India played their first ever one day international match against England in 1974. It’s been 45 years since then and Cricket has changed by leaps and bounds. India, also, have seen many greats serving their national team. Some of these greats have had long careers while some of these had short career. Today we’ll sneak peek into the careers of those Indian Cricketers who had long careers. There are only six Indian Cricketers with more than 250 ODI wickets. Here, we’ll discuss about Indian Bowlers with most ODI career wickets.
5. Harbhajan Singh
Former Indian Cricketer Harbhajan Singh Plaha has taken 3 5-wicket & 2 4-wicket hauls for India. Harbhajan, called the Turbanator, is 5th Indian Cricketer with most ODI Career wickets.
Bhajji took 269 wickets from 227 innings of 236 ODI matches which he played. He got these wickets at an average of 33.35 while the strike rate was 46.3. His economy rate throughout the career would be 4.31 in a career spanning 17 years. Singh’s best bowling figures 5/31 came against visiting England at Arun Jaitley Stadium, earlier Feroz Shah Kotla Stadium, Delhi.
In the match, England won the toss to put India into bat. India bundled out for 203 which saw Kabir Ali talking 4/45. England, in reply, bundled out for 164. Harbhajan Singh was declared man of the match for his 5 wicket performance.
4. Zaheer Khan
Former Indian Cricketer Zaheer Khan was pace spearhead for the team during 2003-2012. Zak, who played three World Cups for India, is 4th Indian Cricketer with most ODI Career wickets.
Khan took 282 wickets from 197 innings of 200 ODI matches which he played. He got these wickets at an average of 29.43 while the strike rate was 35.8. His economy rate throughout the career would be 4.93 in a career spanning 12 years. Zaheer’s best bowling figures 5/42 came against visiting Sri Lanka at Nehru Stadium, Fatorda, Margao.
In the match, Sri Lanka won the toss to make the first use of pitch. They scored 230/8 from their 50 overs which saw Russel Arnold scoring a 83 ball 66. India, in reply, chased down the target with more than 3 overs to spare. Zaheer Khan was declared man of the match for his 5 for spell.
3. Ajit Agarkar
Former Indian Cricketer Ajit Bhalchandra Agarkar is one of the rare Indian Cricketers to have scored a test century at Lords. Ajit, who holds the Indian record of scoring the fastest 50 in ODI, is 3rd Indian Cricketer with most ODI Career wickets.
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Agarkar took 288 wickets from 188 innings of 191 ODI matches which he played. He got these wickets at an average of 27.85 while the strike rate was 32.9. His economy rate throughout the career would be 5.07 in a career spanning 9 years. Agarkar’s best bowling figures 6/42 came against hosts Australia at Melbourne Cricket Ground.
In the match, Australia won the toss to make the first use of pitch. They bundled out for 288 which saw Andrew Symonds scoring a 102 ball 88. India, in reply, bundled out for 270. Andrew Symonds was declared man of the match for his all-round performance.
2. Javagal Srinath
Former Indian Cricketer Javagal Srinath took 3 five-for and 7 four-for in his ODI career. Srinath, who holds Indian record of joint most wickets from Cricket World Cups, is 2nd Indian Cricketer with most ODI Career wickets.
The Mysore Express took 315 wickets from 227 innings of 229 ODI matches which he played. He got these wickets at an average of 28.08 while the strike rate was 37.8. His economy rate throughout the career would be 4.44 in a career spanning 12 years. Srinath’s best bowling figures 5/23 came against hosts Bangladesh at Bangabandhu National Stadium, Dhaka.
In the match, India won the toss to put Bangladesh into bat. They bundled out for 190 which saw Srinath taking his career best. India, in reply, chased down the target with more than 3 overs to spare. Javagal Srinath was adjudged man of the match for his five- for performance.
1. Anil Kumble
Former India Leg spinner Anil Kumble sits atop the list of most ODI career wickets taking Indian bowlers. Kumble, known for his faster one, took 2 five-for and 8 four-for in his ODI career.
Jumbo, as called by his teammates, has bowled the maximum number of deliveries by an Indian ODI bowler. His two five wickets came against West Indies and New Zealand respectively. While his career best performance came against Windies at Kolkata, the second 5-wicket (5/33) haul came at Basin Reserve, Wellington.
Anil Kumble’s record of 337 wickets from 265 innings of 271 ODIs is far from being overpassed by any other Indian bowler. The closest active cricketer, Ravindra Jadeja is lying at 185 wickets.