All Test Ratings on the website are from 01/01/1950 onwards (Know Why). They are updated till 2026-02-05. Brief explanation of the ratings is given before each section (Detailed Explanation) and at the end. So, here are the Top 7 Sri Lankan Fast bowlers in Test Cricket since 1950.

CONTENTS

3. PRIMARY CRITERIA

3.1. PROLIFIC

3.2. CONSISTENT

3.2.1. Against All Teams

3.2.2. Against Top Teams

3.3. ATTACKING

3.3.1. Against All Teams

3.3.2. Against Top Teams

3.4. BEST BOWLING (WKTS)

3.4.1. Against All Teams

3.4.2. Against Top Teams

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. WKTS/INN

5.2. TOP FORM

5.3. IMPACT INNINGS

5.4. SECONDARY RATING

6. OVERALL RATING

6.1. BRIEF EXPLANATION

6.1.1. Dynamic Nature

6.1.2. Trend Setter (TS)

6.1.3. Top Teams (TT)

6.1.4. Abbreviations

Nations Filter

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

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

THE CRITERIA

CRITERIA	CONSTITUENTS
Primary	Wickets, Average, Strike Rate, Top Inns
Conditions	Home, Away, In Asia, Outside Asia
Secondary	Wkts Per Inn, Top Form, Impact Inns

QUALIFICATION

Min Innings (TT)	25
Min Career Wkts	50

PRIMARY CRITERIA

CRITERIA	STAT	POINTS
Prolific	Wickets Taken	250.00
Consistent	Average	300.00
Attacking	Strike Rate	300.00
Best Bowling	Top Bowling Performances	150.00

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 1976
Era 2	MP between 1975 And 1996
Era 3	MP between 1995 And 2016
Era 4	MP greater than 2015

Criteria: Points For Wickets Taken

RANK	ERA 1	NAT	FP	LP	MP	INNS	WKTS	RAT
TS	FS Trueman	ENG	1952	1965	1958.5	127	307	220.00

RANK	ERA 2	NAT	FP	LP	MP	INNS	WKTS	RAT
TS	CA Walsh	WI	1984	2001	1992.5	242	519	240.00

RANK	ERA 3	NAT	FP	LP	MP	INNS	WKTS	RAT
TS	JM Anderson	ENG	2003	2024	2013.5	350	704	250.00
1	WPUJC Vaas	SL	1994	2009	2001.5	194	355	126.07
2	SL Malinga	SL	2004	2010	2007	59	101	35.87
3	KTGD Prasad	SL	2008	2015	2011.5	44	75	26.63

RANK	ERA 4	NAT	FP	LP	MP	INNS	WKTS	RAT
TS	MA Starc	AUS	2011	2026	2018.5	202	433	230.00
1	RAS Lakmal	SL	2010	2022	2016	122	171	90.83
2	CBRLS Kumara	SL	2016	2025	2020.5	57	104	55.24
3	MVT Fernando	SL	2016	2025	2020.5	49	81	43.03
4	AM Fernando	SL	2021	2025	2023	41	80	42.49

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	75
Min Wickets (TT)	60

Against All Teams

RANK	BOWLER	INNS	RUNS	WKTS	AVE	R AVE	RAT
TS	JJ Bumrah	99	4631	234	19.79	19.33	120.00
1	WPUJC Vaas	194	10501	355	29.58	26.79	86.55
2	AM Fernando	41	2187	80	27.34	27.49	84.37
3	KTGD Prasad	44	2698	75	35.97	30.08	77.09
4	SL Malinga	59	3349	101	33.16	30.60	75.78
5	RAS Lakmal	122	6233	171	36.45	31.41	73.82
6	MVT Fernando	49	2595	81	32.04	31.55	73.50
7	CBRLS Kumara	57	3749	104	36.05	34.49	67.23

Against Top Teams

RANK	BOWLER	INNS	RUNS	WKTS	AVE	R AVE	RAT
TS	JJ Bumrah	83	4138	193	21.44	20.10	180.00
1	WPUJC Vaas	117	6578	192	34.26	28.43	127.22
2	KTGD Prasad	33	2102	59	35.63	28.80	125.62
3	MVT Fernando	27	1629	48	33.94	30.05	120.38
4	SL Malinga	37	2308	60	38.47	31.46	114.98
5	AM Fernando	26	1466	44	33.32	31.53	114.74
6	RAS Lakmal	74	4188	99	42.30	33.14	109.15
7	CBRLS Kumara	29	2237	57	39.25	34.03	106.31

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	75
Min Wickets (TT)	60

Against All Teams

RANK	BOWLER	INNS	BLS	WKTS	SR	R SR	RAT
TS	M Jansen	38	3408	89	38.29	42.71	120.00
1	AM Fernando	41	3721	80	46.51	51.40	99.72
2	SL Malinga	59	5215	101	51.63	51.70	99.15
3	KTGD Prasad	44	4327	75	57.69	53.32	96.13
4	CBRLS Kumara	57	5810	104	55.87	56.86	90.14
5	MVT Fernando	49	4422	81	54.59	58.80	87.17
6	WPUJC Vaas	194	23438	355	66.02	60.27	85.04
7	RAS Lakmal	122	12443	171	72.77	67.77	75.63

Against Top Teams

RANK	BOWLER	INNS	BLS	WKTS	SR	R SR	RAT
TS	M Jansen	28	2507	62	40.44	42.78	180.00
1	KTGD Prasad	33	3412	59	57.83	51.33	150.00
2	MVT Fernando	27	2531	48	52.73	52.46	146.79
3	CBRLS Kumara	29	3096	57	54.32	52.97	145.35
4	SL Malinga	37	3615	60	60.25	54.24	141.97
5	AM Fernando	26	2302	44	52.32	54.56	141.13
6	WPUJC Vaas	117	14336	192	74.67	63.53	121.19
7	RAS Lakmal	74	7831	99	79.10	68.69	112.09

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

Against All Teams

RANK	BOWLER	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	BBW	RAT
TS	N Kapil Dev	9/83	8/85	8/106	7/56	7/220	6/63	6/77	7.29	50.00
1	WPUJC Vaas	7/71	7/120	6/22	6/29	6/73	6/87	6/108	6.29	43.14
2	RAS Lakmal	5/47	5/54	5/63	5/75	4/26	4/27	4/29	4.57	31.37
3	SL Malinga	5/50	5/68	5/80	4/25	4/42	4/57	4/71	4.43	30.39
3	AM Fernando	6/51	5/102	4/34	4/85	4/86	4/93	4/103	4.43	30.39
5	CBRLS Kumara	6/122	4/21	4/49	4/50	4/58	4/79	4/86	4.29	29.41
6	KTGD Prasad	5/50	4/34	4/43	4/69	4/92	4/100	3/43	4.00	27.45
6	MVT Fernando	5/101	4/48	4/51	4/62	4/71	4/96	3/36	4.00	27.45

Against Top Teams

RANK	BOWLER	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	BBW	RAT
TS	N Kapil Dev	9/83	8/85	8/106	7/56	7/220	6/63	6/77	7.29	100.00
1	WPUJC Vaas	6/29	6/73	6/108	5/31	5/99	4/20	4/28	5.14	70.59
2	RAS Lakmal	5/54	5/63	5/75	4/26	4/39	4/69	4/78	4.43	60.78
3	CBRLS Kumara	6/122	4/21	4/49	4/79	4/107	4/127	3/49	4.14	56.86
4	SL Malinga	5/50	5/80	4/42	4/130	4/149	3/30	3/54	4.00	54.90
5	KTGD Prasad	5/50	4/43	4/69	4/92	4/100	3/43	3/78	3.86	52.94
6	MVT Fernando	5/101	4/62	4/71	3/40	3/62	3/126	3/129	3.57	49.02
6	AM Fernando	5/102	4/85	4/103	3/44	3/52	3/63	3/102	3.57	49.02

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 40%.

RANK	BOWLER	PRO	CON	ATT	BBW	RAT	PRI PTS
1	WPUJC Vaas	126.07	213.77	85.04	113.73	659.79	263.92
2	AM Fernando	42.49	199.11	99.72	79.41	561.86	224.75
3	KTGD Prasad	26.63	202.71	96.13	80.39	555.86	222.34
4	RAS Lakmal	90.83	182.97	75.63	92.16	553.67	221.47
5	SL Malinga	35.87	190.76	99.15	85.29	553.04	221.21
6	CBRLS Kumara	55.24	173.54	90.14	86.27	550.55	220.22
7	MVT Fernando	43.03	193.89	87.17	76.47	547.34	218.94

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	30.00
Away	120.00
Favourable Conditions	30.00
Unfavourable Conditions	120.00

HOME/AWAY

HM/AW 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 Vs Top Teams: 10

RANK	BOWLER	INNS	WKTS	AVE	SR	RAT	WTG
1	WPUJC Vaas	102	180	26.33	60.77	601.00	18.03
2	KTGD Prasad	27	51	30.65	52.24	534.83	16.05
3	MVT Fernando	15	20	30.40	56.70	500.00	15.00
3	CBRLS Kumara	14	12	72.08	105.42	500.00	15.00
5	SL Malinga	34	51	32.98	50.90	458.31	13.75
6	AM Fernando	21	29	29.83	53.41	389.81	11.69
7	RAS Lakmal	44	38	47.55	91.16	360.93	10.83

Away From Home

Min Innings Vs Top Teams: 10

RANK	BOWLER	INNS	WKTS	AVE	SR	RAT	WTG
1	RAS Lakmal	78	133	33.28	67.51	619.62	74.35
2	WPUJC Vaas	92	175	32.93	71.43	611.33	73.36
3	CBRLS Kumara	43	92	31.35	49.40	610.56	73.27
4	AM Fernando	20	51	25.92	42.59	556.54	66.78
5	MVT Fernando	34	61	32.57	53.90	544.02	65.28
6	SL Malinga	25	50	33.34	52.38	526.91	63.23
7	KTGD Prasad	17	24	47.29	69.29	408.81	49.06

FAVOURABLE/UNFAVOURABLE CONDITIONS

FC/UC 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 Vs All Teams: 7

RANK	BOWLER	INNS	WKTS	AVE	SR	RAT	WTG
1	WPUJC Vaas	62	119	32.95	71.98	656.62	19.70
2	RAS Lakmal	49	91	31.74	65.18	598.93	17.97
3	CBRLS Kumara	33	73	32.38	50.58	573.95	17.22
4	SL Malinga	17	36	33.50	52.08	564.57	16.94
5	MVT Fernando	23	46	30.39	51.46	508.58	15.26
6	AM Fernando	15	34	29.71	47.09	505.19	15.16
7	KTGD Prasad	10	15	44.73	65.93	369.02	11.07

Unfavourable Conditions Rating

Asians In Asia

Min Innings Vs Top Teams: 15

RANK	BOWLER	INNS	WKTS	AVE	SR	RAT	WTG
1	WPUJC Vaas	132	236	27.88	63.02	782.76	93.93
2	KTGD Prasad	34	60	33.78	55.63	597.72	71.73
3	RAS Lakmal	73	80	41.81	81.40	561.39	67.37
4	SL Malinga	42	65	32.97	51.38	535.25	64.23
5	MVT Fernando	26	35	34.20	58.71	500.00	60.00
5	CBRLS Kumara	24	31	44.68	68.32	500.00	60.00
5	AM Fernando	26	46	25.59	46.09	500.00	60.00

CONDITIONS RATING

The Conditions Rating is the addition of the points a bowler scored in the four criteria. The Weightage of the Rating is 30%.

RANK	BOWLER	AWAY	HOME	UC	FC	CON PTS
1	WPUJC Vaas	611.33	150.25	782.76	164.16	205.02
2	RAS Lakmal	619.62	90.23	561.39	149.73	170.52
3	CBRLS Kumara	610.56	125.00	500.00	143.49	165.49
4	SL Malinga	526.91	114.58	535.25	141.14	158.15
5	MVT Fernando	544.02	125.00	500.00	127.15	155.54
6	AM Fernando	556.54	97.45	500.00	126.30	153.63
7	KTGD Prasad	408.81	133.71	597.72	92.26	147.90

SECONDARY CRITERIA

The Secondary Rating consists of three 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 three secondary criteria and thier weightage is as follows:-

CRITERIA	POINTS
Wickets Per Inn	50.00
Top Form	100.00
Impact Innings	150.00

WKTS/INN

WPI RATING

Points to note about WPI Rating:-

It gives points for three criteria.
The number of wkts per inn overall and aganst Top Teams.
The number of bowled victims per inn.
The number of top 7 batsmen dismissed per inn.

Min Innings Vs Top Teams: 25

RANK	BOWLER	INNS	WKTS	W/I	RAT	WTG
1	AM Fernando	41	80	1.95	627.68	31.38
2	KTGD Prasad	44	75	1.70	608.78	30.44
3	SL Malinga	59	101	1.71	562.07	28.10
4	CBRLS Kumara	57	104	1.82	554.91	27.75
5	MVT Fernando	49	81	1.65	549.63	27.48
6	WPUJC Vaas	194	355	1.83	513.48	25.67
7	RAS Lakmal	122	171	1.40	457.51	22.88

TOP FORM

TF RATING

Points to note about TF 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.

Min Innings Vs Top Teams: 20

RANK	BOWLER	INNS	WKTS	AVE	SR	RAT	WTG
1	WPUJC Vaas	50	100	27.96	61.93	680.93	68.09
2	KTGD Prasad	33	59	35.63	57.83	557.48	55.75
3	RAS Lakmal	50	74	36.77	71.26	555.23	55.52
4	CBRLS Kumara	29	57	39.25	54.32	525.28	52.53
5	SL Malinga	37	60	38.47	60.25	517.93	51.79
6	MVT Fernando	27	48	33.94	52.73	501.84	50.18
7	AM Fernando	26	44	33.32	52.32	490.97	49.10

IMPACT INNINGS

II RATING

Impact Innings (II) 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 equal to or more wickets than 2 at a good AVE or SR.
The required AVE or SR increases as the number of wickets taken increases.

Min Innings Vs Top Teams: 25

RANK	BOWLER	INNS	II	II Perc	RAT	WTG
1	WPUJC Vaas	194	74	38.14	566.95	85.04
2	AM Fernando	41	18	43.90	553.48	83.02
3	MVT Fernando	49	19	38.78	506.70	76.00
4	CBRLS Kumara	57	19	33.33	477.27	71.59
5	RAS Lakmal	122	35	28.69	452.46	67.87
6	SL Malinga	59	20	33.90	414.00	62.10
7	KTGD Prasad	44	15	34.09	388.16	58.22

SECONDARY RATING

The Secondary Rating is the addition of the points a bowler scored in the three criteria. The Weightage of the Rating is 30%.

RANK	BOWLER	TF	WPI	II	SEC RAT
1	WPUJC Vaas	68.09	25.67	85.04	178.81
2	AM Fernando	49.10	31.38	83.02	163.50
3	MVT Fernando	50.18	27.48	76.00	153.67
4	CBRLS Kumara	52.53	27.75	71.59	151.86
5	RAS Lakmal	55.52	22.88	67.87	146.27
6	KTGD Prasad	55.75	30.44	58.22	144.41
7	SL Malinga	51.79	28.10	62.10	142.00

OVERALL RATING

OVERALL Rating is the addition of the points of all the above criteria. The rating is out of 1,000 Pts.

RANK	OV RANK	BOWLER	NAT	PRI RAT	CON RAT	SEC RAT	FIN RAT
1	52	WPUJC Vaas	SL	263.92	205.02	178.81	647.75
2	108	AM Fernando	SL	224.75	153.63	163.50	541.88
3	114	RAS Lakmal	SL	221.47	170.52	146.27	538.25
4	115	CBRLS Kumara	SL	220.22	165.49	151.86	537.57
5	120	MVT Fernando	SL	218.94	155.54	153.67	528.15
6	121	SL Malinga	SL	221.21	158.15	142.00	521.36
7	128	KTGD Prasad	SL	222.34	147.90	144.41	514.65

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)

TS is the player who does the best in a criteria.
The rating of all other players are calculated taking the TS as the benchmark. Example:-
TS Bowling 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.
Know All About the Trend Setter

Top Teams (TT)

An opposition is counted as a TT considering its Win/Loss (WL) Ratios in last 7 years.
Home, Away, In Asia, Outside Asia and Overall WL Ratio is considered.
The WL Ratio should be more than a certain value overall or in specific conditions.