This Rating takes into account only the matches played in the 2010s. Brief explanation of the ratings is given before each section (Detailed Explanation). So, here are the Top 7 Spin bowlers in ODI cricket in the 2010s.

*Note: All ODI Ratings are updated till 2025-09-15

CONTENTS

3. PRIMARY CRITERIA

3.1. PROLIFIC

3.2. CONSISTENT

3.2.1. Against All Teams

3.2.2. Against Top Teams

3.3. ECONOMIC

3.3.1. Against All Teams

3.3.2. Against Top Teams

3.4. BEST BOWLING BY WKTS (NWT)

3.5. BEST BOWLING BY ECO (NWT)

3.6. PRIMARY RATING

4. CONDITIONS CRITERIA

4.1. HOME/AWAY

4.1.1. At Home

4.1.2. Away From Home

4.2. FAVOURABLE/UNFAVOURABLE CONDITIONS

4.2.1. Favourable Conditions Rating

4.2.1.1. Non Asians In Asia

4.2.1.2. Asians In Asia

4.2.2. Unfavourable Conditions Rating

4.2.2.1. Non Asians Outside Asia

4.2.2.2. Asians Outside Asia

4.3. CONDITIONS RATING

5. SECONDARY CRITERIA

5.1. WORLD CUP

5.2. IMPACT INNINGS

5.3. TOP FORM

5.4. SECONDARY RATING

6. DECADES RATING

7. NON WEAK TEAMS

8. TOP TEAMS

THE CRITERIA

CRITERIA	CONSTITUENTS
Primary	Wickets, Average, Economy, BBI (Wkts & Eco)
Conditions	Home, Away, In Asia, Outside Asia
Secondary	World Cup, Top Form, Impact Inns

The Trend Setter (TS)

TS is the player which does the best in a criteria. The rating of all other players are calculated taking the TS as the benchmark. Know All About TS. Here is an example:-

TS Ave: 25.00; Player X Ave: 30.00; Section Points: 300.00
TS Points: 300.00(Max); Player X Points: TS Ave/Ave X 300 = 25.00/30.00 X 300 = 250.00
Ratings of all sections are calculated similarly with Ave being replaced by the Criteria Stat.

TT and NWT

Some sections consider performances only against the top teams (TT) and non weak teams (NWT). Here is some information:-

Win/Loss Ratio is used to determine TT and NWT.
They are calculated by decades.
A bowler's performace is counted in TT or NWT if it comes against that team in the specific decade.
Knock Out and Super Six matches of ODI World Cup are also counted.
TT & NWT may be found in the last section.

QUALIFICATION

Min Innings (TT)	15
Min Career Wkts	25

PRIMARY CRITERIA

The Primary Rating is divided into 5 main sections:-

CRITERIA	STAT	POINTS
Prolific	Wickets Taken	200.00
Consistent	Average	300.00
Economic	Strike Rate	300.00
Best Bowling	Top Inns (Wkts)	100.00
Economic Bowling	Top Inns (Eco)	100.00

PROLIFIC

Criteria: Points For Wickets Taken

RANK	BOWLER	NAT	INNS	WKTS	RAT
TS	Shakib Al Hasan	BAN	129	177	200.00
1	Shakib Al Hasan	BAN	129	177	200.00
2	Imran Tahir	SA	104	173	195.48
3	RA Jadeja	IND	142	171	193.22
4	Saeed Ajmal	PAK	90	157	177.40
5	Shahid Afridi	PAK	108	126	142.37
6	Kuldeep Yadav	IND	54	99	111.86
7	SP Narine	WI	65	92	103.95

CONSISTENT

R Ave

Relative Average (R Ave) is a more accurate type of average. Know How It Is Calculated. Briefly it takes into account:-

Strength of Opposition.
Venues at which a bowler has played.
Time Period in which he has been active

Criteria: Points For Relative Average

Min Qualification For TS
Min Wickets	50
Min Wickets (TT)	30

Against All Teams

RANK	BOWLER	INNS	RUNS	WKTS	AVE	R AVE	RAT
TS	Saeed Ajmal	90	3439	157	21.90	22.21	150.00
1	Saeed Ajmal	90	3439	157	21.90	22.21	150.00
2	Imran Tahir	104	4297	173	24.84	22.97	145.03
3	Kuldeep Yadav	54	2455	99	24.80	24.50	135.95
4	SP Narine	65	2435	92	26.47	24.70	134.87
5	Shakib Al Hasan	129	5337	177	30.15	31.09	107.13
6	Shahid Afridi	108	4345	126	34.48	34.68	96.05
7	RA Jadeja	142	6046	171	35.36	34.92	95.40

Against Top Teams

RANK	BOWLER	INNS	RUNS	WKTS	AVE	R AVE	RAT
TS	Saeed Ajmal	59	2334	110	21.22	20.01	150.00
1	Saeed Ajmal	59	2334	110	21.22	20.01	150.00
2	Kuldeep Yadav	35	1659	68	24.40	22.03	136.26
3	SP Narine	54	2044	74	27.62	24.96	120.28
4	Imran Tahir	77	3286	109	30.15	26.18	114.66
5	Shakib Al Hasan	81	3550	96	36.98	34.18	87.81
6	RA Jadeja	94	4102	104	39.44	35.86	83.70
7	Shahid Afridi	79	3322	85	39.08	37.73	79.56

ECONOMIC

R ER

Relative Economy Rate (R ER) for bowlers is calculated using the same method as R Ave with average being replaced with ER.

Criteria: Points For R ER

Min Qualification For TS
Min Balls	1000

Against All Teams

RANK	BOWLER	INNS	BLS	RUNS	ER	R ER	RAT
TS	DL Vettori	44	2351	1554	3.97	3.50	150.00
1	SP Narine	65	3540	2435	4.13	3.71	141.77
2	Saeed Ajmal	90	4863	3439	4.24	3.95	133.20
3	Imran Tahir	104	5541	4297	4.65	4.17	126.02
4	Shahid Afridi	108	5595	4345	4.66	4.31	121.83
5	Shakib Al Hasan	129	6771	5337	4.73	4.39	119.66
6	RA Jadeja	142	7443	6046	4.87	4.43	118.74
7	Kuldeep Yadav	54	2952	2455	4.99	4.50	116.88

Against Top Teams

RANK	BOWLER	INNS	BLS	RUNS	ER	R ER	RAT
TS	DL Vettori	32	1665	1197	4.31	3.67	150.00
1	SP Narine	54	2922	2044	4.20	3.71	148.04
2	Saeed Ajmal	59	3246	2334	4.31	3.90	140.95
3	Imran Tahir	77	4154	3286	4.75	4.17	131.80
4	Shahid Afridi	79	4159	3322	4.79	4.35	126.27
5	RA Jadeja	94	4922	4102	5.00	4.42	124.51
6	Shakib Al Hasan	81	4328	3550	4.92	4.43	124.21
7	Kuldeep Yadav	35	1912	1659	5.21	4.54	121.19

BEST BOWLING BY WKTS (NWT)

BBW

In this criteria, we have taken the top 5 bowling performances by Wkts of a bowler against Non Weak Teams in the 2010s. Best Bowling By Wickets (BBW) is simply the total wickets taken in the 5 innings divided by 5.

Criteria: Points For Wkts Taken In Top 5 Inns

RANK	BOWLER	1	2	3	4	5	BBW	RAT
TS	Shahid Afridi	7/12	5/23	5/35	4/30	4/34	5.00	100.00
1	Shahid Afridi	7/12	5/23	5/35	4/30	4/34	5.00	100.00
2	Imran Tahir	7/45	5/45	4/26	4/27	4/28	4.80	96.00
3	SP Narine	6/27	5/27	4/26	4/27	4/37	4.60	92.00
4	Saeed Ajmal	5/24	5/43	4/30	4/32	4/39	4.40	88.00
4	Kuldeep Yadav	6/25	4/23	4/39	4/45	4/57	4.40	88.00
6	RA Jadeja	5/36	4/23	4/28	4/29	4/33	4.20	84.00
7	Shakib Al Hasan	4/16	4/33	4/41	4/55	3/27	3.80	76.00

BEST BOWLING BY ECO (NWT)

BBE

In this criteria, we have taken the top 5 bowling performances by Economy of a bowler against Non Weak Teams. Best Bowling By Economy (BBE) is the Relative Economy of the bowler in the 5 Inns. Only 30+ Balls performaces are counted in this criteria.

Criteria: Points For Economy In Top 5 Inns

RANK	BOWLER	1	2	3	4	5	BBE	RAT
TS	Mohammad Hafeez	5.0/7	10.0/15	10.0/16	8.0/16	10.0/20	1.59	100.00
1	Saeed Ajmal	7.0/6	8.0/15	10.0/20	6.0/13	8.0/18	1.72	92.68
2	SP Narine	7.0/13	10.0/20	10.0/21	10.0/24	10.0/25	1.97	80.83
3	Imran Tahir	10.0/14	9.2/21	10.0/26	10.0/26	10.0/28	2.09	76.15
4	RA Jadeja	7.0/12	10.0/19	10.0/27	10.0/29	10.0/29	2.24	70.98
5	Shahid Afridi	9.0/12	9.0/25	10.0/28	9.3/27	10.0/29	2.36	67.46
6	Shakib Al Hasan	10.0/21	10.0/27	10.0/27	10.0/27	10.0/28	2.41	65.89
7	Kuldeep Yadav	10.0/25	9.0/23	10.0/31	6.0/20	10.0/34	2.66	59.74

PRIMARY RATING

The total of the above five criteria comes out to be 1,000.00 points. The Primary Rating is the addition of the points a bowler scored in the five criteria. The Weightage of the Rating is 40%.

RANK	BOWLER	PRO	CON	ECO	BBW	BBE	RAT	PRI PTS
1	Saeed Ajmal	177.40	300.00	274.15	88.00	92.68	932.23	372.89
2	Imran Tahir	195.48	259.69	257.82	96.00	76.15	885.14	354.06
3	SP Narine	103.95	255.15	289.81	92.00	80.83	821.74	328.70
4	Shakib Al Hasan	200.00	194.94	243.87	76.00	65.89	780.71	312.28
5	RA Jadeja	193.22	179.10	243.24	84.00	70.98	770.55	308.22
6	Kuldeep Yadav	111.86	272.21	238.07	88.00	59.74	769.89	307.96
7	Shahid Afridi	142.37	175.61	248.10	100.00	67.46	733.55	293.42

CONDITIONS CRITERIA

The Conditions Rating is calculated by applying the five criteria of Primary Rating to various conditions. If Innings are less than the Qualification than the Player gets 50% of the Points.

The four conditions criteria and thier weightage is as follows:-

CRITERIA	POINTS
Home	20.00
Away	80.00
Favourable Conditions	20.00
Unfavourable Conditions	80.00

HOME/AWAY

HM/AW RATING

Points to note:-

U.A.E. and India are considered as Home for Afghanistan.
U.A.E. is also considered as a second home for Pakistan.
All Home and Away stats of Pakistani and Afghani bowlers are calculated accordingly.

At Home

Min Innings Vs Top Teams: 5

RANK	BOWLER	INNS	WKTS	AVE	ECO	RAT	WTG
1	SP Narine	34	57	21.32	3.81	896.57	17.93
2	Shakib Al Hasan	70	110	23.83	4.34	825.97	16.52
3	Saeed Ajmal	26	53	19.13	4.18	824.63	16.49
4	Imran Tahir	40	68	24.44	4.65	783.03	15.66
5	RA Jadeja	48	75	29.31	4.85	754.62	15.09
6	Shahid Afridi	34	54	26.83	4.56	676.62	13.53
7	Kuldeep Yadav	18	33	29.12	5.74	579.07	11.58

Away From Home

Min Innings Vs Top Teams: 10

RANK	BOWLER	INNS	WKTS	AVE	ECO	RAT	WTG
1	Saeed Ajmal	64	104	23.32	4.27	913.99	73.12
2	Imran Tahir	64	105	25.10	4.65	869.37	69.55
3	Kuldeep Yadav	36	66	22.64	4.60	830.95	66.48
4	RA Jadeja	94	96	40.08	4.89	712.78	57.02
5	Shahid Afridi	74	72	40.22	4.71	684.86	54.79
6	SP Narine	31	35	34.86	4.50	652.14	52.17
7	Shakib Al Hasan	59	67	40.54	5.18	624.23	49.94

FAVOURABLE/UNFAVOURABLE CONDITIONS

FC/UC RATING

Points to note:-

Unfavourable Conditions (UC) is Outside Asia for Spinners and In Asia for Pacers.
Favourable Conditions (FC) are the opposite.

Favourable Conditions Rating

Non Asians In Asia

Min Innings Vs Top Teams: 5

RANK	BOWLER	INNS	WKTS	AVE	ECO	RAT	WTG
1	Imran Tahir	20	38	21.58	4.73	911.93	18.24
2	SP Narine	17	21	31.38	4.35	706.65	14.13

Asians In Asia

Min Innings Vs Top Teams: 10

RANK	BOWLER	INNS	WKTS	AVE	ECO	RAT	WTG
1	Saeed Ajmal	51	97	19.78	4.12	939.41	18.79
2	Shakib Al Hasan	80	123	25.18	4.44	803.77	16.08
3	RA Jadeja	72	100	30.46	4.77	754.63	15.09
4	Shahid Afridi	64	92	28.36	4.55	738.38	14.77
5	Kuldeep Yadav	26	46	27.59	5.20	619.83	12.40

Unfavourable Conditions Rating

Non Asians Outside Asia

Min Innings Vs Top Teams: 10

RANK	BOWLER	INNS	WKTS	AVE	ECO	RAT	WTG
1	Imran Tahir	84	135	25.76	4.63	927.82	74.23
2	SP Narine	48	71	25.01	4.05	898.64	71.89

Asians Outside Asia

Min Innings Vs Top Teams: 5

RANK	BOWLER	INNS	WKTS	AVE	ECO	RAT	WTG
1	Kuldeep Yadav	28	53	22.38	4.78	895.23	71.62
2	Saeed Ajmal	39	60	25.33	4.42	830.42	66.43
3	RA Jadeja	70	71	42.25	4.98	792.98	63.44
4	Shakib Al Hasan	49	54	41.48	5.20	697.97	55.84
5	Shahid Afridi	44	34	51.06	4.83	654.31	52.35

CONDITIONS RATING

The Conditions Rating is the addition of the points a bowler scored in the four criteria. The Weightage of the Rating is 20%.

RANK	BOWLER	AW	HM	UC	FC	CON PTS
1	Imran Tahir	69.55	15.66	74.23	18.24	177.67
2	Saeed Ajmal	73.12	16.49	66.43	18.79	174.83
3	Kuldeep Yadav	66.48	11.58	71.62	12.40	162.07
4	SP Narine	52.17	17.93	71.89	14.13	156.13
5	RA Jadeja	57.02	15.09	63.44	15.09	150.65
6	Shakib Al Hasan	49.94	16.52	55.84	16.08	138.37
7	Shahid Afridi	54.79	13.53	52.35	14.77	135.43

SECONDARY CRITERIA

The Secondary Rating consists of three parts. If Innings are less than the Qualification than the Player gets 50% of the Points.

The three secondary criteria and thier weightage is as follows:-

CRITERIA	POINTS
World Cup	150.00
Impact Innings	150.00
Top Form	100.00

WORLD CUP

Min Innings Vs Top Teams: 3

RANK	BOWLER	INNS	WKTS	AVE	ECO	RAT	WTG
1	Imran Tahir	21	40	21.18	4.42	891.76	133.76
2	Shahid Afridi	15	23	24.00	4.20	663.58	99.54
3	Shakib Al Hasan	20	27	34.07	5.17	631.08	94.66
4	Saeed Ajmal	3	5	18.60	3.58	500.00	75.00
4	SP Narine	0	0	NA	NA	500.00	75.00
6	RA Jadeja	10	11	39.18	4.97	497.41	74.61
7	Kuldeep Yadav	7	6	56.17	5.03	408.23	61.23

IMPACT INNINGS (II)

Impact Innings are those innings which have an impact either in terms of wickets or economy rate. Know All About II. These are the criteria for an inning to be included in II:-

A Bowler takes equal to or more wickets than 4.
A Bowler bowls more than 30 balls and has a low ER.
The required ER is calculated by the number of wickets taken.

IMPACT INNINGS

Min Innings Vs Top Teams: 20

RANK	BOWLER	INNS	II	II Perc	RAT	WTG
1	SP Narine	65	33	50.77	824.14	123.62
2	Imran Tahir	104	42	40.38	803.80	120.57
3	RA Jadeja	142	50	35.21	762.79	114.42
4	Shakib Al Hasan	129	39	30.23	590.55	88.58
5	Shahid Afridi	108	27	25.00	518.65	77.80
6	Saeed Ajmal	90	40	44.44	500.00	75.00
7	Kuldeep Yadav	54	17	31.48	461.24	69.19

TOP FORM RATING

Points to note:-

Top Form is calculated by taking the best 50 consecutive innings of a bowler.
Only Inns against Non Weak Teams are considered in the rating.
Non Weak Teams may be found in the last section.

TOP FORM

Min Innings Vs Non Weak Teams: 10

RANK	BOWLER	INNS	WKTS	AVE	ECO	RAT	WTG
1	Saeed Ajmal	50	97	19.42	4.05	947.99	94.80
2	SP Narine	50	76	23.68	4.04	871.19	87.12
3	Imran Tahir	50	92	23.28	4.78	858.95	85.89
4	Kuldeep Yadav	50	95	23.88	5.02	832.62	83.26
5	RA Jadeja	50	76	26.33	4.72	767.86	76.79
6	Shahid Afridi	50	63	30.19	4.52	761.20	76.12
7	Shakib Al Hasan	50	75	27.16	4.60	746.01	74.60

SECONDARY RATING

The Secondary Rating is the addition of the points a bowler scored in the three criteria. The Weightage of the Rating is 40%.

RANK	BOWLER	WC	II	TF	SEC RAT
1	Imran Tahir	133.76	120.57	85.89	340.23
2	SP Narine	75.00	123.62	87.12	285.74
3	RA Jadeja	74.61	114.42	76.79	265.82
4	Shakib Al Hasan	94.66	88.58	74.60	257.84
5	Shahid Afridi	99.54	77.80	76.12	253.45
6	Saeed Ajmal	75.00	75.00	94.80	244.80
7	Kuldeep Yadav	61.23	69.19	83.26	213.68

DECADES RATING

DECADES Rating is the addition of the points of all the above criteria. The rating is out of 1,000 Pts.

RANK	BOWLER	NAT	PRI PTS	CON PTS	SEC PTS	FIN RAT
1	Imran Tahir	SA	354.06	177.67	340.23	871.96
2	Saeed Ajmal	PAK	372.89	174.83	244.80	792.52
3	SP Narine	WI	328.70	156.13	285.74	770.57
4	RA Jadeja	IND	308.22	150.65	265.82	724.68
5	Shakib Al Hasan	BAN	312.28	138.37	257.84	708.50
6	Kuldeep Yadav	IND	307.96	162.07	213.68	683.71
7	Shahid Afridi	PAK	293.42	135.43	253.45	682.31

NON WEAK TEAMS

DECADE OF MAT	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10
1970s	WI	ENG	AUS	NZ	PAK	SL	IND
1980s	WI	ENG	AUS	PAK	IND	NZ	SL	ZIM
1990s	SA	AUS	PAK	WI	IND	SL	ENG	NZ	ZIM
2000s	AUS	SA	SL	PAK	IND	NZ	ENG	WI	BAN
2010s	IND	SA	AUS	ENG	NZ	PAK	SL	BAN	WI
2020s	IND	NZ	SL	AUS	PAK	SA	BAN	ENG	WI	AFG