ODIs - Best Spin Bowlers In Top Form

Top 15 ODI Spin Bowlers In Top Form

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Our One Day International (ODI) ratings take into account all matches from the first ODI match on January 5, 1971. They are updated till 2025-09-15. Brief explanation of the ratings is given before each section and at the end (Detailed Explanation). Here are the Top 15 Spin bowlers in their Top Form in ODIs.

CONTENTS
1. THE CRITERIA
2. QUALIFICATION
3. PROLIFIC
4. CONSISTENT
4.1. Against Top Teams
5. ECONOMIC
5.1. Against Top Teams
6. BEST BOWLING (WKTS)
6.1. Against Top Teams
7. BEST BOWLING (ECO)
7.1. Against Top Teams
8. TOP FORM RATING
9. BRIEF EXPLANATION
9.1. Dynamic Nature
9.2. Trend Setter (TS)
9.3. Top Teams (TT)
9.4. Top Inns by ER (BBE) Qualification
9.5. Abbreviations
TF RATING

Points to note about TOP FORM Rating:-

  • TF is calculated by taking the best 50 consecutive innings of a bowler.
  • The inns are taken such that his points are maximum.
  • Only innings against Top Teams are considered.

THE CRITERIA

The TF Rating is divided into 5 main sections:-

CRITERIA STAT POINTS
Prolific Wickets Taken 300.00
Consistent Average 200.00
Economic Economy Rate 200.00
Best Bowling (Wkts) Top Bowling By Wkts 150.00
Best Bowling (Eco) Top Bowling By Economy 150.00

QUALIFICATION

Min Innings 20
Min Career Wkts 50

PROLIFIC

Criteria: Points For Wickets Taken

RANK ERA 1 NAT FP LP INNS WKTS RAT
TS Abdul Qadir PAK 1983-06-22 1993-11-02 50 73 290.00
1 Abdul Qadir PAK 1983-06-22 1993-11-02 50 73 290.00
2 JE Emburey ENG 1981-02-04 1993-03-20 50 70 278.08
3 RJ Shastri IND 1985-01-23 1992-12-17 50 65 258.22
RANK ERA 2 NAT FP LP INNS WKTS RAT
TS Saqlain Mushtaq PAK 1996-09-18 2003-10-07 50 104 300.00
1 Saqlain Mushtaq PAK 1996-09-18 2003-10-07 50 104 300.00
2 A Kumble IND 1993-11-16 2007-03-19 50 87 250.96
3 M Muralitharan SL 2000-07-14 2011-04-02 50 85 245.19
4 SK Warne AUS 1993-12-16 2005-01-10 50 84 242.31
RANK ERA 3 NAT FP LP INNS WKTS RAT
TS A Zampa AUS 2019-03-02 2025-10-25 50 100 300.00
1 A Zampa AUS 2019-03-02 2025-10-25 50 100 300.00
2 Saeed Ajmal PAK 2010-09-20 2015-04-19 50 96 288.00
3 Kuldeep Yadav IND 2018-02-04 2026-01-18 50 92 276.00
4 BAW Mendis SL 2008-06-29 2015-12-26 50 86 258.00
5 AU Rashid ENG 2017-05-24 2026-01-27 50 85 255.00
6 Imran Tahir SA 2011-03-06 2019-07-06 50 83 249.00
7 YS Chahal IND 2016-06-11 2023-01-24 47 81 243.00
8 SP Narine WI 2011-12-05 2016-10-05 50 70 210.00

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 player has played.
  • Time Period in which a bowler has been active

Criteria: Points For Relative Average

Min Qualification For TS
Min Wickets 50

Against Top Teams

RANK BOWLER INNS RUNS WKTS AVE R AVE RAT
TS Saqlain Mushtaq 50 1907 104 18.34 19.06 200.00
1 Saqlain Mushtaq 50 1907 104 18.34 19.06 200.00
2 Saeed Ajmal 50 1918 96 19.98 20.05 190.12
3 M Muralitharan 50 1750 85 20.59 21.42 177.93
4 A Kumble 50 1870 87 21.49 21.87 174.32
5 A Zampa 50 2599 100 25.99 22.34 170.65
6 SK Warne 50 1867 84 22.23 22.95 166.11
7 Imran Tahir 50 2174 83 26.19 24.09 158.21
8 Abdul Qadir 50 1700 73 23.29 24.19 157.59
9 Kuldeep Yadav 50 2331 92 25.34 24.37 156.42
10 RJ Shastri 50 1716 65 26.40 25.69 148.40
11 SP Narine 50 1845 70 26.36 25.90 147.21
12 BAW Mendis 50 2123 86 24.69 26.20 145.52
13 YS Chahal 47 2312 81 28.54 26.61 143.28
14 JE Emburey 50 1895 70 27.07 27.43 138.99
15 AU Rashid 50 2527 85 29.73 27.73 137.46

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 Bowled 1000

Against Top Teams

RANK BOWLER INNS BLS RUNS ER R ER RAT
TS M Muralitharan 50 2881 1750 3.64 3.60 200.00
1 M Muralitharan 50 2881 1750 3.64 3.60 200.00
2 SP Narine 50 2694 1845 4.11 3.84 187.56
3 RJ Shastri 50 2729 1716 3.77 3.96 181.77
4 SK Warne 50 2833 1867 3.95 3.99 180.66
5 Abdul Qadir 50 2661 1700 3.83 4.01 179.39
6 Saeed Ajmal 50 2757 1918 4.17 4.02 179.19
7 A Kumble 50 2758 1870 4.07 4.05 177.74
8 Saqlain Mushtaq 50 2774 1907 4.12 4.13 174.27
9 Imran Tahir 50 2736 2174 4.77 4.30 167.44
10 JE Emburey 50 2810 1895 4.05 4.36 165.29
11 A Zampa 50 2793 2599 5.58 4.67 154.10
12 YS Chahal 47 2576 2312 5.39 4.69 153.53
13 Kuldeep Yadav 50 2582 2331 5.42 4.70 153.19
14 BAW Mendis 50 2574 2123 4.95 4.74 152.09
15 AU Rashid 50 2690 2527 5.64 4.88 147.46

BEST BOWLING (WKTS)

BBW

In this criteria, we have taken the top 5 bowling performances by Wkts of a bowler. 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

Against Top Teams

RANK BOWLER 1 2 3 4 5 BBW RAT
TS SP Narine 6/27 5/27 4/26 4/27 4/40 4.60 150.00
1 SP Narine 6/27 5/27 4/26 4/27 4/40 4.60 150.00
1 YS Chahal 6/42 5/22 4/46 4/47 4/51 4.60 150.00
1 Kuldeep Yadav 6/25 5/25 4/18 4/23 4/39 4.60 150.00
4 A Kumble 6/12 5/33 4/12 4/40 3/24 4.40 143.48
4 M Muralitharan 5/23 5/30 5/44 4/27 3/17 4.40 143.48
4 BAW Mendis 6/13 4/10 4/47 4/51 4/60 4.40 143.48
4 Saeed Ajmal 5/24 5/43 4/30 4/32 4/39 4.40 143.48
4 Imran Tahir 7/45 4/26 4/38 4/53 3/45 4.40 143.48
9 SK Warne 5/33 4/19 4/36 4/36 4/40 4.20 136.96
9 Saqlain Mushtaq 5/29 4/17 4/26 4/33 4/41 4.20 136.96
9 A Zampa 5/35 4/31 4/38 4/45 4/45 4.20 136.96
12 Abdul Qadir 5/53 4/9 4/17 4/31 3/23 4.00 130.43
13 AU Rashid 4/36 4/41 4/45 4/47 3/29 3.80 123.91
14 JE Emburey 4/37 4/39 3/17 3/26 3/31 3.40 110.87
14 RJ Shastri 4/38 4/40 3/30 3/30 3/31 3.40 110.87

BEST BOWLING (ECO)

BBE

In this criteria, we have taken the top 5 bowling performances by Economy of a bowler. Best Bowling By Economy (BBE) is the Relative Economy of the bowler in the 5 Inns.

Criteria: Points For Wkts Taken In Top 5 Inns

Against Top Teams

RANK BOWLER 1 2 3 4 5 BBE RAT
TS Saqlain Mushtaq 7.0/9 9.0/13 8.0/13 9.0/17 7.0/14 1.65 150.00
1 Saqlain Mushtaq 7.0/9 9.0/13 8.0/13 9.0/17 7.0/14 1.65 150.00
2 M Muralitharan 10.0/9 8.0/12 8.0/14 10.0/20 10.0/22 1.65 149.94
3 BAW Mendis 8.0/13 7.0/14 10.0/22 4.3/10 9.0/21 1.99 124.72
4 RJ Shastri 9.3/14 10.0/17 10.0/17 11.0/25 10.0/23 2.00 124.21
5 Abdul Qadir 10.0/9 10.0/19 7.0/16 9.0/21 8.0/19 2.00 124.02
6 JE Emburey 11.0/15 10.0/19 8.3/17 10.0/20 10.0/22 2.02 122.57
7 SP Narine 10.0/20 10.0/21 10.0/24 10.0/25 10.0/26 2.17 114.38
8 Saeed Ajmal 8.0/15 10.0/20 8.0/18 9.4/24 10.0/26 2.17 114.19
9 Kuldeep Yadav 5.1/7 10.0/25 9.0/23 8.0/24 8.0/25 2.25 110.35
10 SK Warne 10.0/18 10.0/19 10.0/21 10.0/27 10.0/28 2.28 108.84
11 A Kumble 7.0/12 6.1/12 10.0/24 9.0/26 10.0/29 2.43 101.92
12 Imran Tahir 10.0/14 10.0/28 10.0/29 8.2/26 9.0/32 2.46 100.85
13 A Zampa 10.0/21 10.0/36 10.0/38 10.0/38 9.0/35 2.87 86.41
14 YS Chahal 8.2/22 10.0/34 10.0/36 10.0/38 8.0/31 3.03 81.93
15 AU Rashid 10.0/32 10.0/34 10.0/36 10.0/36 10.0/38 3.05 81.30

TOP FORM RATING

The TOP FORM (TF) Rating is the addition of the points of all the above criteria. The rating is out of 1,000.

RANK BOWLER PRO CON ATT BBW BBE TF RAT
1 Saqlain Mushtaq 300.00 200.00 174.27 136.96 150.00 961.22
2 M Muralitharan 245.19 177.93 200.00 143.48 149.94 916.54
3 Saeed Ajmal 288.00 190.12 179.19 143.48 114.19 914.98
4 Abdul Qadir 290.00 157.59 179.39 130.43 124.02 881.44
5 A Kumble 250.96 174.32 177.74 143.48 101.92 848.42
6 A Zampa 300.00 170.65 154.10 136.96 86.41 848.11
7 Kuldeep Yadav 276.00 156.42 153.19 150.00 110.35 845.96
8 SK Warne 242.31 166.11 180.66 136.96 108.84 834.87
9 BAW Mendis 258.00 145.52 152.09 143.48 124.72 823.81
10 RJ Shastri 258.22 148.40 181.77 110.87 124.21 823.47
11 Imran Tahir 249.00 158.21 167.44 143.48 100.85 818.98
12 JE Emburey 278.08 138.99 165.29 110.87 122.57 815.79
13 SP Narine 210.00 147.21 187.56 150.00 114.38 809.15
14 YS Chahal 243.00 143.28 153.53 150.00 81.93 771.73
15 AU Rashid 255.00 137.46 147.46 123.91 81.30 745.14

BRIEF EXPLANATION

Dynamic Nature

Most of our ratings are dynamic, and as new matches are played, the rating of earlier bowlers may change if current bowlers set new benchmarks.

Trend Setter (TS)

  1. TS is the player who does the best in a criteria.
  2. The rating of all other players are calculated taking the TS as the benchmark. Example:-
  3. TS Bowling Ave: 25.00; Player X Ave: 30.00; Section Points: 300.00
  4. TS Points: 300.00 (Max)
  5. Player X Points: TS Ave/Ave X 300 = 25.00/30.00 X 300 = 250.00.
  6. Ratings of all sections are calculated similarly with Ave being replaced by the Criteria Stat.
  7. Know All About the Trend Setter
    8. .

Top Teams (TT)

  1. An opposition is counted as a TT considering its Win/Loss (WL) Ratios in last 5 years.
  2. Home, Away, In Asia, Outside Asia and Overall WL Ratio is considered.
  3. The WL Ratio should be more than a certain value overall or in specific condition.

Top Inns by ER (BBE) Qualification

  1. Overs bowled in the innings must be more than 50% of the allotted overs for a bowler in the match.
  2. This is generally 30 balls for a 50 over match and 36 balls for a 60 over match.
  3. However it may be less if the match is shortened for some reason.

Abbreviations

  1. AVE - Average or Runs/Wkt
  2. BLS - Balls
  3. ER, ECO - Economy Rate or Runs/Over
  4. FF, 4WH - Four Fors or 4 Wkt Hauls
  5. FP - First Played by Year
  6. INF - Infinite
  7. INNS - Innings
  8. LP - Last Played by Year
  9. MDNS - Maidens
  10. MP - Middle Played or (FP+LP)/2
  11. NA - Not Applicable
  12. NI - Not In Top
  13. NK - Not Known
  14. NO, * - Not Out
  15. NQ - Not Qualified
  16. OPP - Opposition
  17. OVRS - Overs
  18. RAT - Rating
  19. SR - Strike Rate or Balls/Wkts
  20. TS - Trend Setter
  21. TT - Top Teams
  22. WKTS - Wickets Taken
  23. WTG - Weightage

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