10 bowlers with most wickets in ODIs

Over the years bowling has changed massively with the introduction of different rules, powerplay systems and T20 cricket. With the ban on using saliva and the introduction of two new balls to start with, the art of reverse swing is also slowly dying. However, in a world where batters dominate the game, it is still believed that bowlers can win you a tournament. Despite so many decisions going against them, bowlers have made their presence felt. Be it, Shoaib Akhtar, with his sheer pace or Wasim Akram with his swing bowling or even maestro Muralitharan with his spin bowling have dominated batters in the past and have taken multiple wickets. Since greatness is still measured by the number of wickets, we present to you the top 10 highest wicket-takers in One Day Internationals. Here’s a look at the list of top ten bowlers with the most number of ODI wickets: 10. Anil Kumble – 337 wickets Anil Kumble. (Photo Source: Twitter) The only Indian to feature in this list is none other than Anil Kumble. He is the leading wicket-taker for India across all formats. The leg-spinner has picked up 337 wickets in 271 ODI’s that he has played. Regarded as one of the biggest match winners for India, Kumble’s start in International cricket wasn’t really a smooth one. The former India captain made his ODI debut in 1990 against Sri Lanka at Sharjah Cricket Stadium. However, he was immediately under the pressure of not being a natural spinner who turns the ball. It was the Irani Trophy in 1992 which changed his career but not for long. The selection committee always questioned his ability but it was Sourav Ganguly who took the initiative to back the leg-spinner. Later on, Kumble led the Indian bowling line-up for many years. With an average of 30.89, Kumble is considered as one of the greatest leg-spinners of all time. 9. Lasith Malinga – 338 wickets Lasith Malinga. (Photo Source: Getty Images) A flamboyant character like Lasith Malinga will always be remembered for his unorthodox bowling action. With 338 wickets in 226 matches, Malinga stands 9th in the list of highest wicket-takers in ODI cricket. Being part of Sri Lanka’s golden era, Malinga also featured in the 2011 World Cup and picked up two quick wickets of Virender Sehwag and Sachin Tendulkar in the World Cup final but couldn’t inspire his team to cross the line. Known for his toe-crushing yorkers, Malinga was a big threat to any opposition. Running down the track after kissing the ball has become an iconic run-up in the history of the game. With the sling action, Malinga was a nightmare for any batsman. Malinga had a massive role to play in the growth of Sri Lankan cricket. He led the bowling unit for many years and eventually brought a lot of trophies to the island. He is also the only player in the history of ODI cricket to pick up four wickets in four balls, after this spell of his, Sir Viv Richards went on to say that he was the best thing to have happened to Sri Lankan cricket after Aravinda De Silva. 8. Brett Lee – 380 wickets Brett Lee in 2011 World Cup. (Photo Source:Twitter) Part of the golden generation of Australian cricket, Lee has achieved every success that one can imagine. With the ability of bowling really quick on a consistent basis, Lee picked up 380 wickets in the 221 One Day Internationals that he has played. Making his ODI debut in the year 2000, Lee was a master of picking up wickets by bowling outswingers. The team already had the likes of Glenn McGrath, and Shane Warne and with the introduction of Lee, the Australian bowling lineup became the most dangerous of that time. With 2 World Cups under his belt, Lee is one of the greatest to have ever played the game. However, he decided to retire from international cricket in 2012 after multiple injuries started to bother him, but he still kept playing in the T20 leagues all across the globe. 7. Glenn McGrath – 381 wickets Glenn McGrath. (Photo Source: Getty Images) A lot of legends including former India captain Sourav Ganguly went on to say that Glenn McGrath was the greatest pacer that he has ever faced. Even though he didn’t have much pace in his bowling, McGrath’s sheer ability to swing the ball is what made him so dangerous on the field. The Australian picked up 381 wickets in 250 ODI’s with an average of 22.02. He was the leader of the pace attack that helped Australia win three World Cups in a row – 1999, 2003 and 2007. McGrath played his last ODI in the year 2007 against Sri Lanka at Kensington Oval. After calling time from cricket, McGrath concentrates more on his foundation to raise awareness about breast cancer. 6. Shaun Pollock – 393 wickets Shaun Pollock (Photo Source: Twitter) Regarded as one of the greatest all-rounders in cricketing history, Shaun Pollock made his ODI debut against England in the year 1996. In the 12 years that he has represented South Africa in ODI cricket, Pollock picked up 393 wickets in 303 matches. He has also scored 3519 runs in this format of the game. In just four years time, Pollock was selected as the captain of the South African team. When the controversy of match fixing broke in South African cricket, Pollock held the hand and led the team really well during that time. However, he sacked from the captaincy in the year 2003 after South Africa failed to do well in the World Cup. Despite that, Pollock was a leader in the dressing room and an inspiration to all the younger players. 5. Shahid Afridi – 395 wickets Shahid Afridi of Pakistan. (Photo by Phil Walter/Getty Images) Interestingly, an all-rounder who is known for his batting prowess is the 5th leading wicket-taker in One Day Internationals. There are a lot of fans who say Shahid Afridi doesn’t get enough respect from people. This is one such achievement that put Afridi’s name in the list of elites and thus deserves to be respected. With 395 wickets from 398 games, Afridi is one of the greatest to don the Pakistan jersey. There’s a lot of controversy regarding his age but he never let that come in between his performance. With the bat in hand, Afridi has scored a total of 8064 runs in his ODI career and has also scored the second quickest ODI century in just 37 deliveries. He played his last ODI in the year 2015 against Australia. The legend still participates in various T20 Leagues across the world. 4. Chaminda Vaas – 400 wickets Chaminda Vaas. (Photo by Santosh Harhare/Hindustan Times via Getty Images) Not the tallest, not the quickest but had enough hunger to carve his name in the list of elites. Bowling medium fast, Chaminda Vaas was the master of in-dippers – a situation where the ball swings extremely late to deceive the batter. With numerous variations under his wing, the Sri Lankan picked up 400 ODI wickets in 322 matches. No matter how the pitch was, Vaas always delivered with his swing bowling. Later on, he also developed his off-cutter delivery which made him even more difficult to play. He played his last ODI in the year 2008 against India. The left-hander then went on to coach a couple of International teams before returning back to Sri Lanka. 3. Waqar Younis – 416 wickets Waqar Younis. (Photo by David Munden/Popperfoto via Getty Images/Getty Images) Regarded as one of the best pacers in the world, Waqar Younis played 262 ODI’s for Pakistan. He made his ODI debut against West Indies in the year 1989 and went on to pick up a total of 416 ODI wickets. ‘The Burewala Express’ was known for his dangerous reverse swing which the batters often failed to understand. At a time when pacers used to try and bowl short to batters, Younis discovered a new art that changed the complexion of the sport. He is the one who started to bowl toe-crushing yorkers which later on became a phenomenon in white-ball cricket. Following his retirement in 2003, Younis took up coaching as his profession. He served the Pakistan team in multiple spells. He was also a part of the Sunrisers Hyderabad’s set-up in the year 2013. 2. Wasim Akram – 502 wickets Wasim Akram. (Photo by David Munden/Popperfoto/Getty Images) Arguably the greatest swing bowler of all time, Wasim Akram made his ODI debut in the year 1984 against New Zealand. He is one such player who didn’t play any first-class games before making his debut in International cricket. Even with zero experience under his belt, Wasim stunned everyone with his skill. Known as the ‘King of Swing’, Akram represented Pakistan in 356 matches. He picked up 502 wickets in One Dayers and also led the team to win the World Cup in 1996. However, he was also a part of a lot of controversies before calling time in 2003. He later became a professional coach and was part of the Kolkata Knight Riders set-up and now is the chairman and bowling coach of Karachi Kings. 1. Muttiah Muralitharan – 534 wickets Muttiah Muralitharan. (Photo by Tom Shaw/Getty Images) The leading wicket-taker in the One Day format is none other than Deshabandu Muttiah Muralitharan. He was a beast in the spin department and the batters often found it very difficult to read him. Because of his unorthodox action, batters couldn’t understand the kind of delivery he was going to bowl. He managed to hide the ball which helped him pick up a lot of wickets. With 534 scalps from 350 matches in ODI’s and 800 wickets in 133 matches in tests, Muralitharan is the leading wicket-taker in all of cricketing history. The Sri Lankan spin wizard helped the team reach two ODI finals but couldn’t manage to win any of those. Muralitharan played his last ODI against India in the 2011 World Cup final. He continued to play IPL and also played in BBL and CPL before taking up coaching as his profession. He is still associated with Sunrisers Hyderabad as their bowling coach.

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10 bowlers with most wickets in ODIs

Most of these bowlers are also on the list of most wickets in Test cricket.

2. Wasim Akram – 502 wickets

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