Top 15 Asian Fast Bowlers In Tests In Asia

All Test Ratings on the website are from 01/01/1950 onwards. Our ratings are based on conditions and diverse oppositions. Before the above mentioned date, there were primarily only two teams which dominated cricket. Moreover, matches were of unequal length with some ending in 4 days and some being timeless. Post 1950, West Indies and South Africa grew as test teams. Moreover, Asian teams India and Pakistan started improving after 1950 and became compenent at home at least. Performance in Asia and outside Asia are integral to our overall rating. How the rating works is explained in highlighted sections. So, here are the Top 15 Asian Fast bowlers in matches In Asia

*Note: All Test Ratings are updated till 2023-01-08

A IN A Rating

This rating only include stats of Asian Fast bowlers in matches In Asia. The rating is divided into sections to make it easy to understand how it is calculated. Before each section, its criteria is highlighted in bold. Our ratings are dynamic, and as new matches are played, the rating of earlier bowlers may change if current bowlers set new benchmarks.

The Trend Setter

The Trend Setter (TS) is the player which does the best in a criteria. The rating of all other players are calculated as percentage points of TS. Let’s taken an example to understand it:-

  • Let’s assume that Glenn McGrath has taken 500 wkts, which is the highest. This makes him the TS.
  • Another player, say Jason Gillespie, has taken 250 wkts.
  • If the rating is out of 250, McGrath will get the full points (pts), that is 250.
  • The points of Gillespie are calculated as His Wkts/McGrath’s Wkts*250. This comes out to be 125.
  • Thus the formula is (Wkts Taken/Wkts Taken By TS)*Max Points.
  • All ratings are calculated similarly with Wkts being replaced by the Criteria Stat.
  • Obviously, for average the formula is reverased as the lower average is better for a bowler.
  • For Average and Strike Rate, a bowler is eligible to be TS only if he has taken a minimum number of wickets, which are mentioned in the qualificaton.
  • Lastly, it is to be noted that it is not necessary for a TS to be part of the rating as he might have topped in a criteria but not done well in others.

QUALIFICATION


Min Innings 20
Min Wickets (TS AVE SR) 50
Min Wickets v/s Top Teams (TS AVE) 25
The Eras

The first criteria Prolific gives points for wkts taken. We have divided cricket from 1950 onwards into 3 broad eras. This has been done to make it fair for players from earlier era, when less cricket was played, and also for current players, who are in the middle of their careers. Let’s take an example:-

  • Let’s assume Murlidharan has taken 500 wickets, which is the maximum and gives him 250 points.
  • Now, say Underwood in earlier times took 250 wkts, which was the max for his era.
  • If there are no eras, he would get 50% of the pts, that is 125.
  • Instead of that, we reduced 50 pts (according to %age) from the max to arrive at the figure of 200 pts for Underwood.
  • Now, everyone in his era is compared to Underwood and not Murlidharan.
  • So a player who has taken 50 Wkts in Underwood’s era will get (50/250)*200 pts or 40pts.
  • Eras are calculated by MP, which is the mean of the years a player: First Played (FP) and Last Played (LP).

PROLIFIC


Criteria: Points For Wickets Taken

Era 1 MP before 1991
Era 2 MP between 1990 and 2016
Era 3 MP greater than 2015
RANK ERA 1 NAT FP LP MP INNS WKTS RAT
TS N Kapil Dev IND 1978 1994 1986 150 279 250.00
1 N Kapil Dev IND 1978 1994 1986 150 279 250.00
2 Imran Khan PAK 1971 1991 1981 80 205 183.69
3 Fazal Mahmood PAK 1952 1962 1957 36 94 84.23
RANK ERA 2 NAT FP LP MP INNS WKTS RAT
TS WPUJC Vaas SL 1994 2009 2001.5 132 236 230.00
1 WPUJC Vaas SL 1994 2009 2001.5 132 236 230.00
2 Wasim Akram PAK 1985 2002 1993.5 102 216 210.51
3 Waqar Younis PAK 1989 2003 1996 85 215 209.53
4 Zaheer Khan IND 2000 2014 2007 99 164 159.83
5 I Sharma IND 2007 2021 2014 100 140 136.44
6 Shoaib Akhtar PAK 1997 2007 2002 56 125 121.82
7 J Srinath IND 1991 2002 1996.5 64 119 115.97
8 Umar Gul PAK 2003 2013 2008 54 98 95.51
RANK ERA 3 NAT FP LP MP INNS WKTS RAT
TS UT Yadav IND 2022 2022 2022 76 116 190.00
1 UT Yadav IND 2022 2022 2022 76 116 190.00
2 Mohammed Shami IND 2013 2022 2017.5 42 77 126.12
3 Shaheen Shah Afridi PAK 2018 2022 2020 22 46 75.34
4 Bhuvneshwar Kumar IND 2013 2018 2015.5 21 27 44.22
C Ave

The Comparative Average (C Ave) for bowlers is calculated by taken into account two factors:-

  • First is the average of batsmen in the decades the bowler played.
  • Second is the average of the opposition batsmen at Home, in Asia or outside Asia; whichever is applicable.
  • The average of the opposing team’s batsmen is also calculated by decades.
  • Higher C Ave suggest that more runs were scored by the batsmen in the above mentioned factors.
  • Thus it was difficult to get Wkts and the bowler will benefit from this.
  • Lower C Ave means the opposite.
R Ave

The Relative Average (R Ave) is calculated using the C Ave. Its formula is (Bowler Ave/C Ave)*A Constant Factor. This constant doesn’t affect the rating as it is the same for everone. If your C Ave is comparatively high, your R Ave will be low; which is better for bowlers. Broadly speaking, the following bowlers will benefit from this system:-

  • Bowlers who have played more in unfavourable conditions.
  • Asian fast bowlers and Non-Asian spin bowlers whereever applicable.
  • Bowlers who have played in an era where the batsmen dominated, like the 2000s
  • Bowlers who have played more against top opposition than weaker teams.
Top Teams (TT)

The R Ave Rating is divided into two parts:-

  • One is Overall which gives points for the overall R Ave.
  • The second part is Against Top Teams, which gives points for R Ave against top teams.
  • Win/Loss Ratio is used to determine top teams.
  • The top teams are calculated by decades.
  • Further, they are divided into In Asia and Outside Asia.
  • To be a top team, the team should be among the top teams in the specific condition (Asia or outside Asia) or among the top teams of the decade overall.
  • A bowler’s performace is counted in TT if he palyed against it in the specific condition and in the specific decade.
  • The Top Teams may be found in the last section of the rating.

CONSISTENT


Criteria: Points For Relative Average

Against All Teams

RANK BOWLER INNS RUNS WKTS AVE C AVE R AVE RAT
TS Mohammed Shami 42 1603 77 20.82 35.76 18.63 150.00
1 Mohammed Shami 42 1603 77 20.82 35.76 18.63 150.00
2 Imran Khan 80 4158 205 20.28 31.16 20.83 134.16
3 Waqar Younis 85 4438 215 20.64 30.83 21.43 130.43
4 Shoaib Akhtar 56 3031 125 24.25 34.09 22.76 122.77
5 Fazal Mahmood 36 1930 94 20.53 28.37 23.16 120.69
6 UT Yadav 76 3061 116 26.39 35.63 23.70 117.91
7 Wasim Akram 102 4866 216 22.53 30.27 23.81 117.36
8 Bhuvneshwar Kumar 21 708 27 26.22 35.08 23.92 116.84
9 Shaheen Shah Afridi 22 1156 46 25.13 32.70 24.59 113.63
10 WPUJC Vaas 132 6580 236 27.88 34.10 26.17 106.81
11 J Srinath 64 3132 119 26.32 31.10 27.08 103.20
12 N Kapil Dev 150 8095 279 29.01 31.98 29.03 96.25
13 I Sharma 100 4522 140 32.30 35.35 29.24 95.56
14 Zaheer Khan 99 5652 164 34.46 35.89 30.73 90.94
15 Umar Gul 54 3292 98 33.59 34.97 30.74 90.92

Against Top Teams

RANK BOWLER INNS RUNS WKTS AVE C AVE R AVE RAT
TS Mohammed Shami 22 890 42 21.19 35.76 18.96 150.00
1 Mohammed Shami 22 890 42 21.19 35.76 18.96 150.00
2 Imran Khan 32 1346 70 19.23 31.16 19.75 144.05
3 Fazal Mahmood 33 1838 89 20.65 28.37 23.29 122.14
4 Wasim Akram 43 2042 91 22.44 30.27 23.72 119.93
5 Bhuvneshwar Kumar 13 463 17 27.24 35.08 24.84 114.51
6 Shoaib Akhtar 41 2459 89 27.63 34.09 25.94 109.67
7 UT Yadav 46 1856 63 29.46 35.63 26.46 107.50
8 J Srinath 33 1759 67 26.25 31.10 27.01 105.31
9 Waqar Younis 39 2007 75 26.76 30.83 27.78 102.41
10 WPUJC Vaas 92 4845 154 31.46 34.10 29.52 96.35
11 Shaheen Shah Afridi 8 514 17 30.24 32.70 29.59 96.13
12 N Kapil Dev 116 6726 226 29.76 31.98 29.78 95.51
13 I Sharma 77 3560 99 35.96 35.35 32.56 87.37
14 Zaheer Khan 64 3952 103 38.37 35.89 34.21 83.15
15 Umar Gul 39 2275 60 37.92 34.97 34.70 81.99
C SR And R SR

The Comparative Strike Rate (C SR) and Relative Strike Rate (R SR) for bowlers is calculated using the same method as in C Ave and R Ave with average replaced with SR. Points to note are:-

  • Bowlers from the earlier era benefit from R SR.
  • This is because more balls were taken to get a Wkt back then as batsmen had better defensive technique.
  • Rest of the factors are the same as in R Ave

ATTACKING


Criteria: Points For R SR or Relative Balls/Wkt

RANK BOWLER INNS BLS WKTS SR C SR R SR RAT
TS Mohammed Shami 42 3189 77 41.42 68.54 39.27 250.00
1 Mohammed Shami 42 3189 77 41.42 68.54 39.27 250.00
2 Waqar Younis 85 8220 215 38.23 61.66 40.30 243.61
3 Shoaib Akhtar 56 5571 125 44.57 65.73 44.07 222.77
4 UT Yadav 76 5634 116 48.57 68.63 46.00 213.46
5 Imran Khan 80 10022 205 48.89 64.73 49.09 200.00
6 Bhuvneshwar Kumar 21 1407 27 52.11 66.68 50.80 193.28
7 Shaheen Shah Afridi 22 2353 46 51.15 64.11 51.86 189.32
8 Wasim Akram 102 11324 216 52.43 61.60 55.32 177.50
9 Umar Gul 54 5718 98 58.35 66.58 56.97 172.36
10 J Srinath 64 6581 119 55.30 62.82 57.22 171.59
11 Fazal Mahmood 36 6244 94 66.43 73.73 58.56 167.65
12 N Kapil Dev 150 16703 279 59.87 65.55 59.37 165.39
13 Zaheer Khan 99 10347 164 63.09 68.15 60.17 163.17
14 I Sharma 100 8875 140 63.39 67.21 61.31 160.15
15 WPUJC Vaas 132 14872 236 63.02 66.46 61.63 159.31
BBW

In this criteria, we have taken the top 7 bowling performances by Wkts of a bowler. Best Bowling By Wickets (BBW) is simply the total wickets taken in the 7 innings divided by 7.

BEST BOWLING (WKTS)


Criteria: Points For Wkts Taken In Top 7 Inns

RANK BOWLER 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 BBW RAT
TS N Kapil Dev 9/83 8/85 7/56 7/220 6/63 6/77 6/91 7.00 100.00
1 N Kapil Dev 9/83 8/85 7/56 7/220 6/63 6/77 6/91 7.00 100.00
2 Imran Khan 8/58 8/60 6/35 6/46 6/58 6/98 5/40 6.43 91.84
3 Waqar Younis 7/76 7/86 7/91 6/34 6/44 6/55 5/46 6.29 89.80
4 Fazal Mahmood 7/42 7/80 6/34 6/34 6/66 5/26 5/48 6.00 85.71
5 WPUJC Vaas 7/71 7/120 6/22 6/29 6/73 5/99 4/15 5.86 83.67
6 J Srinath 8/86 6/21 6/45 5/46 5/60 5/114 4/48 5.57 79.59
7 Shoaib Akhtar 6/11 6/50 5/21 5/24 5/60 5/71 5/75 5.29 75.51
7 Wasim Akram 6/48 6/91 5/28 5/43 5/45 5/52 5/55 5.29 75.51
9 Zaheer Khan 7/87 5/34 5/72 5/91 5/94 4/41 4/61 5.00 71.43
10 Umar Gul 6/135 5/31 5/65 4/43 4/58 4/61 4/63 4.57 65.31
11 I Sharma 5/22 5/54 5/118 4/43 4/56 4/66 4/77 4.43 63.27
12 UT Yadav 6/88 5/53 4/25 4/32 4/45 4/80 3/9 4.29 61.22
13 Shaheen Shah Afridi 5/32 5/77 4/51 4/53 4/58 4/79 2/31 4.00 57.14
13 Mohammed Shami 5/35 5/47 4/31 4/71 4/100 3/10 3/27 4.00 57.14
15 Bhuvneshwar Kumar 5/48 4/8 4/88 3/31 3/53 1/11 1/20 3.00 42.86
BBA

In this criteria, we have taken the top 7 bowling performances by Average of a bowler. Best Bowling By Average (BBA) is simply the average of the bowler in the 7 Inns. Only 3+ Wkt performaces are counted in this criteria.

BEST BOWLING (AVE)


Criteria: Points For Average In Top 7 Inns

RANK BOWLER 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 BBA RAT
TS WPUJC Vaas 6/22 4/15 6/29 3/15 4/20 4/28 4/37 5.35 100.00
1 WPUJC Vaas 6/22 4/15 6/29 3/15 4/20 4/28 4/37 5.35 100.00
2 Shoaib Akhtar 6/11 5/21 5/24 4/30 6/50 4/36 4/47 6.44 83.13
3 Imran Khan 6/35 3/19 3/20 8/58 4/30 8/60 6/46 7.05 75.93
4 Fazal Mahmood 5/26 6/34 6/34 7/42 4/35 5/48 5/52 7.13 75.09
5 UT Yadav 3/9 4/25 3/22 3/23 4/32 3/26 3/29 7.22 74.19
6 Waqar Younis 4/19 6/34 3/20 6/44 4/36 6/55 5/46 7.47 71.68
7 Wasim Akram 5/28 4/30 4/32 6/48 5/43 5/45 3/30 8.00 66.94
8 J Srinath 6/21 3/19 6/45 3/24 5/46 8/86 4/48 8.26 64.85
9 I Sharma 5/22 3/15 3/20 3/32 4/43 5/54 3/34 8.46 63.28
10 N Kapil Dev 3/21 4/30 3/24 7/56 4/36 9/83 4/38 8.47 63.22
11 Mohammed Shami 3/10 5/35 4/31 3/27 5/47 3/32 3/46 8.77 61.06
12 Zaheer Khan 5/34 3/23 4/41 7/87 3/40 3/41 3/43 11.04 48.52
13 Umar Gul 3/16 5/31 4/43 5/65 4/58 4/61 4/63 11.62 46.08
14 Shaheen Shah Afridi 5/32 4/51 4/53 4/58 5/77 4/79 15.71 34.10
15 Bhuvneshwar Kumar 4/8 5/48 3/31 3/53 4/88 16.80 31.87
UC Rating

The A IN A (UC) Rating is the addition of the points of all the above criteria. The rating is out of 1,000. Unfavourable Conditions (UC) is Outside Asia for Spinners and In Asia for Pacers. Favourable Conditions (FC) is the opposite.

RATING


RANK BOWLER PRO CON CON TT ATT BBW BBA UC RAT
1 Waqar Younis 209.53 130.43 102.41 243.61 89.80 71.68 847.45
2 Imran Khan 183.69 134.16 144.05 200.00 91.84 75.93 829.67
3 Mohammed Shami 126.12 150.00 150.00 250.00 57.14 61.06 794.33
4 WPUJC Vaas 230.00 106.81 96.35 159.31 83.67 100.00 776.14
5 N Kapil Dev 250.00 96.25 95.51 165.39 100.00 63.22 770.37
6 Wasim Akram 210.51 117.36 119.93 177.50 75.51 66.94 767.74
7 UT Yadav 190.00 117.91 107.50 213.46 61.22 74.19 764.29
8 Shoaib Akhtar 121.82 122.77 109.67 222.77 75.51 83.13 735.68
9 Fazal Mahmood 84.23 120.69 122.14 167.65 85.71 75.09 655.51
10 J Srinath 115.97 103.20 105.31 171.59 79.59 64.85 640.52
11 Zaheer Khan 159.83 90.94 83.15 163.17 71.43 48.52 617.04
12 I Sharma 136.44 95.56 87.37 160.15 63.27 63.28 606.08
13 Shaheen Shah Afridi 75.34 113.63 96.13 189.32 57.14 34.10 565.66
14 Umar Gul 95.51 90.92 81.99 172.36 65.31 46.08 552.16
15 Bhuvneshwar Kumar 44.22 116.84 114.51 193.28 42.86 31.87 543.59

TOP TEAMS IN ASIA


DECADE OF MAT 1 2 3 4 5 6
1950s AUS WI PAK IND ENG
1960s WI AUS PAK IND ENG SA
1970s PAK ENG IND WI SA AUS
1980s PAK WI ENG NZ AUS
1990s IND PAK SA AUS WI
2000s AUS SL IND PAK SA ENG
2010s IND PAK SL ENG SA AUS
2020s IND AUS ENG PAK NZ

TOP TEAMS OUTSIDE ASIA


DECADE OF MAT 1 2 3 4 5 6
1950s AUS ENG WI SA PAK
1960s ENG AUS WI SA NZ
1970s SA ENG WI AUS IND
1980s WI NZ AUS ENG PAK
1990s AUS SA WI PAK ENG
2000s AUS SA ENG IND NZ
2010s SA AUS ENG NZ IND
2020s AUS NZ ENG SA IND


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