Best Pakistan Fast Bowlers In Tests Featured

Top 10 Pakistani Fast Bowlers In Tests Since 1950

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All Test Ratings on the website are from 01/01/1950 onwards (Know Why). 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 10 Pakistani Fast bowlers in Test Cricket since 1950.

*Note: All Test Ratings are updated till 2024-11-11

CONTENTS
1. THE CRITERIA
2. QUALIFICATION
3. PRIMARY CRITERIA
3.1. PROLIFIC
3.2. CONSISTENT
3.2.1. Against All Teams
3.2.2. Against Top Teams
3.3. ATTACKING
3.4. BEST BOWLING (WKTS)
3.5. 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. Asians Outside Asia
4.2.2. Unfavourable Conditions Rating
4.2.2.1. Asians In Asia
4.3. CONDITIONS RATING
5. SECONDARY CRITERIA
5.1. TOP FORM AT HOME
5.2. TOP FORM AWAY
5.3. WKTS/INN
5.4. IMPACT INNINGS
5.5. SECONDARY RATING
6. OVERALL RATING
7. TOP TEAMS
7.1. Top Teams In Asia
7.2. Top Teams Outside Asia
Nations Filter

The Nations Rating filters the OVERALL Rating to show players only from Pakistan.

  • The Rating of the players from Pakistan remains the same as in the original OVERALL Rating.
  • Thus the Trend Setter can be from any nation and is not necessarily from Pakistan.

THE CRITERIA

CRITERIA CONSTITUENTS
Primary Wickets, Average, Strike Rate, Top Inns
Conditions Home, Away, In Asia, Outside Asia
Secondary Top Form Home, Top Form Away, Wkts/Inn, 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.
Top Teams (TT)

Some sections consider performances only against the top teams. Here is some information about the 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.
  • A bowler’s performace is counted in TT if it comes in the specific condition and in the specific decade.

QUALIFICATION

Min Innings 50

PRIMARY CRITERIA

CRITERIA STAT POINTS
Prolific Wickets Taken 200.00
Consistent Average 400.00
Attacking Strike Rate 300.00
Best Bowling Top Bowling Performances 100.00

PROLIFIC

The Eras

The time period from 1950 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 2016
Era 3 MP greater than 2015

Criteria: Points For Wickets Taken

RANK ERA 1 NAT FP LP MP INNS WKTS RAT
TS N Kapil Dev IND 1978 1994 1986 227 434 160.00
1 Imran Khan PAK 1971 1991 1981 142 362 133.46
2 Sarfraz Nawaz PAK 1969 1984 1976.5 95 177 65.25
3 Fazal Mahmood PAK 1952 1962 1957 53 139 51.24
4 Asif Iqbal (PAK) PAK 1964 1979 1971.5 54 53 19.54
RANK ERA 2 NAT FP LP MP INNS WKTS RAT
TS JM Anderson ENG 2003 2024 2013.5 350 704 200.00
1 Wasim Akram PAK 1985 2002 1993.5 181 414 117.61
2 Waqar Younis PAK 1989 2003 1996 154 373 105.97
3 Shoaib Akhtar PAK 1997 2007 2002 82 178 50.57
4 Umar Gul PAK 2003 2013 2008 90 163 46.31
5 Mohammad Aamer PAK 2009 2019 2014 67 119 33.81
RANK ERA 3 NAT FP LP MP INNS WKTS RAT
TS TG Southee NZ 2008 2024 2016 197 385 150.00
1 Shaheen Shah Afridi PAK 2018 2024 2021 53 116 45.19

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 100

Against All Teams

RANK BOWLER INNS RUNS WKTS AVE R AVE RAT
TS JJ Bumrah 77 3559 173 20.57 19.18 200.00
1 Imran Khan 142 8258 362 22.81 21.76 176.31
2 Shoaib Akhtar 82 4574 178 25.70 23.12 165.88
3 Wasim Akram 181 9778 414 23.62 23.34 164.34
4 Waqar Younis 154 8788 373 23.56 23.44 163.65
5 Fazal Mahmood 53 3434 139 24.71 25.36 151.27
6 Shaheen Shah Afridi 53 3235 116 27.89 26.75 143.40
7 Asif Iqbal (PAK) 54 1502 53 28.34 28.44 134.86
8 Mohammad Aamer 67 3627 119 30.48 29.13 131.67
9 Sarfraz Nawaz 95 5798 177 32.76 30.09 127.46
10 Umar Gul 90 5553 163 34.07 30.66 125.09

Against Top Teams

RANK BOWLER INNS RUNS WKTS AVE R AVE RAT
TS J Garner 94 4444 227 19.58 20.16 200.00
1 Imran Khan 120 6925 292 23.72 22.62 178.30
2 Wasim Akram 130 7221 288 25.07 24.78 162.76
3 Shoaib Akhtar 63 3696 130 28.43 25.58 157.63
4 Fazal Mahmood 50 3342 134 24.94 25.60 157.54
5 Waqar Younis 99 5899 216 27.31 27.17 148.43
6 Asif Iqbal (PAK) 50 1457 52 28.02 28.12 143.40
7 Sarfraz Nawaz 79 4943 151 32.74 30.07 134.10
8 Mohammad Aamer 55 3097 95 32.60 31.16 129.42
9 Umar Gul 73 4475 125 35.80 32.22 125.15
10 Shaheen Shah Afridi 33 2346 64 36.66 35.16 114.70

ATTACKING

R SR

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

Criteria: Points For R SR or Balls/Wkt

Min Qualification For TS
Min Wickets 100
RANK BOWLER INNS BALLS WKTS SR R SR RAT
TS K Rabada 120 12057 313 38.52 43.54 300.00
1 Waqar Younis 154 16224 373 43.50 43.78 298.39
2 Shoaib Akhtar 82 8143 178 45.75 43.88 297.65
3 Imran Khan 142 19458 362 53.75 49.85 262.01
4 Wasim Akram 181 22627 414 54.65 53.88 242.44
5 Shaheen Shah Afridi 53 6162 116 53.12 55.10 237.06
6 Umar Gul 90 9599 163 58.89 58.07 224.93
7 Fazal Mahmood 53 9834 139 70.75 60.17 217.09
8 Asif Iqbal (PAK) 54 3864 53 72.91 62.26 209.80
9 Mohammad Aamer 67 7619 119 64.03 66.79 195.57
10 Sarfraz Nawaz 95 13951 177 78.82 67.91 192.35

BEST BOWLING (WKTS)

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.

Criteria: Points For Wkts Taken In Top 7 Inns

RANK BOWLER 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 AVE WT RAT
TS N Kapil Dev 9/83 8/85 8/106 7/56 7/220 6/63 6/77 7.29 100.00
1 Imran Khan 8/58 8/60 7/40 7/52 7/80 6/35 6/46 7.00 96.08
2 Waqar Younis 7/76 7/86 7/91 6/34 6/44 6/55 6/78 6.43 88.24
3 Fazal Mahmood 7/42 7/80 6/34 6/34 6/46 6/53 6/66 6.29 86.27
4 Wasim Akram 7/119 6/43 6/48 6/61 6/62 6/67 6/91 6.14 84.31
5 Shoaib Akhtar 6/11 6/30 6/50 5/21 5/24 5/43 5/48 5.43 74.51
6 Sarfraz Nawaz 9/86 6/89 5/39 5/70 4/42 4/46 4/49 5.29 72.55
7 Mohammad Aamer 6/44 6/84 5/52 5/79 4/36 4/62 4/72 4.86 66.67
8 Umar Gul 6/135 5/31 5/65 5/123 4/43 4/46 4/58 4.71 64.71
8 Shaheen Shah Afridi 6/51 5/32 5/52 5/77 4/43 4/43 4/50 4.71 64.71
10 Asif Iqbal (PAK) 5/48 5/52 4/46 3/35 3/37 3/52 3/66 3.71 50.98

PRIMARY RATING

The total of the above four criteria comes out to be 1,000.00 points. The Primary Rating is the addition of the points a bowler scored in the four criteria. The Weightage of the Rating is half of the OVERALL Rating, i.e. 500 pts.

RANK BOWLER PRO CON ATT BBW RAT PRI PTS
1 Imran Khan 133.46 354.60 262.01 96.08 846.15 423.07
2 Waqar Younis 105.97 312.08 298.39 88.24 804.67 402.34
3 Wasim Akram 117.61 327.10 242.44 84.31 771.47 385.73
4 Shoaib Akhtar 50.57 323.51 297.65 74.51 746.24 373.12
5 Fazal Mahmood 51.24 308.82 217.09 86.27 663.43 331.72
6 Shaheen Shah Afridi 45.19 258.10 237.06 64.71 605.05 302.53
7 Sarfraz Nawaz 65.25 261.56 192.35 72.55 591.71 295.86
8 Umar Gul 46.31 250.24 224.93 64.71 586.18 293.09
9 Asif Iqbal (PAK) 19.54 278.26 209.80 50.98 558.59 279.29
10 Mohammad Aamer 33.81 261.09 195.57 66.67 557.14 278.57

CONDITIONS CRITERIA

The Conditions

The Conditions Ratings are calculated by applying the four criteria of the Primary Rating to diffirent conditions. If Innings are less than the Qualification than the Player gets 50% of the Points. Click on the Ratings to see how they were calculated.

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

CRITERIA POINTS
Home 250.00
Away 1,000.00
Favourable Conditions 250.00
Unfavourable Conditions 1,000.00

HOME/AWAY

HOME/AWAY RATING

Points to note:-

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

At Home

Min Innings: 20

RANK BOWLER INNS WKTS AVE SR RAT WTG
1 Imran Khan 59 163 19.21 47.07 810.16 202.54
2 Waqar Younis 66 174 20.48 38.82 687.95 171.99
3 Wasim Akram 70 154 22.22 51.12 616.90 154.23
4 Fazal Mahmood 23 65 18.14 60.11 611.35 152.84
5 Shoaib Akhtar 42 94 25.72 46.05 599.23 149.81
6 Umar Gul 36 81 28.86 51.56 566.75 141.69
7 Mohammad Aamer 7 7 56.43 118.57 500.00 125.00
7 Asif Iqbal (PAK) 19 10 38.10 94.90 500.00 125.00
7 Shaheen Shah Afridi 19 35 33.06 63.09 500.00 125.00
10 Sarfraz Nawaz 45 81 33.17 80.17 497.40 124.35

Away From Home

Min Innings: 20

RANK BOWLER INNS WKTS AVE SR RAT WTG
1 Wasim Akram 111 260 24.45 56.75 806.87 806.87
2 Waqar Younis 88 199 26.25 47.59 777.28 777.28
3 Imran Khan 83 199 25.76 59.22 764.61 764.61
4 Shoaib Akhtar 40 84 25.67 45.40 751.18 751.18
5 Shaheen Shah Afridi 34 81 25.65 48.81 636.76 636.76
6 Fazal Mahmood 30 74 30.47 80.09 604.49 604.49
7 Mohammad Aamer 60 112 28.86 60.62 603.91 603.91
8 Asif Iqbal (PAK) 35 43 26.07 67.79 570.19 570.19
9 Sarfraz Nawaz 50 96 32.41 77.68 568.96 568.96
10 Umar Gul 54 82 39.21 66.13 509.05 509.05

FAVOURABLE/UNFAVOURABLE CONDITIONS

Favourable/Unfavourable Conditions 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

Asians Outside Asia

Min Innings: 10

RANK BOWLER INNS WKTS AVE SR RAT WTG
1 Wasim Akram 79 198 24.81 57.09 847.24 211.81
2 Imran Khan 62 157 26.11 60.10 821.02 205.25
3 Waqar Younis 69 158 27.53 50.66 759.20 189.80
4 Mohammad Aamer 54 106 28.03 59.52 630.16 157.54
5 Sarfraz Nawaz 50 96 32.41 77.68 605.16 151.29
6 Shoaib Akhtar 26 53 29.11 48.53 600.30 150.08
7 Shaheen Shah Afridi 24 61 26.87 50.84 594.13 148.53
8 Fazal Mahmood 17 45 33.42 79.78 535.48 133.87
9 Asif Iqbal (PAK) 31 41 25.59 65.78 524.13 131.03
10 Umar Gul 36 65 34.78 59.71 505.70 126.42

Unfavourable Conditions Rating

Asians In Asia

Min Innings: 20

RANK BOWLER INNS WKTS AVE SR RAT WTG
1 Imran Khan 80 205 20.28 48.89 821.15 821.15
2 Waqar Younis 85 215 20.64 38.23 799.34 799.34
3 Wasim Akram 102 216 22.53 52.43 734.05 734.05
4 Shoaib Akhtar 56 125 24.25 44.57 701.66 701.66
5 Fazal Mahmood 36 94 20.53 66.43 630.13 630.13
6 Umar Gul 54 98 33.59 58.35 546.55 546.55
7 Shaheen Shah Afridi 29 55 29.02 55.65 535.00 535.00
8 Sarfraz Nawaz 45 81 33.17 80.17 507.77 507.77
9 Mohammad Aamer 13 13 50.46 100.77 500.00 500.00
10 Asif Iqbal (PAK) 23 12 37.75 97.25 352.91 352.91

CONDITIONS RATING

The total of the above four criteria comes out to be 2,500.00 points. The Conditions Rating is the addition of the points a bowler scored in the four criteria. The Weightage of the Rating is one-fourth of the OVERALL Rating, i.e. 250 pts.

RANK BOWLER AWAY HOME UC FC TOT CON PTS
1 Imran Khan 764.61 202.54 821.15 205.25 1,993.55 199.36
2 Waqar Younis 777.28 171.99 799.34 189.80 1,938.41 193.84
3 Wasim Akram 806.87 154.23 734.05 211.81 1,906.95 190.70
4 Shoaib Akhtar 751.18 149.81 701.66 150.08 1,752.73 175.27
5 Fazal Mahmood 604.49 152.84 630.13 133.87 1,521.32 152.13
6 Shaheen Shah Afridi 636.76 125.00 535.00 148.53 1,445.29 144.53
7 Mohammad Aamer 603.91 125.00 500.00 157.54 1,386.45 138.64
8 Sarfraz Nawaz 568.96 124.35 507.77 151.29 1,352.37 135.24
9 Umar Gul 509.05 141.69 546.55 126.42 1,323.71 132.37
10 Asif Iqbal (PAK) 570.19 125.00 352.91 131.03 1,179.13 117.91

SECONDARY CRITERIA

The Secondary Rating consists of four parts. If Innings are less than the Qualification than the Player gets 50% of the Points. Click on the Rating Titles to see how they were calculated.

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

CRITERIA POINTS
Top Form Home 200.00
Top Form Away 800.00
Wkts Per Inn 500.00
Impact Innings 1,000.00
TOP FORM RATING

Points to note about Top Form Rating:-

  • Top Form is calculated by taking the best 30 consecutive innings of a bowler.
  • There are two TF Ratings used in our OVERALL Rating: Home and Away.

TOP FORM AT HOME

Min Innings: 10

RANK BOWLER INNS WKTS AVE SR RAT WTG
1 Imran Khan 30 107 13.12 35.77 1,000.00 200.00
2 Waqar Younis 30 105 17.19 33.78 858.89 171.78
3 Shoaib Akhtar 30 82 21.74 39.21 736.92 147.38
4 Wasim Akram 30 84 17.98 39.71 735.84 147.17
5 Fazal Mahmood 23 65 18.14 60.11 640.00 128.00
6 Umar Gul 30 72 28.38 51.17 621.60 124.32
7 Sarfraz Nawaz 30 58 30.52 73.00 544.31 108.86
8 Mohammad Aamer 7 7 56.43 118.57 500.00 100.00
9 Shaheen Shah Afridi 19 35 33.06 63.09 430.88 86.18
10 Asif Iqbal (PAK) 19 10 38.10 94.90 263.61 52.72

TOP FORM AWAY

Min Innings: 10

RANK BOWLER INNS WKTS AVE SR RAT WTG
1 Wasim Akram 30 96 19.35 44.10 836.11 668.89
2 Waqar Younis 30 90 20.94 37.64 812.28 649.83
3 Imran Khan 30 85 20.95 48.32 782.21 625.77
4 Shoaib Akhtar 30 75 22.71 39.52 763.28 610.63
5 Shaheen Shah Afridi 30 73 23.90 46.00 666.42 533.14
6 Fazal Mahmood 30 74 30.47 80.09 639.53 511.63
7 Mohammad Aamer 30 64 25.98 57.66 608.06 486.45
8 Sarfraz Nawaz 30 64 29.38 70.88 579.59 463.67
9 Umar Gul 30 53 33.42 56.02 532.35 425.88
10 Asif Iqbal (PAK) 30 40 23.43 64.18 527.35 421.88

WKTS/INN

WKTS/INN RATING

Points to note:-

  • This rating gives points for wkts taken per inn.
  • All Teams, Top Teams and Top 7 Batsmen are the criteria used.

Min Innings: 50

RANK BOWLER INNS WKTS WKTS/INN RAT WTG
1 Fazal Mahmood 53 139 2.62 956.84 478.42
2 Imran Khan 142 362 2.55 871.05 435.53
3 Waqar Younis 154 373 2.42 813.62 406.81
4 Shaheen Shah Afridi 53 116 2.19 746.57 373.29
5 Wasim Akram 181 414 2.29 746.25 373.13
6 Shoaib Akhtar 82 178 2.17 741.21 370.61
7 Sarfraz Nawaz 95 177 1.86 652.68 326.34
8 Mohammad Aamer 67 119 1.78 643.70 321.85
9 Umar Gul 90 163 1.81 627.65 313.82
10 Asif Iqbal (PAK) 54 53 0.98 370.53 185.27

IMPACT INNINGS

Impact Innings (II)

Impact Innings are those innings which have an impact either in terms of wickets or strike 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 5.
  • A Bowler equal to or more wickets than 3 at a good AVE or SR.
  • 1st and 2nd; and 3rd and 4th inns are clubbed together.
  • The AVE should be less than 80% of the AVE of the better innings or
  • The SR should be less than 80% of the SR of the better innings.

Min Innings: 50

RANK BOWLER INNS II II Perc RAT WTG
1 Waqar Younis 154 59 38.31 813.34 813.34
2 Imran Khan 142 50 35.21 786.96 786.96
3 Shoaib Akhtar 82 27 32.93 723.96 723.96
4 Wasim Akram 181 50 27.62 649.26 649.26
5 Fazal Mahmood 53 14 26.42 528.73 528.73
6 Sarfraz Nawaz 95 22 23.16 505.10 505.10
7 Shaheen Shah Afridi 53 12 22.64 402.52 402.52
8 Umar Gul 90 15 16.67 336.12 336.12
9 Mohammad Aamer 67 10 14.93 314.67 314.67
10 Asif Iqbal (PAK) 54 7 12.96 311.51 311.51

SECONDARY RATING

The total of the above three criteria comes out to be 2,500.00 points. The Conditions Rating is the addition of the points a bowler scored in the three criteria. The Weightage of the Rating is one-fourth of the OVERALL Rating, i.e. 250 pts.

RANK BOWLER TF HM TF AW WPI II TOT SEC RAT
1 Imran Khan 200.00 625.77 435.53 786.96 2,048.26 204.83
2 Waqar Younis 171.78 649.83 406.81 813.34 2,041.76 204.18
3 Shoaib Akhtar 147.38 610.63 370.61 723.96 1,852.58 185.26
4 Wasim Akram 147.17 668.89 373.13 649.26 1,838.45 183.84
5 Fazal Mahmood 128.00 511.63 478.42 528.73 1,646.77 164.68
6 Sarfraz Nawaz 108.86 463.67 326.34 505.10 1,403.98 140.40
7 Shaheen Shah Afridi 86.18 533.14 373.29 402.52 1,395.12 139.51
8 Mohammad Aamer 100.00 486.45 321.85 314.67 1,222.97 122.30
9 Umar Gul 124.32 425.88 313.82 336.12 1,200.15 120.02
10 Asif Iqbal (PAK) 52.72 421.88 185.27 311.51 971.38 97.14

OVERALL RATING

OVERALL Rating is the addition of the points of all the above criteria. The rating is out of 1,000 Pts. Half the points are for Primary Criteria; one-fourth for Conditions; and one-fourth for Secondary Criteria.

RANK OV RANK BOWLER NAT PRI RAT CON RAT SEC RAT FIN RAT
1 5 Imran Khan PAK 423.07 199.36 204.83 827.26
2 6 Waqar Younis PAK 402.34 193.84 204.18 800.35
3 15 Wasim Akram PAK 385.73 190.70 183.84 760.27
4 20 Shoaib Akhtar PAK 373.12 175.27 185.26 733.65
5 50 Fazal Mahmood PAK 331.72 152.13 164.68 648.53
6 72 Shaheen Shah Afridi PAK 302.53 144.53 139.51 586.57
7 77 Sarfraz Nawaz PAK 295.86 135.24 140.40 571.49
8 92 Umar Gul PAK 293.09 132.37 120.02 545.48
9 95 Mohammad Aamer PAK 278.57 138.64 122.30 539.51
10 122 Asif Iqbal (PAK) PAK 279.29 117.91 97.14 494.34

TOP TEAMS

Top Teams In Asia

DECADE OF MAT 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
1950s AUS WI PAK IND ENG
1960s WI AUS PAK IND NZ ENG SA
1970s PAK ENG IND WI SA AUS
1980s PAK WI ENG NZ IND AUS
1990s IND PAK SA AUS SL WI
2000s AUS SL IND PAK SA ENG
2010s IND PAK SL ENG NZ SA AUS
2020s IND SL PAK AUS NZ ENG

Top Teams Outside Asia

DECADE OF MAT 1 2 3 4 5
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
FULL RATING WITH ALL NATIONS

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