When it comes to giving unpredictable performances in cricket, the first name that comes to everyone’s mind is the cricket team of Pakistan. But one thing that the country is consistent with is its ability to produce some of the best bowlers for the sport. This article discusses the best bowlers in the cricket history of Pakistan.
The country started its cricket journey in the year 1935, with a match against Australia on the ground of Karachi, and has been unstoppable ever since. Being in the international cricket world for the past several decades, Pakistan has been through many highs and lows and has given some unforgettable performances.
Pakistan has been a land of some of the most successful and deadly fast and spin bowling talents and introduced the best pacers on the cricket pitch over several decades. The list below mentions the 6 best bowlers of Pakistan and discusses some of their biggest achievements which were covered in the latest cricket news:
- IMRAN KHAN
Born on 5th October 1952 in Lahore, Punjab, the former player of Pakistan’s national cricket team was undoubtedly one of the best bowlers in the country. Khan made his debut in 1971 in a test match against England and was unstoppable till the end of his career. He trained himself to be an all-rounder, batting and bowling right hand, and also played as the caption for his country.
His raw pace and the deadly combo of reverse and out-swing gave batsmen a mini hear-attack on the cricket pitch.
In his bowling career, Kahn has knocked off 362 wickets in 88 test matches and 182 wickets in the 175 ODIs. His best bowling performance in test cricket was 8/58 against India. His best ODI bowling figure was also against India. Khan has also made his name under the list of players with the most consecutive ten wickets in a match. The 70-year-old fast bowler was responsible for rising the wave of bowling talent not only in Pakistan but across the world.
- SARFRAZ NAWAZ
Starting his career in the late 60s, Nawaz was considered among the pioneers of Pakistan’s cricket history. His outstanding accuracy and reverse swing were a threat to every player standing on the opposite end of the pitch. His best bowling score in test cricket was 9/86 in a match against Australia in 1979. In his ODI career, Nawaz was successful in knocking off 63 wickets with the best bowling figure of 4/27.
He proved himself as one of the best fast-medium bowlers in the country with impeccable performances. He was able to destroy the best batting line-ups for his country with his ability to swing the ball on both sides coupled with fast delivery.
- FAZAL MAHMOOD
Once called the “torch-bearer” of the cricket history of Pakistan, Mahmood was considered among the best bowling talents in the 1950s. His outstanding leg-cutting and off-cutting deliveries inspired the next generations of bowlers in his country. The right-handed fast-medium bowler was a nightmare to play against because of his ability to pace and swing the bowl to create an unpredictable trajectory of the ball.
He took a total of 139 wickets in 34 test matches with the best bowling figure of 13/114 against Australia. His bowling was instrumental in Pakistan’s win at The Oval in 1954, where he knocked 4 wickets in the first innings and 6 wickets in the second. Mahmood was also the first Pakistani bowler to take 100 wickets in test cricket.
- WASIM AKRAM
The Lahore-born former cricket superstar was undoubtedly one of the best fast bowlers produced by Pakistan in world cricket. Akram was a threat to every batsman with his fast deliveries combined with an unpredictable swing. The pacer could swing the ball on both sides and best bowled during the death overs.
He took a total of 414 test wickets and 502 ODI wickets in his career and was named the youngest player to take ten wickets in a match. The former cricketer is among the top six bowlers with the highest number of wickets under their names and is the second player with the most lbw wickets. Akram was the light in the dark for Pakistan’s cricket team after the departure of Imran Khan and proved himself as the best fast bowler in Pakistan with incredible performances.
- SHOAIB AKHTAR
The 47-year-old former cricketer was the fastest bowler in the world. The pacer was a threat to many batsmen with his impeccable deliveries, even on slow wickets. In addition to the incredible speed, Akhtar was also a sight to watch for his full-length yorkers.
In his 14-year-long cricket career, he has 178 test wickets with the best bowling figure of 6/11 and 247 ODI wickets with the best bowling figure of 6/16 under his name. His fastest international delivery was against New Zealand in Lahore, with a record-breaking speed of 100 mph or 161.3 kph.
Akhtar is also among the top 10 players with the fastest 200 wickets in one-day cricket. Starting his career in the late 90s, he continued the legacy of former Pakistani stars including Imran Khan, Wasim Akram, and Waqar Younis.
- WAQAR YOUNIS
The former fast bowler delivered reverse swing before it became trendy. He was the fastest bowler from Pakistan before the emergence of Shoaib Akhtar in the international cricket world. His deadly combination of late swing with incredible speed knocked the stumps off pretty easily. He took 373 test wickets with the best bowling figure of 7/76 and 416 one-day wickets with the best bowling figure of 7/36.
His performance in the test series against New Zealand in 1990 was monumental where he knocked the stumps off for all eleven players of the opposite team. Another instrumental performance by Waqar for his country came in the year 2001, in ODI against the Englishmen where he took 7 wickets for 37 runs in his 10 overs. Younis was also named as the player with the best bowling figures as a caption in T20 cricket and One Day Internationals.
