Top 10 wicket-takers for India in ODI cricket 

Batting, bowling and fielding are the three integral aspects in the game of cricket. For any team to succeed and become a potent force in any of the formats, they have to be equipped with the requisite arsenal in each of these facets of the game to outmatch their opponents.

Over the years, the cricketing fraternity has seen some world class bowlers in ODIs like Wasim Akram, Muttiah Muralitharan, Glenn McGrath and Shaun Pollock who picked up heaps of wickets and won many matches for their countries.

In ODIs, where the format is more conducive to batting, bowlers have to equip themselves with different variations to counter the free-flowing attacking stroke play and power hitting.

While some bowling stalwarts from the Test arena could adapt to the limited overs format with equal ease, others remained specialist in one of the format. Indian cricket had its share of both quality seamers and spinners who spearheaded our bowling attacks for over four decades.

While many bowlers turned out in the blue jersey to represent India in ODIs, only a select few went onto reach lofty heights in their careers by enduring the rapid changes of the game and making subtle changes in their bowling armoury.

Off the many bowlers who had the privilege of representing India in ODIs, only 18 have been able to scale the 100-wicket mark. This statistical information clearly proves one thing that once in every decade there are only two or three bowlers who possess the skill and temperament to go the distance and prove themselves as consistent wicket takers for their sides in top-flight cricket.

It would be interesting to compile a list of India’s all-time top ten wicket takers in ODI cricket. Before we run through the top ten list, honourable mentions to all those who picked up 100 or more wickets for India in ODIs

Indian bowlers with 100 or more ODI wickets

Ashish Nehra - 155

Sachin Tendulkar - 154

Ravichandran Ashwin 150

Ravi Shastri 129

Ishant Sharma 115

Yuvraj Singh 110

Umesh Yadav 105

Sourav Ganguly 100

10. Manoj Prabhakar

MANOJ PRABHAKAR

Manoj Prabhakar was one of India’s leading seamer during the early 90s. Prabhakar was a wily customer who used his bagful of tricks to set up his dismissals. He wasn’t express pace but had the ability to make the ball seam and deceive the batsmen with his slower delivery.

Prabhakar had an excellent yorker and used it effectively in the death overs. He formed a handy new pace trio with the legendary Kapil Dev and Javagal Srinath in the early part of the 90s.

ODI Record

Matches 130 Wickets 157 Avg 28.87 Eco 4.27 SR 40.5

9. Ravindra Jadeja

Ravindra Jadeja

Ravindra Jadeja has established himself as one of the best all-rounders in ODI cricket. Jadeja is a clever bowler who bowls his left arm spin with great control and precision. He bowls stump to stump and gets enough turn to get through the defences of the batsman. He is a master at deceiving the batsman in the air by altering his flight.

Under MS Dhoni’s captaincy, 'Jaddu' formed a potent spin duo with Ravichandran Ashwin as the two spinners became the leading strike bowlers for India in the middle overs and contributed to many victories for the 'Men in Blue' at home.

ODI Career

Matches 140 Wickets 162 Avg 35.29 Eco 4.88 SR 43.3

8. Irfan Pathan

Irfan Pathan

Irfan Pathan is one of the most talented left-arm seamers to have played for India. Pathan, who bowled with a side on action, possessed the ability to swing the ball late. The Baroda seamer was an outright match winner with the ball as he outfoxed top order batsmen with his lethal inswinging deliveries. In seam-friendly conditions, he was simply a nightmare for the opposition as he ran through the defences of formidable batting lineups.

Pathan could pick up wickets in short bursts and put the opposition onto the back-foot in the initial stages of the game. He picked up a bagful of wickets in relatively short ODI career. However, he was handled poorly by the team management that cut short his international career.

ODI Career

Matches 120 Wickets 173 Avg 29.72 Eco 5.26 SR 33.9

7. Venkatesh Prasad

Venkatesh Prasad

The tall and lanky seamer from Karnataka was one of India’s best pacers in the 90s. Ventakesh Prasad played the perfect foil to his partner Javagal Srinath and the duo became India’s stock new ball pair in ODIs during the mid-90s.

‘Venki’ could trouble the batsman with his steep bounce and also bowled the leg cutter to great effect. He always brought out his best against arch-rivals Pakistan and his spell 3 for 45 in the 1996 World Cup quarterfinal against Pakistan changed the course of the match in India’s favour.

Prasad was very handy in the seam-friendly conditions of South Africa and England where he generated bounce and seam movement to chip in with wickets.

ODI Record

Matches 161 Wickets 196 Avg 32.30 Eco 4.67 SR 41.4

6. Kapil Dev

Kapil Dev

Kapil Dev has undoubtedly been regarded as India’s greatest fast bowling all-rounder in ODI cricket. Kapil was India’s frontline seamer in the late 80s and early 90s. A natural athlete, Kapil approached the crease with a rhythmic run-up and beautiful action to bowl his lethal out-swingers.

Kapil bowled with a beautiful wrist position and was nagging with his line and length to consistently probe the batsmen outside the off stump. During the 80s and early 90s, Dev spearheaded the Indian pace attack along with Manoj Prabhakar, Madan Lal, Roger Binny, Chetan Sharma and Javagal Srinath.

Kapil always led from the front and bowled some match winning spells in major tournaments to inspire other bowlers to lift up their game.

ODI Record

Matches 225 Wickets 253 Avg 27.45 Eco 3.71 SR 44.2

5. Harbhajan Singh

Harbhajan Singh

Harbhajan Singh has been one of the best off-spinners India has produced in international cricket. Under Ganguly’s captaincy, Harbhajan was India’s spin king in ODIs. The 'turbanator' formed a potent spin duo with ace leg-spinner Anil Kumble during the first decade of the new millennium. 'Bhajji' bowled a tight line and was extremely hard to score off.

Harbhajan mixed his stock off-spinner with the 'Doosra' to cast a web around oppositions. He had the knack of getting good bounce along with his spin, which made him a dangerous customer on any surface. When on fire, he could pick up wickets in a heap and bowl out sides to win India matches.

ODI Career

Matches 234 Wickets 265 Avg 33.47 Eco 4.30 SR 46.6

4. Zaheer Khan

Zaheer Khan

Zaheer Khan is arguably the best left-arm seamer to have ever played for India. 'Zak' started off as a tearaway seamer but matured into one of the finest swing bowlers.

At the turn of the millennium, Zaheer took over the mantle of the India seam attack from Javagal Srinath. He led an impressive pace attack which boasted of quality seamers like Ashish Nehra, Ajit Agarkar, Irfan Pathan, RP Singh and Munaf Patel.

Post his successful county stint in England, Zaheer became a crafty bowler having achieved mastery over his skills, using a bagful of variations to outfox premier batsmen. Zaheer could make early inroads into the opposition and also chip in with wickets at the death with his lethal yorkers. He became one of the most complete seamers of his generation.

ODI Record

Matches 194 Wickets 269 Avg 30.11 Eco 4.95 SR 36.4

3. Ajit Agarkar

Ajit Agarkar

Ajit Agarkar is arguably one of the most underrated fast bowlers in Indian cricket. The wiry seamer made a bombastic entry into ODI cricket by picking up 50 odd wickets in just 23 games.

Agarkar was a natural wicket taker who got the early breakthroughs for the team with superlative consistency. The Mumbaikar was deceptively quick and surprised the batsmen with his skiddy pace off the 22 yards.

Agarkar was a little inconsistent with his line and length and hence proved to be on the expensive side in most of his outings. However, his knack of picking up wickets with the new ball made him a force to reckon with all through his career. Agarkar ended up as India’s fourth highest ODI wicket-taker with a staggering 288 wickets in just 191 games.

ODI Record

Matches 191 Wickets 288 Avg 27.85 Eco 5.07 SR 32.9

2. Javagal Srinath

Javagal Srinath

Javagal Srinath would go down as arguably the finest Indian seamer in ODI cricket. Srinath led the Indian pace attack with distinction all through the 90s. He bowled at a brisk pace and got to make the ball seam from the right areas. Srinath was a great exponent at using the seam and made the red cherry move even on docile Indian tracks.

Srinath formed a lethal fast bowling duo with Karnataka statemate Ventakesh Prasad for most of the 90s. An untiring trier with never say die attitude, Srinath bowled his heart out on placid tracks of the Indian subcontinent. He came out of retirement and led India’s bowling attack in the 2003 ICC World Cup where the Indian team ended up as the losing finalist to Australia.

ODI Record

Matches 229 Wickets 315 Avg 28.08 Eco 4.44 SR 37.8

1. Anil Kumble

Anil Kumble

Much like his impeccable record in Test cricket, Anil Kumble was a champion spinner in ODIs too. Kumble, who is India’s highest wicket-taker in red ball cricket also stands atop the list for the most wickets in white ball cricket. The ace leggie was the front line spinner for ‘Men in Blue’ during both Mohammad Azhar and Sourav Ganguly's captaincy.

'Jumbo' wasn’t a big turner of the ball but had enough variations in his armoury to bamboozle top-class batsmen. Kumble used his top spinners and flippers to great effect. He was quicker than most other spinners and hurried onto the batsman.

A fierce competitor on the field, Kumble didn't like to give away runs cheaply and was extremely economical with his spells in his limited-overs career.

ODI Record

Matches 269 Wickets 334 Avg 30.83 Eco 4.29 SR 43