Cricket has always been a sport dominated by batters. Players with a bat in hand have always had a massive fan following, but it is certainly a spectacular scene to watch a bowler on song. Watching pacers rattle the stumps with their blistering pace gives us an adrenaline rush like no other, whereas it feels magical to see spinners bamboozling the batters with their tricks. Here, we shall take a look at the top 10 bowlers in the world right now, a list that includes both pacers and spinners.
Pat Cummins
The Australian Test skipper is the number 1 bowler in the ICC Test rankings right now. He has been up there in that position for quite a long time. It isn't surprising as he has excellent bowling numbers in Test cricket. Cummins has claimed 216 Test wickets already in just 48 matches, at a superb average of 21.41.
Apart from that, he is doing pretty well in ODIs and T20Is too. The tall pacer has 124 and 55 wickets to his name in 75 ODIs and 50 T20Is respectively. He hits the deck hard at a pace of over 140 kph regularly and makes it quite tough for batters to play him.
Jasprit Bumrah
The Indian pacer has been considered one of the most talented bowlers across all formats ever since his international debut for India back in 2016. Bumrah has an unorthodox bowling action, but that doesn't hinder him from making batters dance to his yorkers and slow deliveries.
Bumrah has 128 Test wickets to his name, at a rate of 21.99. He also averages 24.30 in ODIs with a total of 121 wickets. He has 70 T20I wickets to his name as well, scoring at just 20.22 runs a piece. He also ranks fifth in the ICC Test rankings for bowlers right now.
Shaheen Afridi
The left-arm pacer from Pakistan has become a sensation in international cricket within a pretty short period of time. He is the most outstanding bowler for his team now, ranking 6th in the ICC Test rankings for bowlers and 8th in ODIs.
Afridi is just a wicket away from claiming 100 wickets in Test matches, and he has done so at an excellent average of 24.86 so far. He has also claimed 62 wickets in 32 ODIs and 58 T20I wickets in 47 matches. He has a penchant for swinging the new ball and is also known for his economical death bowling in limited-overs cricket.
Rashid Khan
The wrist spinner is one of the most feared bowlers in limited-overs cricket at present. He sits at No.1 in the ICC T20I rankings for bowlers and is also ranked No.5 in ODIs. Rashid has experience of playing all over the world, in different T20 leagues and that has made him one of the finest bowlers of modern day cricket.
He has claimed 122 T20I wickets already at an average of 14.37 and also has 163 ODI wickets at 18.55 runs a piece. Rashid is very economical and picks up wickets at the same time. That makes it very difficult to formulate their batting plans to tackle his bowling.
Mitchell Starc
He is one of the finest bowlers that Australia has produced over the years. Starc is a lethal left-arm pacer who can bowl at speeds of over 140 kph, can swing the ball and bowl toe-crushing yorkers at the same time. He is the 5th ranked ODI bowler in the world right now and also ranks ninth in Test cricket.
Starc has claimed 304 Test wickets already at an average of 27.26. He also has 211 ODI and 73 T20I wickets to his name at brilliant averages of 22.13 and 22.91 respectively.
James Anderson
He is 40 years old right now and still performs well in Test cricket. Anderson has played 177 Test matches to date. This is a massive achievement. He has claimed 675 wickets at an average of 26.13. He doesn't have the rapid pace he used to have early in his career, but he is still a dangerous bowler owing to his ability to swing the ball both ways, and his consistent lines and lengths.
Anderson doesn't play white-ball cricket for England now but he also has 269 ODI wickets to his name at an average of just a shade under 30. His career has already lasted 21 years now and it looks like it will continue for at least another couple of years, considering the way he is playing now.
Adam Zampa
The Australian wrist-spinner is a well-recognized face in world cricket and is one of the main reasons behind Australia's success in the last few ICC tournaments. Zampa is a different breed of wrist-spinner, who bowls fast and flat, thus making it difficult for batters to drive him for boundaries.
Zampa boasts an economy rate of 6.93 in T20Is, with a total of 82 wickets to his name. In ODIs, he has claimed 127 wickets at an average of 28.66. He is in the top 10 ICC rankings for both batters and bowlers. Zampa ranks sixth in ODIs and seventh in T20Is right now.
Josh Hazlewood
He made his name for his consistent lines and lengths, and ability to bowl long lengths in Test cricket, but he has transformed into an all-format bowler right now. Hazlewood ranks 10th in Test cricket, second in ODIs and fourth in T20Is.
The 32-year-old has 222 Test wickets to his name at an average of 25.83. He has also claimed 108 ODI wickets at an average of 25.61 and 58 T20I wickets at 20.36 runs a piece. The Australian bowler also plays for Royal Challengers Bangalore in the IPL and has had a highly successful couple of years with them.
Kagiso Rabada
The South African speedster is considered one of the finest pacers in world cricket right now. Rabada is the leader of the South African pace attack in all formats and is the seventh ranked ODI bowler in the ICC rankings right now.
Rabada has claimed 137 wickets in ODIs so far, at an excellent average of 27.70. His record in Test cricket is far barter.He has 268 wickets to his name at 22.85 runs apiece. He is an all-round bowler, who bowls with the new ball, and at the death.
Wanindu Hasaranga
The Sri Lankan wrist-spinner has made a rapid rise in world cricket over the years. Hasaranga is ranked No. 2 in the ICC T20I rankings for bowlers right now, and he has claimed 89 T20I wickets at just 15.11 runs a piece.
His variations are hard to read and that's why batters end up losing their wickets to him on most occasions. Hasaranga is also a handy lower-order batter, with six international fifties to his name in all formats combined.