Ranking the top 10 fastest bowlers in the world

The game of cricket has been revolutionized in a manner where bowling has taken a back-seat and the sport has totally become a batsman's game. Thanks to more and more limited overs formats, the batsmen are forced to hit the ball round the park and the bowlers are thrashed and end up with devastating economy rates.

But as the theory of the game goes, both bowling and batting are on an equity. So, the bowlers have to step up somehow to the changing demands of the game. And that's what some of them have so rightly done.

Also as the game becomes more and more fast paced, so does the need for fast paced bowling. It's a fact that if the ball comes quicker to you, it's difficult to judge the length and timing, when compared to slower bowling. But as every coin has two sides to it, pace bowling also comes with a disadvantage as the ball will definitely travel all the way to the boundary even if it gets a minor nick.

Today we take a look at the current top 10 fastest bowlers in international cricket.

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#10 Umesh Yadav (India)

Umesh Yadav against Australia in India's tour of Australia, 2014

Umesh Yadav plays all the formats for India currently, but hasn't been the biggest stars for the team as yet. He has had some good performances every now and then, but lacks consistency big time. Probably consistency is a problem with India's bowling attack in the current era.

But this doesn't stop Yadav from bagging the tenth spot on this list. The right arm fast bowler is one of the fastest in international cricket currently, and definitely a go-to-man for Virat Kohli in One Day Internationals and T20 Internationals when India needs a fast bowling duo.

Fastest Delivery Recorded: 146.6 Kmph vs Sri Lanka

#9 Kagiso Rabada (South Africa)

Kagiso Rabada has cemented his position in the South African Cricket Team

The 22year-old South African pacer has most recently taken international cricket bowling by storm, after proving to be an ideal replacement to South Africa's Dale Steyn once the latter retires from all formats of the game.

Rabada was a regular 137 Kmph bowler until he stepped up his game against England in 2017, when he started delivering around the 147 Kmph. South Africa has always been a team known for amazing pace bowlers with Shaun Pollock, Dale Steyn and Morne Morkel being some of them. Now Kagiso Rabada has hit the field running to fill up the shoes of these legends.

Fastest Delivery Recorded: 147 Kmph vs England

#8 Liam Plunkett (England)

Liam Plunkett against India in 2018 at the Oval

With English Test cricket still being dominated by the likes of Jimmy Anderson and Stuart Broad, Liam Plukett has to still earn a place in the Test squad for England, but the right arm fast bowler has dominated worthy oppositions in ODI and T20I formats, the most recent being against India.

Liam Plunkett may not be the answer to Anderson or Broad as yet, but certainly the former has shown signs of dominance whenever he has bowled for England in the limited overs format. We might get to see him in Test action if Anderson steps down in a year or two.

Fastest Delivery Recorded: 147.3 Kmph vs South Africa

#7 Adam Milne (New Zealand)

Adam Milne against Australia

As the form of Trent Boult and Tim Southee have taken a dip recently, Adam Milne has stepped up and filled the boots perfectly for New Zealand. Currently, he is one of their key players due to his unbelievable pace.

The team which first faced the wrath of this Kiwi was Bangladesh in the Champions Trophy last year, when Milne pushed above his regular average of 139 Kmph and bowled around 147 Kmph with consistency.

Fastest Delivery Recorded: 147.7 Kmph against Bangladesh.

#6 Jasprit Bumrah (India)

Bumrah against England in the recent series

Another young star bowler in international cricket ranked alongside Kagiso Rabada is India's Jasprit Bumrah. Bumrah announced his arrival in cricket, when he shone for Mumbai Indians in the Indian Premier League, and since then, upon his debut for India, he has always given good performances.

Criticized for his 'no-ball' deliveries which have sometimes cost India their matches, he is still an asset for the Indian team as he has only shown signs of improvement over the years. When he is having a good day, opponents are not very fond of facing this young Indian.

Fastest Delivery Recorded: 148.1 Kmph vs Pakistan.

#5 Shannon Gabriel (West Indies)

Gabriel against New Zealand

West Indies have most recently lost the tag of 'The Land of Pace Bowling' and earned the tags of 'All-Rounders', 'Big-hitters' and 'The Stars of the Limited Overs'. Well, Shannon Gabriel from Trinidad proves to be an exception.

When West Indies have been overly relying on the likes of Dwayne Bravo and Kieron Pollard to perform in both bowling and batting, Gabriel has hit the ground running with his consistent pace bowling which has redesigned the West Indies' bowling attack to some extent.

Fastest Delivery Recorded: 148.2 Kmph vs Pakistan

#4 Mitchell Starc (Australia)

Starc against New Zealand

Mitchell Starc, from New South Wales, becomes the first left armed bowler in this list. Starc has been spearheading the Australian bowling attack alongside Pat Cummins and has kept the reputation up to the mark after an era of Brett Lee and Jason Gillespie.

One of the most feared bowlers of the game, he has dominated international oppositions for Australia, and for Royal Challengers Bangalore in the Indian Premier League. Who doesn't remember his spat with Kieron Pollard in the Mumbai Indians v Royal Challengers Bangalore match!?

Fastest Delivery Recorded: 148.5 Kmph vs England

#3 Tymal Mills (England)

Tymal Mills for Sussex

Another left-armed bowler after Starc in the list, Tymal Mills announced his arrival as one of the world's fastest bowlers when he bowled that destructive spell against India in 2017.

Mills might not be the biggest bowling name in English cricket right now, but in terms of pace, if unleashed, it might cause serious problems for any opposition in this world. The left armed fast bowler has been consistently performing for Sussex for all these years, and might be a part of England's key bowling setup in next year's World Cup.

Fastest Delivery Recorded: 149 Kmph against India

#2 Pat Cummins (Australia)

Australia v England - Game 4

Pat Cummins just loses the top spot in the list by inches, but there is a long way to go for the Australian right armed fast bowler, as he is just 24 years old! He has a staggering 143 Kmph bowling speed in One Day Internationals.

Not just one of the fastest bowlers in the world, he has also been tipped by legends of the game to be one of the best in the history of the game. He has definitely been an answer to Australia's long gone bowling legend, Brett Lee.

Fastest Delivery Recorded: 149.2 Kmph against England.

#1 Wahab Riaz (Pakistan)

Pakistan v West Indies - One Day International

It would be shame if this list of fastest bowlers in the world wouldn't contain a single name from the nation that has boasted of the best bowling attack in the world for decades, Pakistan.

Wahab Riaz tops our list for his aggressive pace bowling which has been Pakistan's key weapon in international cricket for a couple of years now. Wahab Riaz first came into the spotlight when he decimated the Australian batting setup in a World Cup Match in 2015, especially against Shane Watson who faced his wrath and aggression.

Pakistan lost the match but earned the best fastest bowler in the world. It's not a child's play to dominate Watson at his prime, and Riaz did it like it was a practice session in the nets.

Fastest Delivery Recorded: 149.6 Kmph against India.