10 players with the highest number of wickets in Test cricket

Bowlers are the unsung heroes in cricket. They toil hard, push their physical limits and over after over deliver their skills.

Bowling is tiring task and along with physical skills, it demands mental toughness as well. However, even after struggling hard, the bowlers seldom receive their credit. Most of the times, the batsmen bask in the glory while the bowlers go unnoticed.

Let us pay a tribute to these unsung heroes of cricket and talk about their glories achievements. wickets are an effective benchmark for judging the greatness of a bowler. So, here we talk about the 10 players who have picked the most number of wickets in Test cricket.

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#10. Harbhajan Singh

The off-spinner with the most Test wickets, Harbhajan Singh made it to India's Test team because he possessed the 'doosra', a special delivery for an off-spinner which works like a googly.

He made his Test debut in 1998, but it was the Test series against Australia in 2001, that gave the status of a superstar. He took 32 wickets in that series along with a hat-trick and became India's lead spinner for the next decade along with Anil Kumble.

He was often criticized for his narrow-minded bowling approach, but he did possess incredible flight and loop. On his day, his top-spinners would rip apart defenses of the batsmen and his variations would be unreadable.

Harbhajan has 417 Test wickets in 190 innings and also enjoyed tremendous success in the shorter format of the game as well.

#9. Shaun Pollock

There was nothing mysterious about Shaun Pollock's bowling. His pace limitations were well known and his ability to swing the ball in the both ways was popular as well.

But even then the South African pacer found a way of harassing the batsmen in every game and claimed wickets at regular intervals. Maybe it was his consistency or maybe it was his accuracy or it could be his enormous physical strength that kept him strong even after hundred Tests. But whatever it was, it enabled Pollock to ink his name as one of the greatest pace bowlers ever to walk on the earth and he finished with 421 Test wickets.

Pollock is the first South African to claim 400 wickets and also has 16 five-wicket hauls to his name in 202 innings.Shaun Pollock is South Africa's highest wicket-taker in Tests

#8. Sir Richard Hadlee

Given Sir Richard Hadlee's control over fast bowling and his smart mind, it was no surprise that he was the first to reach to 400 Test wickets. Hailing from New Zealand, the pace bowler dominated world cricket during the 1970's and 80's and was one among the four great all-rounders of that era.

He lasted for only 86 Tests, but his career was full of memorable performances. In 1978, he picked ten wickets in the Test to help his nation beat England for the first time in Tests and in1985/6 wrecked Australia by claiming 15 wickets in the Test.

He ended his career with 41 Test wickets with an impressive average of 22.29 and picked a wicket on the last ball he delivered in Tests.

Hadlee's action was smooth and bowling sharp

#7. Kapil Dev

A strong bowler, an inspirational captain and a maverick batsman, Kapil Dev is one of the greatest all-rounders in cricket but his primary identity is that of a pace bowler who was capable of tearing apart batting units.

Unlike other bowlers in the list, Kapil's bowling didn't have that venom but he did possess sharp pace and probing swing. Plus his high level of physical fitness meant he could bowl long spells without missing his mark.

The pacer at his time was the leading wicket-taker in Tests and retired after claiming 434 wickets in 227 Test innings. He was the most impressive against the best teams of his era. He claimed 99 wickets against Pakistan and 89 wickets in 25 Tests while playing against West Indies.

#6. James Anderson

Anderson has been going strong for over a decade

On a supporting pitch and cloudy conditions, with a new ball, James Anderson's bowling can be the most beautiful thing on the earth. The pace bowler is an artist who excels in the skill of swing bowling and has impeccable command over the skill.

His bowling isn't that effective in conditions where there is little help for the bowlers, but even with these limitations, he has become England's highest wicket-taker in Tests. He has 493 wickets to his name in 239 Tests.

At 35 years, the right-arm pacer still has some cricket left in him courtesy of his fit body and he looks set to touch the 500 Test wicket mark.

#5. Courtney Walsh

Maybe the last great pace bowler produced by West Indies, Courtney Walsh was fast, ferocious and terrifying when on the song. His success mantra was simple, run fast, bowl faster without flinching and bowl in the right areas.

He was a true workhorse who could bowl for long spells without dropping his pace. His fit and steel-like body helped him in delivering sensational performances and the pace bowler enjoyed a long career that spanned for 17 years.

In 242 Test innings, he claimed 519 wickets at an average of 24.44. His bowling partnership with Curtly Ambrose was sensational as the duo was one of the most feared bowling combinations ever assembled in Test cricket.

#4.Glenn McGrath

Glenn McGrath had all ingredients present in him to become a world-class bowler. He was tall, had an effective action and a sharp mind that balanced aggression with strong analytical skills.

His biggest strength was his ability to bowl in the channel for eternity without committing any error. This immaculate consistency made McGrath a force to reckon with in cricket and very few batsmen were able to break his rhythm.

He was the lead pacer of the Australian Test team that dominated world cricket in the 2000s, and he finished his career as the greatest pace bowler ever with 563 Test wickets.

#3. Anil Kumble

A tall and heavily built leg-spinner from India, Anil Kumble started his career as a medium-pacer but settled down as a spinner. He overcame the inability to produce turn by purchasing bounce courtesy of his height and his never-die attitude.

Kumble's determination was an iconic feature of his

Kumble was impressive on tracks that offered turn, but he was lethal on surfaces which had little help for the spinners. He was accurate and had the ability to bowl consistently for a long period.

The leg-spinner has achieved the rare feat of picking all ten wickets in a Test inning and is the third-highest wicket-taker in the longest format of the game with 619 wickets.

#2. Shane Warne

Shane Warne began his Test career in 1992 but the world noticed him when he delivered the 'ball of the century' to Mike Gatting in 1993. After pitching outside leg-stump, the ball spun away to crash on the off-stump leaving Gatting and the rest of the world completely fazed.

In the subsequent years, Warne turned the ball a lot more and reaped heavy success with his leg-spin bowling. His bowling was effective but even more crucial was his shrewd mind that enabled him to have an upper hand over the batsmen.

His career saw many controversies but till his retirement in 2007, he was among the best bowlers in the world and retired with 708 Test wickets.

#1. Muttiah Muralitharan

With his big eyes, unconventional bowling action and relentless passion, Muttiah Muralitharan tormented batsmen across the world for two decades.

He was an off-spinner with complete control over his art and had a well-disguised 'doosra', a delivery that turns away after pitching, that kept the batsmen guessing.

Muralitharan has 800 Test wickets along with 534 wickets in ODI and is the most successful bowler in cricket by a mile. The Sri Lankan spinner also holds the record of claiming 67 five-wicket hauls and 22 ten-wicket hauls.

Throughout his career, he was questioned for his bowling action and many refused to consider him as a spin bowler, but nothing stopped Murali from scaling great heights and troubling the batsmen while he was at it.