5 Indian bowlers with most ODI wickets this decade

The current decade has seen Indian cricket emerge as one of the best in the world, with Indians dominating record books in almost every aspect. The biggest improvement in the last ten years as compared to the previous era has been India's bowling and the bench strength in the bowling department.

A total of 50 bowlers have picked up wickets for India in ODI cricket in this decade, an Indian bowler has claimed 5 scalps in an innings 15 times and 436 maidens have been bowled out of a total of 9824.1 overs.

Here we take a look at the highest ODI wicket-takers for India in this decade.

#5 Mohammed Shami (94)

Shami has six four-wicket hauls in ODI cricket

Mohammed Shami started impressively against Pakistan in 2012 and then performed exceedingly well against Australia in 2013 at home. He was one of India's best bowlers in the 2015 World Cup, finishing with 17 wickets.

He is currently out of the reckoning for the limited overs, however, he is an integral part of India's Test unit.

Shami has played 52 matches and has 94 wickets to his name at an impressive strike rate of 28.1 and average of 26.05. Though his wicket-taking abilities are impressive, he has been on the expensive side by a tad, having an economy of 5.55.

He has six four-wicket hauls in ODI cricket till date.

#4 Bhuvaneshwar Kumar (99)

Kumar has been exceptional for India of late

Bhuvaneshwar Kumar announced himself to the world stage against Pakistan in late 2012, having Mohammad Hafeez bowled with his very first delivery in ODI cricket.

Initially known for his impressive swing in the opening overs, the seamer looked weaker in death bowling and lacked pace. However, he has now turned that disadvantage into an advantage, having gained pace to show significant improvement in his death bowling.

He, along with Bumrah, is considered by many as the best death-bowling duo in ODI cricket in the world at the moment.

Kumar has 99 wickets to his name from 95 games, at a strike rate of 45.9 and average of 38.22. He has been very effective in keeping the opposition in check, which reflects in his economy of 4.98, despite bowling in the most difficult circumstances.

He has two four-wicket hauls in ODI cricket, along with a fifer. The seamer also has the most maidens (61) among Indian bowlers in this decade.

#3 Umesh Yadav (106)

Yadav is a promising bowler, but at the moment, lacks the consistency to be a permanent member of the ODI XI

Umesh Yadav has shown a lot of promise and has therefore always been in the reckoning across all formats of the game. However, he is yet to make his place permanent in the ODI playing XI.

He had a fantastic World Cup in 2015, finishing with 18 wickets Down Under. However, consistency is something that has kept Yadav in the fringes.

The pacer has 106 wickets to his name from 95 games with an average of 33.63 and strike rate of 33.5. However, his economy of 6.01 is a bit too high, which indicates why he has not been picked up in the side on a more consistent basis.

With four four-wicket hauls in this decade, Umesh is India's third highest wicket-taker in the said period.

#2 Ravichandran Ashwin (150)

Ashwin fell out of favour with the selectors after Champions Trophy 2017

Ashwin, the carrom-ball specialist, who is currently out of India's limited-overs scheme of things due to his diminishing wicket-taking ability and emergence of wrist spinners, stands second on this list.

Ashwin played a crucial part in India's limited-overs campaign in the decade until the Champions Trophy in England last year, when the lack of wickets from his side pushed him out of the XI.

However, he and Ravindra Jadeja formed a lethal bowling pair in ODIs for the most part of this decade.

Ashwin has 150 ODI wickets from 111 games at an average of 32.91 and strike rate of 40.1. His economy (4.91) is not bad either, but his stats deteriorated in the last couple of years, especially after the 2015 World Cup.

He has a single four-wicket haul in this decade.

#1 Ravindra Jadeja (156)

Jadeja has made a strong comeback in the Indian ODI side

Jadeja, or Jaddu as fondly called by many, formed a devastating partnership with Ashwin in ODI cricket.

The pair was a thorn in the flesh for most oppositions till the 2015 World Cup, where they did wonders on Australian wickets.

Jadeja, like Ashwin, was dropped shortly after the 2017 Champions Trophy, but was brought back in the Asia Cup this year, after Hardik Pandya got injured before the Asia Cup. In his second chance, the left-armer seems a more matured bowler.

He has played 130 games this decade – the most by any Indian bowler – and has picked up 156 wickets at an average of 33.95 and strike rate of 41.9. His economy of 4.85 is the best in the list.

Jadeja also has 6 four-wicket hauls and 1 fifer to his name. He was the Player of the Tournament in the 2013 Champions Trophy.