5 quality fast bowlers with careers full of injuries

Fast bowling is an exciting aspect of the great game of cricket. Over the years cricket fans have been captivated by the bowling of legendary fast bowlers who tormented the opposition batsmen.

Fast bowlers are fond of creating fear in the batsman's mind and in the process end up putting an extra bit of effort while bowling.

This does help the bowling team but it also takes a toll on the bowler's body. Apart from being a thrilling facet of the game, fast bowling is very prone to injuries as well.

An immense amount of energy is required to clock that 130-140 Kmph mark. Weather conditions, poor bowling action, and frequency at which matches are played just adds on to the physical stress on a fast bowler's body.

As a result of this, cricket has seen many fast bowlers who had the potential to dominate the world cricket but couldn't deliver completely due to a string of injuries. Let us have a look a five such quality fast bowlers with careers full of injuries.

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#5 Mashrafe Mortaza

Mashrafe Mortaza has had a plethora of injuries

Lovingly called the 'Narail Express' by the Bangladeshi cricket fans, Mortaza is an aggressive fast bowler. Very early in his career, h became the face of Bangladesh seam attack as he could generate raw face and generate steep bounce - two rare attributes in a Bangladesh seamer back then. His career stats are -

Career Stats of Mortaza

Unfortunately, as a result of a plethora of injuries, he couldn't reach the zenith. His indomitable spirit helped him to brave those injuries and make a comeback.

But his pace reduced drastically and so did his effectiveness. Mortaza had as many as 10 surgeries to treat his back, hamstring, knee, and ankle injuries. Apart from on-field injuries, he also met with two accidents injuring his hands and ankle.

Nevertheless, Mortaza did set a standard and inspired many young Bangladesh fast bowlers.

#4 Ryan Harris

Ryan Harris's career was plagued by injuries

Nicknamed 'Rhino' the Australian pacer Ryan Harris use to bowl beautiful outswingers at a good pace. Watching him bowl fast and wreck the opposition batting was a very pleasing sight for the Australian fans. His career stats are -

Ryan Harris's career stats

Harris's career was plagued by injuries. He had a shoulder injury in 2013 but recovered well and picked up a whopping 22 wickets in the 2013-14 Ashes tournament.

In 2014, Harris started facing issues with his right knee and during a match against South Africa the cartilage on his right knee came off.

Determined Harris ignored the pain and continued bowling picking up two wickets. He had to undergo a knee clean-out surgery post that tour.

Unfortunately, in the Test match against India (2015) he cracked the Tibia on his right knee and had to quit cricket thereafter.

#3 Shane Bond

Shane Bond had a wonderful bowling action

An ex-cop for New Zealand police and the third fastest bowler to reach 100 ODI wickets, Shane Bond was fast, furious and firm.

Bond had a seemingly flawless bowling action with a very rhythmic approach towards the bowling crease.

He consistently clocked speeds in excess of 145 Kmph and troubled the batsman. Regarded as a true successor of Sir Richard Hadlee, Bond's career stats are -

Shane Bond's career stats

Bond had many injuries - abdominal tears, stress fractures, knee problems and back issues. But his never-say-die attitude helped him come back stronger every time.

After a severe back injury in 2004, he had to fix a titanium wire to his back and remodel his action.

After the treatment, Bond made a solid comeback wherein he picked up six wickets for 19 runs against India in the Videocon tri-series in 2005.

Injuries kept recurring and Bond decided to retire from International cricket in 2010. He also played in the third season of IPL for KKR.

#2 Shoaib Akhtar

Shoaib Akhtar was quick and aggressive

Nicknamed 'The Rawalpindi Express', Akhtar demolished any batting line up with his serious pace and bounce. A Wasim-Waqar spell followed by Shoaib Akhtar's spell was a nightmare for the batsmen.

He was an aggressive fast bowler with a long run up and debatable bowling action which was screened several times by the authorities. Akhtar's international career stats are excellent -

Shoaib Akhtar's career stats

Apart from being dropped from the team due to indiscipline and poor attitude, Akhtar remained away from the action due to an array of injuries.

The period between 2000-2001 was the most dreadful time in his career wherein he had a rib injury, side strain, shoulder injury, knee injury, an ankle injury and a hamstring injury.

He did make a comeback but was frequently out of the team either because of injuries or because of discipline issues.

His 15-year roller-coaster ride in International cricket finally came to end in the year 2011.

#1 Ashish Nehra

Nehra-Ji always played with a big heart

'Nehra Ji' is arguably India's most loved fast bowler. This is perhaps because of the fact that Ashish Nehra smiled through all his innumerable injuries and gave it everything for the country when on the field.

From being Sourav Ganguly's key man in ODIs to MS Dhoni's wicket-taking option in T20s, Nehra's international cricket journey has been inspiring in many ways.

He is best remembered for his six-wicket haul against England in the 2003 World Cup. His career stats are -

Ashish Nehra's career stats

Nehra underwent as many as 12 surgeries but his unshakable spirit ensured that he came back every time. His fragile body was very prone to injuries.

In the span of 19 years of international cricket, Nehra played, performed, got injured, recovered, came back and then again followed the same routine.

He retired from all forms of the game in the year 2017.