Top 5 wicket-takers in ODIs between 2011 and 2015 World Cups

#2 Saeed Ajmal - 134 wickets

Saeed Ajmal was the most threatening off-spinner during his heydays

Among all bowlers who picked at least 50 wickets during the four-year phase, Saeed Ajmal's average of 19.57 was comfortably the best. With 134 wickets from 73 matches at an economy-rate of 4.02 and strike-rate of 29.1, the star off-spinner was the lynchpin of Pakistan's bowling attack in the 50-over format. Surprisingly, both of his five-wicket hauls in that particular period came in losing cause.

Even as bats became bulkier and pitches turned benign, Ajmal remained unblemished. His supreme mastery over line and length as well as extensive reservoir of variations turned him into an extremely lethal spinner. When conditions supported him even by the slightest of margins, he could run through batting lineups akin to a hot knife slicing through butter. Were it not for his stellar consistency, Pakistan would not have been able to notch memorable ODI series triumphs in India and South Africa aside from their 2012 Asia Cup victory.