ODIs - Best Spin Bowlers In World Cups

Top 15 Spin Bowlers In ODI World Cups

by

Kindly switch to Landscape Mode for better viewing experience

Our One Day International (ODI) ratings take into account all matches from the first ODI match on January 5, 1971 till the below mentioned last update date. 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. Brief explanation of the ratings is given before each section (Detailed Explanation). So, here are the Top 15 Spin bowlers in World Cups in ODIs.

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

CONTENTS
1. THE CRITERIA
2. QUALIFICATION
3. PROLIFIC
4. CONSISTENT
4.1. Against All Teams
4.2. Against Top Teams
5. ECONOMIC
5.1. Against All Teams
5.2. Against Top Teams
6. BEST BOWLING BY WKTS (NWT)
7. BEST BOWLING BY ECO (NWT)
8. WORLD CUP RATING
9. TOP TEAMS
10. NON WEAK TEAMS

THE CRITERIA

The WORLD CUP Rating is divided into 5 main sections:-

CRITERIA STAT POINTS
Prolific Wickets Taken 250.00
Consistent Average 200.00
Economic Strike Rate 200.00
Best Bowling Top Inns (Wkts) 200.00
Economic Bowling Top Inns (Eco) 150.00
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) 5
Min Career Wkts 50

PROLIFIC

The Eras

The time period from 1971 to present is divided into eras for this section. This is because less cricket was played earlier. To make it fair for earlier players they are compared with players of the same period with a slight reduction in points. Know More About Eras.

Era 1 MP before 1991
Era 2 MP between 1990 And 2011
Era 3 MP greater than 2010

Criteria: Points For Wickets Taken

RANK ERA 1 NAT FP LP MP INNS WKTS RAT
TS Abdul Qadir PAK 1983 1993 1988 13 24 190.00
1 Abdul Qadir PAK 1983 1993 1988 13 24 190.00
2 RA Harper WI 1983 1996 1989.5 14 18 142.50
3 Maninder Singh IND 1983 1993 1988 7 14 110.83
RANK ERA 2 NAT FP LP MP INNS WKTS RAT
TS M Muralitharan SL 1993 2011 2002 39 68 250.00
1 M Muralitharan SL 1993 2011 2002 39 68 250.00
2 GB Hogg AUS 1996 2008 2002 20 34 125.00
3 SK Warne AUS 1993 2005 1999 17 32 117.65
4 A Kumble IND 1990 2007 1998.5 18 31 113.97
5 Mushtaq Ahmed PAK 1989 2003 1996 14 26 95.59
6 Saqlain Mushtaq PAK 1995 2003 1999 14 23 84.56
RANK ERA 3 NAT FP LP MP INNS WKTS RAT
TS Shakib Al Hasan BAN 2006 2023 2014.5 36 43 210.00
1 Shakib Al Hasan BAN 2006 2023 2014.5 36 43 210.00
2 Imran Tahir SA 2011 2019 2015 21 40 195.35
3 A Zampa AUS 2016 2025 2020.5 15 28 136.74
4 RA Jadeja IND 2009 2026 2017.5 21 27 131.86
5 Mohammad Nabi AFG 2009 2025 2017 24 21 102.56
6 KA Maharaj SA 2017 2025 2021 10 15 73.26

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 R Ave

Min Qualification For TS
Min Wickets 20
Min Wickets (TT) 12

Against All Teams

RANK BOWLER INNS RUNS WKTS AVE R AVE RAT
TS GB Hogg 20 654 34 19.24 19.23 100.00
1 GB Hogg 20 654 34 19.24 19.23 100.00
2 M Muralitharan 39 1335 68 19.63 20.44 94.06
3 Imran Tahir 21 847 40 21.18 20.62 93.25
4 SK Warne 17 624 32 19.50 21.43 89.71
5 Abdul Qadir 13 506 24 21.08 21.65 88.82
6 Saqlain Mushtaq 14 494 23 21.48 22.44 85.68
7 KA Maharaj 10 370 15 24.67 22.99 83.65
8 Mushtaq Ahmed 14 549 26 21.12 23.03 83.50
9 A Kumble 18 708 31 22.84 23.49 81.86
10 Maninder Singh 7 280 14 20.00 24.16 79.57
11 A Zampa 15 751 28 26.82 25.04 76.79
12 RA Harper 14 488 18 27.11 26.01 73.94
13 RA Jadeja 21 829 27 30.70 29.34 65.55
14 Shakib Al Hasan 36 1551 43 36.07 34.05 56.47
15 Mohammad Nabi 24 850 21 40.48 35.51 54.14

Against Top Teams

RANK BOWLER INNS RUNS WKTS AVE R AVE RAT
TS GB Hogg 15 526 25 21.04 20.60 100.00
1 GB Hogg 15 526 25 21.04 20.60 100.00
2 M Muralitharan 24 914 42 21.76 20.98 98.17
3 KA Maharaj 7 280 11 25.45 22.57 91.28
4 SK Warne 13 508 23 22.09 22.83 90.23
5 Mushtaq Ahmed 8 369 16 23.06 23.44 87.88
6 Saqlain Mushtaq 10 380 15 25.33 24.38 84.47
7 RA Jadeja 14 560 19 29.47 26.00 79.23
8 Maninder Singh 5 227 10 22.70 26.21 78.58
9 Imran Tahir 12 510 17 30.00 26.30 78.33
10 Abdul Qadir 10 392 14 28.00 26.71 77.11
11 A Zampa 9 478 15 31.87 27.31 75.41
12 RA Harper 9 369 12 30.75 27.85 73.95
13 A Kumble 13 547 17 32.18 30.97 66.50
14 Mohammad Nabi 18 610 12 50.83 43.02 47.88
15 Shakib Al Hasan 23 1099 21 52.33 44.88 45.90

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 300

Against All Teams

RANK BOWLER INNS BLS RUNS ER R ER RAT
TS KA Maharaj 10 534 370 4.16 3.56 100.00
1 KA Maharaj 10 534 370 4.16 3.56 100.00
2 RA Harper 14 792 488 3.70 3.70 96.31
3 M Muralitharan 39 2061 1335 3.89 3.85 92.58
4 SK Warne 17 977 624 3.83 3.89 91.69
5 Mohammad Nabi 24 1079 850 4.73 3.91 91.12
6 Abdul Qadir 13 814 506 3.73 3.99 89.27
7 Imran Tahir 21 1151 847 4.42 4.01 88.88
8 GB Hogg 20 951 654 4.13 4.02 88.57
9 RA Jadeja 21 1081 829 4.60 4.11 86.69
10 A Kumble 18 1039 708 4.09 4.14 86.06
11 Mushtaq Ahmed 14 810 549 4.07 4.21 84.57
12 Maninder Singh 7 420 280 4.00 4.36 81.62
13 Saqlain Mushtaq 14 674 494 4.40 4.44 80.14
14 Shakib Al Hasan 36 1808 1551 5.15 4.66 76.39
15 A Zampa 15 774 751 5.82 5.00 71.24

Against Top Teams

RANK BOWLER INNS BLS RUNS ER R ER RAT
TS KA Maharaj 7 408 280 4.12 3.49 100.00
1 KA Maharaj 7 408 280 4.12 3.49 100.00
2 RA Jadeja 14 755 560 4.45 3.90 89.57
3 M Muralitharan 24 1333 914 4.11 3.91 89.26
4 Mohammad Nabi 18 752 610 4.87 3.92 89.05
5 Imran Tahir 12 678 510 4.51 3.97 87.92
6 Abdul Qadir 10 622 392 3.78 3.98 87.82
7 GB Hogg 15 753 526 4.19 4.04 86.45
8 RA Harper 9 528 369 4.19 4.07 85.68
9 SK Warne 13 740 508 4.12 4.15 84.08
10 A Kumble 13 746 547 4.40 4.32 80.80
11 Saqlain Mushtaq 10 526 380 4.33 4.37 79.92
12 Mushtaq Ahmed 8 468 369 4.73 4.73 73.85
13 Maninder Singh 5 300 227 4.54 4.79 72.92
14 Shakib Al Hasan 23 1195 1099 5.52 4.87 71.65
15 A Zampa 9 474 478 6.05 5.09 68.65

BEST BOWLING BY WKTS (NWT)

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

RANK BOWLER 1 2 3 4 5 BBW RAT
TS Abdul Qadir 5/44 4/21 4/31 3/31 3/40 3.80 200.00
1 Abdul Qadir 5/44 4/21 4/31 3/31 3/40 3.80 200.00
1 SK Warne 4/29 4/33 4/34 4/36 3/11 3.80 200.00
1 Imran Tahir 5/45 4/26 4/38 4/41 2/32 3.80 200.00
4 M Muralitharan 4/25 4/31 3/25 3/25 3/32 3.40 178.95
5 A Zampa 4/47 4/53 3/21 3/74 2/32 3.20 168.42
6 GB Hogg 4/29 3/54 3/56 3/61 2/30 3.00 157.89
7 Mushtaq Ahmed 3/41 3/41 3/53 3/59 2/18 2.80 147.37
7 RA Jadeja 5/33 3/28 2/27 2/38 2/38 2.80 147.37
9 Shakib Al Hasan 4/55 3/30 2/46 2/47 2/49 2.60 136.84
10 Maninder Singh 3/21 3/34 3/54 2/40 1/32 2.40 126.32
10 A Kumble 3/35 3/48 2/30 2/33 2/39 2.40 126.32
10 Saqlain Mushtaq 3/16 3/51 2/34 2/38 2/44 2.40 126.32
10 Mohammad Nabi 4/30 2/16 2/23 2/33 2/35 2.40 126.32
14 KA Maharaj 4/46 2/25 2/30 2/62 1/24 2.20 115.79
15 RA Harper 4/47 2/34 1/28 1/29 1/30 1.80 94.74

BEST BOWLING BY ECO (NWT)

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. 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 Nabi 10.0/23 6.0/16 6.0/18 10.0/31 9.0/30 2.38 150.00
1 Mohammad Nabi 10.0/23 6.0/16 6.0/18 10.0/31 9.0/30 2.38 150.00
2 KA Maharaj 10.0/24 10.0/25 10.0/30 10.0/30 10.0/32 2.42 147.76
3 M Muralitharan 9.0/15 10.0/25 10.0/25 10.0/26 10.0/29 2.42 147.27
4 SK Warne 10.0/11 10.0/28 10.0/29 10.0/30 10.0/33 2.66 134.42
5 RA Harper 10.0/15 10.0/28 10.0/29 10.0/30 10.0/33 2.70 132.17
6 RA Jadeja 7.0/16 10.0/28 8.2/27 10.0/34 9.0/33 2.78 128.44
7 Abdul Qadir 12.0/21 10.0/29 10.0/30 10.0/31 10.0/31 2.92 122.21
8 GB Hogg 10.0/24 10.0/28 10.0/30 10.0/35 10.0/36 2.98 119.71
9 Imran Tahir 8.2/26 10.0/33 9.0/32 10.0/36 5.0/20 3.15 113.27
10 A Kumble 10.0/30 8.0/27 9.4/33 7.0/24 10.0/35 3.38 105.72
11 Mushtaq Ahmed 10.0/18 10.0/32 10.0/34 10.0/40 10.0/41 3.42 104.46
12 Saqlain Mushtaq 9.0/22 6.3/16 10.0/34 10.0/38 10.0/44 3.42 104.37
13 A Zampa 10.0/21 10.0/32 10.0/44 10.0/53 10.0/58 3.57 99.92
14 Shakib Al Hasan 6.0/19 8.0/30 10.0/41 10.0/41 10.0/44 3.60 99.08
15 Maninder Singh 10.0/21 10.0/32 10.0/34 10.0/40 10.0/48 3.82 93.50

WORLD CUP RATING

The WORLD CUP (WC) Rating is the addition of the points of all the above criteria. The rating is out of 1,000.

RANK BOWLER PRO CON ECO BBW BBE WC RAT
1 M Muralitharan 250.00 192.23 181.84 178.95 147.27 950.29
2 Imran Tahir 195.35 171.58 176.80 200.00 113.27 857.01
3 Abdul Qadir 190.00 165.93 177.09 200.00 122.21 855.23
4 SK Warne 117.65 179.94 175.76 200.00 134.42 807.76
5 GB Hogg 125.00 200.00 175.02 157.89 119.71 777.62
6 RA Jadeja 131.86 144.78 176.26 147.37 128.44 728.71
7 KA Maharaj 73.26 174.93 200.00 115.79 147.76 711.74
8 RA Harper 142.50 147.89 181.98 94.74 132.17 699.28
9 A Zampa 136.74 152.20 139.89 168.42 99.92 697.18
10 Shakib Al Hasan 210.00 102.37 148.04 136.84 99.08 696.33
11 Mushtaq Ahmed 95.59 171.38 158.42 147.37 104.46 677.21
12 A Kumble 113.97 148.36 166.85 126.32 105.72 661.22
13 Mohammad Nabi 102.56 102.03 180.18 126.32 150.00 661.08
14 Saqlain Mushtaq 84.56 170.15 160.06 126.32 104.37 645.45
15 Maninder Singh 110.83 158.15 154.54 126.32 93.50 643.33

TOP TEAMS

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

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 AUS PAK SL SA BAN ENG AFG WI

Leave a Comment