Top 15 Asian Spin 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 Spin 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 Spin 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 Abdul Qadir PAK 1977 1990 1983.5 80 179 180.00
1 Abdul Qadir PAK 1977 1990 1983.5 80 179 180.00
2 BS Chandrasekhar IND 1964 1979 1971.5 59 150 150.84
3 BS Bedi IND 1966 1979 1972.5 60 143 143.80
4 Iqbal Qasim PAK 1976 1988 1982 67 140 140.78
5 SP Gupte IND 1951 1961 1956 45 105 105.59
6 EAS Prasanna IND 1962 1978 1970 44 97 97.54
7 DR Doshi IND 1979 1983 1981 42 85 85.47
RANK ERA 2 NAT FP LP MP INNS WKTS RAT
TS M Muralitharan SL 1992 2010 2001 171 612 250.00
1 M Muralitharan SL 1992 2010 2001 171 612 250.00
2 A Kumble IND 1990 2008 1999 144 419 171.16
3 HMRKB Herath SL 1999 2018 2008.5 127 354 144.61
4 Harbhajan Singh IND 1998 2015 2006.5 130 300 122.55
5 Saqlain Mushtaq PAK 1995 2004 1999.5 58 147 60.05
RANK ERA 3 NAT FP LP MP INNS WKTS RAT
TS R Ashwin IND 2011 2022 2016.5 117 362 210.00
1 R Ashwin IND 2011 2022 2016.5 117 362 210.00
2 RA Jadeja IND 2012 2022 2017 75 185 107.32
3 Yasir Shah PAK 2014 2022 2018 55 173 100.36
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 M Muralitharan 171 13276 612 21.69 32.52 23.34 150.00
1 M Muralitharan 171 13276 612 21.69 32.52 23.34 150.00
2 RA Jadeja 75 3928 185 21.23 30.16 24.64 142.12
3 R Ashwin 117 7764 362 21.45 30.30 24.78 141.33
4 HMRKB Herath 127 9215 354 26.03 33.14 27.49 127.38
5 Iqbal Qasim 67 3774 140 26.96 34.27 27.53 127.17
6 A Kumble 144 11315 419 27.00 32.74 28.87 121.31
7 BS Bedi 60 3736 143 26.13 31.46 29.07 120.45
8 Abdul Qadir 80 5095 179 28.46 33.89 29.39 119.13
9 DR Doshi 42 2443 85 28.74 34.06 29.54 118.55
10 Yasir Shah 55 4515 173 26.10 30.85 29.61 118.27
11 Saqlain Mushtaq 58 4126 147 28.07 32.00 30.70 114.07
12 BS Chandrasekhar 59 4318 150 28.79 32.15 31.34 111.74
13 EAS Prasanna 44 2811 97 28.98 31.62 32.08 109.17
14 SP Gupte 45 3025 105 28.81 31.10 32.42 108.00
15 Harbhajan Singh 130 9605 300 32.02 32.83 34.14 102.58

Against Top Teams

RANK BOWLER INNS RUNS WKTS AVE C AVE R AVE RAT
TS RA Jadeja 53 3050 142 21.48 30.16 24.92 150.00
1 RA Jadeja 53 3050 142 21.48 30.16 24.92 150.00
2 Abdul Qadir 48 3312 136 24.35 33.89 25.15 148.67
3 R Ashwin 76 5275 234 22.54 30.30 26.04 143.56
4 Iqbal Qasim 47 2710 104 26.06 34.27 26.62 140.47
5 Yasir Shah 24 1821 77 23.65 30.85 26.83 139.36
6 M Muralitharan 107 9284 364 25.51 32.52 27.45 136.21
7 HMRKB Herath 88 6750 242 27.89 33.14 29.46 126.93
8 DR Doshi 40 2211 77 28.71 34.06 29.51 126.69
9 Saqlain Mushtaq 26 2228 80 27.85 32.00 30.46 122.75
10 A Kumble 91 7428 258 28.79 32.74 30.77 121.49
11 BS Chandrasekhar 49 3635 125 29.08 32.15 31.66 118.10
12 BS Bedi 48 3138 106 29.60 31.46 32.94 113.50
13 EAS Prasanna 38 2378 77 30.88 31.62 34.18 109.37
14 Harbhajan Singh 100 7628 234 32.60 32.83 34.76 107.57
15 SP Gupte 35 2356 71 33.18 31.10 37.34 100.12
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 M Muralitharan 171 32563 612 53.21 70.32 60.53 250.00
1 M Muralitharan 171 32563 612 53.21 70.32 60.53 250.00
2 R Ashwin 117 16953 362 46.83 61.06 61.35 246.64
3 BS Chandrasekhar 59 9761 150 65.07 83.70 62.20 243.28
4 Abdul Qadir 80 11625 179 64.94 81.87 63.46 238.45
5 Yasir Shah 55 9105 173 52.63 62.23 67.65 223.67
6 HMRKB Herath 127 19693 354 55.63 65.72 67.72 223.46
7 A Kumble 144 25713 419 61.37 71.57 68.59 220.60
8 EAS Prasanna 44 7179 97 74.01 83.17 71.19 212.56
9 RA Jadeja 75 10133 185 54.77 61.53 71.21 212.50
10 Saqlain Mushtaq 58 9399 147 63.94 71.30 71.74 210.93
11 DR Doshi 42 6465 85 76.06 84.28 72.20 209.59
12 Iqbal Qasim 67 10595 140 75.68 83.62 72.40 208.99
13 SP Gupte 45 8109 105 77.23 83.85 73.68 205.38
14 BS Bedi 60 11219 143 78.45 82.07 76.47 197.88
15 Harbhajan Singh 130 20584 300 68.61 69.02 79.53 190.27
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 M Muralitharan 9/51 8/46 8/87 7/46 7/84 7/94 7/97 7.57 100.00
1 M Muralitharan 9/51 8/46 8/87 7/46 7/84 7/94 7/97 7.57 100.00
2 A Kumble 10/74 7/48 7/59 7/63 7/115 6/64 6/67 7.14 94.34
3 HMRKB Herath 9/127 7/48 7/64 7/89 7/157 6/43 6/43 7.00 92.45
3 Harbhajan Singh 8/84 7/48 7/62 7/87 7/123 7/133 6/62 7.00 92.45
5 R Ashwin 7/59 7/66 7/103 7/145 6/31 6/41 6/46 6.57 86.79
6 Yasir Shah 8/41 7/76 6/96 6/124 6/143 6/184 5/51 6.29 83.02
7 Abdul Qadir 9/56 7/142 6/16 6/44 5/44 5/74 5/76 6.14 81.13
8 SP Gupte 9/102 7/128 6/90 5/18 5/45 5/63 5/72 6.00 79.25
8 BS Chandrasekhar 8/79 7/157 6/76 6/90 5/50 5/65 5/116 6.00 79.25
10 Iqbal Qasim 7/49 6/40 6/89 6/141 5/35 5/48 5/78 5.71 75.47
11 BS Bedi 7/98 6/42 6/71 5/27 5/37 5/48 5/63 5.57 73.58
12 Saqlain Mushtaq 8/164 5/32 5/35 5/54 5/89 5/93 5/94 5.43 71.70
12 RA Jadeja 7/48 6/63 5/21 5/30 5/41 5/58 5/73 5.43 71.70
14 DR Doshi 6/103 5/39 5/43 5/85 5/90 4/69 4/81 4.86 64.15
14 EAS Prasanna 6/74 5/42 5/51 5/70 5/121 4/16 4/41 4.86 64.15
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 M Muralitharan 5/13 5/15 6/18 4/14 6/26 5/23 6/28 3.70 100.00
1 M Muralitharan 5/13 5/15 6/18 4/14 6/26 5/23 6/28 3.70 100.00
2 RA Jadeja 3/12 5/21 4/17 5/30 7/48 3/24 5/41 6.03 61.39
3 R Ashwin 4/8 6/31 5/32 4/27 6/41 6/46 6/47 6.27 59.05
4 HMRKB Herath 4/15 7/48 6/43 6/43 5/40 6/48 3/26 7.11 52.09
5 Abdul Qadir 6/16 9/56 6/44 5/44 3/29 4/45 3/34 7.44 49.74
6 BS Bedi 5/27 4/22 6/42 5/37 4/38 5/48 3/29 7.59 48.76
7 A Kumble 5/30 7/48 10/74 7/59 7/63 4/38 4/39 7.98 46.42
8 Iqbal Qasim 6/40 4/27 5/35 7/49 5/48 4/41 4/48 8.23 45.00
9 Harbhajan Singh 5/29 7/48 7/62 3/30 5/51 6/62 8/84 8.93 41.48
10 Saqlain Mushtaq 5/32 4/26 5/35 5/54 4/46 3/36 3/46 9.48 39.05
11 EAS Prasanna 4/16 5/42 5/51 4/41 3/33 6/74 4/55 10.06 36.79
12 Yasir Shah 8/41 5/51 7/76 4/44 4/50 3/40 4/58 10.29 36.00
13 BS Chandrasekhar 3/25 3/28 8/79 5/50 4/42 4/50 6/76 10.61 34.91
14 SP Gupte 5/18 5/45 4/43 9/102 5/63 5/72 6/90 11.10 33.35
15 DR Doshi 5/39 5/43 3/42 5/85 6/103 4/69 3/52 13.97 26.51
FC Rating

The A IN A (FC) 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 FC RAT
1 M Muralitharan 250.00 150.00 136.21 250.00 100.00 100.00 986.21
2 R Ashwin 210.00 141.33 143.56 246.64 86.79 59.05 887.37
3 Abdul Qadir 180.00 119.13 148.67 238.45 81.13 49.74 817.12
4 A Kumble 171.16 121.31 121.49 220.60 94.34 46.42 775.32
5 HMRKB Herath 144.61 127.38 126.93 223.46 92.45 52.09 766.92
6 RA Jadeja 107.32 142.12 150.00 212.50 71.70 61.39 745.03
7 BS Chandrasekhar 150.84 111.74 118.10 243.28 79.25 34.91 738.12
8 Iqbal Qasim 140.78 127.17 140.47 208.99 75.47 45.00 737.89
9 Yasir Shah 100.36 118.27 139.36 223.67 83.02 36.00 700.67
10 BS Bedi 143.80 120.45 113.50 197.88 73.58 48.76 697.98
11 Harbhajan Singh 122.55 102.58 107.57 190.27 92.45 41.48 656.90
12 SP Gupte 105.59 108.00 100.12 205.38 79.25 33.35 631.69
13 DR Doshi 85.47 118.55 126.69 209.59 64.15 26.51 630.97
14 EAS Prasanna 97.54 109.17 109.37 212.56 64.15 36.79 629.58
15 Saqlain Mushtaq 60.05 114.07 122.75 210.93 71.70 39.05 618.54

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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