Top 5 Test Bowlers in Indian Cricket History

BS Chandrasekhar

One of the most inspirational stories in Indian cricket has been that of the former wrist spinner BS Chandrasekhar. As a child, Chandrasekhar suffered a polio attack which left his right hand withered. However, the former great took that as a stepping stone and developed a more effective form of wrist spin that got him wickets for India. Chandrasekhar featured in 58 Test matches for Team India and scalped 242 wickets with an average of under 30. However, his most impressive stat was that he bagged 100 wickets from 26 Tests away from home, which made him a threat on foreign soil as well.

Ravichandran Ashwin

The man from Chennai has more often than not been the ‘X Factor,’ for the likes of MS Dhoni and Virat Kohli in Test matches, particularly when played at home. Whenever teams travel to India for a series, they have to prepare for Ashwin more than any other bowler. The off-spinner is the fastest Indian bowler and the 5^th fastest in world cricket to take 100 wickets in Tests. The veteran bowler is also the fastest Indian and the second fastest in the world to take 200 wickets. To top all of that

Ravichandran Ashwin also became the fastest bowler to reach the milestone of 300 Test scalps from 54 matches, while leaving behind the great Australian pacer Dennis Lille who did in 56 games. Ashwin remains one of the most celebrated spinning personnel’s in India to grace the game as he has got 365 wickets from 71 Tests which includes a staggering number of 27 fifers.

Kapil Dev

The World Cup winning captain of 1983 needs very little introduction. He is considered as one of the finest ever all-rounder not just in India but across the world. But it was Kapil Dev’s bowling which often made the headlines. The fast bowler picked 434 wickets from 131 Test matches. It was in Australia and West Indies where he enjoyed bowling as per his stats. From the 11 Tests that he played in Australia, Kapil Dev took 51 wickets, whereas in West Indies he had 35 wickets to his name from 23 games. What signified Kapil Dev even more was that he was the one of the rare pacers from India who regularly picked wickets in spite of spinners doing most of the work over the years.

Anil Kumble

The greatest ever Test bowler for India to date. Anil Kumble was one of the main reasons why India started winning games against quality opposition in the longest format. ‘Jumbo,’ as he was referred to picked 619 wickets from 132 Tests that included 35 five-wicket hauls. Kumble’s wrist spin was effective in overseas conditions as well. The former Indian Test captain picked 269 wickets from the 69 games outside of India. Anil Kumble’s spell of 10 for 74 in the final innings against arch-rivals Pakistan to win the game arguably the best ever bowling spectacles in world cricket.