler, with 337 wickets. He made Sharjah Cricket Stadium his domain by taking 56 wickets there, the most wickets in ODI for any Indian. After having played for 18 years, he announced his retirement from international cricket in November 2008.
