Best Sri Lankan Fast Bowlers In Tests Featured

Top 7 Sri Lankan 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 7 Sri Lankan Fast bowlers in Test Cricket since 1950.

*Note: All Test Ratings are updated till 2026-02-05

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. IMPACT INNINGS
5.4. 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 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 Top Form Home, Top Form Away, 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 (TT) 30
Min Career Wkts 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
RANK ERA 2 NAT FP LP MP INNS WKTS RAT
TS JM Anderson ENG 2003 2024 2013.5 350 704 200.00
1 WPUJC Vaas SL 1994 2009 2001.5 194 355 100.85
2 SL Malinga SL 2004 2010 2007 59 101 28.69
3 CRD Fernando SL 2000 2012 2006 68 100 28.41
4 GP Wickramasinghe SL 1991 2001 1996 63 85 24.15
5 KTGD Prasad SL 2008 2015 2011.5 44 75 21.31
6 DNT Zoysa SL 1997 2004 2000.5 51 64 18.18
RANK ERA 3 NAT FP LP MP INNS WKTS RAT
TS MA Starc AUS 2011 2026 2018.5 202 433 160.00
1 RAS Lakmal SL 2010 2022 2016 122 171 63.19

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 99 4631 234 19.79 19.61 200.00
1 WPUJC Vaas 194 10501 355 29.58 25.82 151.89
2 DNT Zoysa 51 2157 64 33.70 29.34 133.68
3 SL Malinga 59 3349 101 33.16 30.11 130.26
4 KTGD Prasad 44 2698 75 35.97 30.98 126.60
5 RAS Lakmal 122 6233 171 36.45 32.79 119.61
6 CRD Fernando 68 3784 100 37.84 33.59 116.77
7 GP Wickramasinghe 63 3559 85 41.87 35.13 111.65

Against Top Teams

RANK BOWLER INNS RUNS WKTS AVE R AVE RAT
TS GD McGrath 184 9519 436 21.83 20.40 200.00
1 WPUJC Vaas 127 7200 205 35.12 28.22 144.59
2 SL Malinga 41 2516 69 36.46 29.90 136.46
3 KTGD Prasad 35 2181 60 36.35 30.74 132.72
4 GP Wickramasinghe 45 2786 65 42.86 33.73 120.98
5 DNT Zoysa 34 1470 34 43.24 34.86 117.06
6 RAS Lakmal 76 4294 102 42.10 35.40 115.24
7 CRD Fernando 52 3172 71 44.68 36.96 110.40

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 DW Steyn 171 18608 439 42.39 44.21 300.00
1 SL Malinga 59 5215 101 51.63 52.17 254.27
2 KTGD Prasad 44 4327 75 57.69 53.48 248.02
3 CRD Fernando 68 6181 100 61.81 60.34 219.84
4 WPUJC Vaas 194 23438 355 66.02 60.83 218.05
5 DNT Zoysa 51 4422 64 69.09 63.94 207.46
6 RAS Lakmal 122 12443 171 72.77 70.42 188.35
7 GP Wickramasinghe 63 7260 85 85.41 70.89 187.12

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 WPUJC Vaas 7/71 7/120 6/22 6/29 6/73 6/87 6/108 6.29 86.27
2 RAS Lakmal 5/47 5/54 5/63 5/75 4/26 4/27 4/29 4.57 62.75
3 GP Wickramasinghe 6/60 6/103 5/73 4/37 4/55 3/33 3/75 4.43 60.78
3 SL Malinga 5/50 5/68 5/80 4/25 4/42 4/57 4/71 4.43 60.78
5 CRD Fernando 5/42 5/60 5/98 4/48 4/49 4/77 3/27 4.29 58.82
6 KTGD Prasad 5/50 4/34 4/43 4/69 4/92 4/100 3/43 4.00 54.90
7 DNT Zoysa 5/20 4/54 4/76 3/22 3/38 3/47 3/53 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 100.85 296.48 218.05 86.27 701.65 280.66
2 SL Malinga 28.69 266.72 254.27 60.78 610.47 244.19
3 KTGD Prasad 21.31 259.32 248.02 54.90 583.55 233.42
4 RAS Lakmal 63.19 234.85 188.35 62.75 549.14 219.65
5 CRD Fernando 28.41 227.16 219.84 58.82 534.24 213.69
6 DNT Zoysa 18.18 250.74 207.46 49.02 525.40 210.16
7 GP Wickramasinghe 24.15 232.62 187.12 60.78 504.67 201.87

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: 15

RANK BOWLER INNS WKTS AVE SR RAT WTG
1 WPUJC Vaas 102 180 26.33 60.77 677.26 20.32
2 KTGD Prasad 27 51 30.65 52.24 619.50 18.58
3 CRD Fernando 35 50 30.28 54.14 549.33 16.48
4 SL Malinga 34 51 32.98 50.90 536.82 16.10
5 GP Wickramasinghe 17 18 46.94 88.83 500.00 15.00
6 DNT Zoysa 25 23 36.52 73.96 468.60 14.06
7 RAS Lakmal 44 38 47.55 91.16 386.46 11.59

Away From Home

Min Innings Vs Top Teams: 15

RANK BOWLER INNS WKTS AVE SR RAT WTG
1 WPUJC Vaas 92 175 32.93 71.43 646.10 77.53
2 RAS Lakmal 78 133 33.28 67.51 607.24 72.87
3 SL Malinga 25 50 33.34 52.38 601.75 72.21
4 GP Wickramasinghe 46 67 40.51 84.49 524.23 62.91
5 DNT Zoysa 26 41 32.12 66.37 499.18 59.90
6 CRD Fernando 33 50 45.40 69.48 458.29 55.00
7 KTGD Prasad 17 24 47.29 69.29 421.85 50.62

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: 10

RANK BOWLER INNS WKTS AVE SR RAT WTG
1 WPUJC Vaas 62 119 32.95 71.98 629.81 18.89
2 RAS Lakmal 49 91 31.74 65.18 582.68 17.48
3 SL Malinga 17 36 33.50 52.08 575.27 17.26
4 DNT Zoysa 22 36 31.47 64.08 499.08 14.97
5 CRD Fernando 18 28 53.07 73.25 391.69 11.75
6 KTGD Prasad 10 15 44.73 65.93 379.37 11.38
7 GP Wickramasinghe 23 30 43.60 95.67 369.11 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 63.02 779.93 93.59
2 KTGD Prasad 34 60 33.78 55.63 598.34 71.80
3 CRD Fernando 50 72 31.92 57.36 564.09 67.69
4 SL Malinga 42 65 32.97 51.38 558.26 66.99
5 GP Wickramasinghe 40 55 40.93 79.82 528.22 63.39
6 RAS Lakmal 73 80 41.81 81.40 511.55 61.39
7 DNT Zoysa 29 28 36.57 75.54 479.20 57.50

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 646.10 169.31 779.93 157.45 210.34
2 SL Malinga 601.75 134.20 558.26 143.82 172.56
3 RAS Lakmal 607.24 96.61 511.55 145.67 163.33
4 KTGD Prasad 421.85 154.87 598.34 94.84 152.39
5 GP Wickramasinghe 524.23 125.00 528.22 92.28 152.37
6 CRD Fernando 458.29 137.33 564.09 97.92 150.92
7 DNT Zoysa 499.18 117.15 479.20 124.77 146.44

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
Top Form Home 30.00
Top Form Away 120.00
Impact Innings 150.00
TF RATING

Points to note about Top Form Rating:-

  • Top Form (TF) 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 Vs All Teams: 10

RANK BOWLER INNS WKTS AVE SR RAT WTG
1 WPUJC Vaas 30 67 20.39 49.13 703.82 21.11
2 KTGD Prasad 27 51 30.65 52.24 560.08 16.80
3 CRD Fernando 30 44 26.68 49.07 545.93 16.38
4 SL Malinga 30 44 32.02 49.73 505.69 15.17
5 DNT Zoysa 25 23 36.52 73.96 378.20 11.35
6 RAS Lakmal 30 26 42.62 86.73 354.68 10.64
7 GP Wickramasinghe 17 18 46.94 88.83 311.27 9.34

TOP FORM AWAY

Min Innings Vs All Teams: 10

RANK BOWLER INNS WKTS AVE SR RAT WTG
1 WPUJC Vaas 30 68 28.25 65.15 632.36 75.88
2 RAS Lakmal 30 59 24.41 57.69 617.35 74.08
3 SL Malinga 25 50 33.34 52.38 570.96 68.52
4 GP Wickramasinghe 30 45 34.62 74.53 535.89 64.31
5 DNT Zoysa 26 41 32.12 66.37 491.37 58.96
6 CRD Fernando 30 47 44.34 67.91 468.71 56.25
7 KTGD Prasad 17 24 47.29 69.29 387.00 46.44

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 takes equal to or more wickets than 5.
  • A Bowler equal to or more wickets than 2 at a good AVE or SR.
  • 1st and 2nd; and 3rd and 4th inns are clubbed together.
  • The required AVE or SR is calculated by the number of wickets taken.

Min Innings Vs Top Teams: 30

RANK BOWLER INNS II II Perc RAT WTG
1 WPUJC Vaas 194 71 36.60 539.23 80.88
2 CRD Fernando 68 23 33.82 465.37 69.81
3 SL Malinga 59 20 33.90 438.73 65.81
4 RAS Lakmal 122 35 28.69 424.57 63.69
5 KTGD Prasad 44 15 34.09 405.78 60.87
6 GP Wickramasinghe 63 17 26.98 387.14 58.07
7 DNT Zoysa 51 14 27.45 328.41 49.26

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 HM TF AW II SEC RAT
1 WPUJC Vaas 21.11 75.88 80.88 177.88
2 SL Malinga 15.17 68.52 65.81 149.50
3 RAS Lakmal 10.64 74.08 63.69 148.41
4 CRD Fernando 16.38 56.25 69.81 142.43
5 GP Wickramasinghe 9.34 64.31 58.07 131.72
6 KTGD Prasad 16.80 46.44 60.87 124.11
7 DNT Zoysa 11.35 58.96 49.26 119.57

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 46 WPUJC Vaas SL 280.66 210.34 177.88 668.88
2 98 SL Malinga SL 244.19 172.56 149.50 566.25
3 122 RAS Lakmal SL 219.65 163.33 148.41 531.39
4 137 KTGD Prasad SL 233.42 152.39 124.11 509.92
5 138 CRD Fernando SL 213.69 150.92 142.43 507.04
6 147 GP Wickramasinghe SL 201.87 152.37 131.72 485.95
7 153 DNT Zoysa SL 210.16 146.44 119.57 476.17

TOP TEAMS

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 IND SL PAK SA ENG
2010s IND PAK SL ENG SA AUS
2020s IND AUS PAK NZ SA 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 ENG SA IND NZ
2010s SA AUS ENG NZ IND
2020s AUS NZ SA ENG IND

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