Team wise top bowlers of the year 2016

Each team has a bowling superstar, and in 2016, the bowlers were simply impressive and at least one player stood up to put up a show for all of the teams. The one who usually plays as the X-Factor, the one that comes in and takes the wicket when he really needs to. As many millennials will agree, cricket in the 21st century has increasingly become a batsman’s game.

Almost all the rules including the DRS has also increasingly become in favor of the batsmen. Most likely, the benefit of the doubt goes to the batsmen meaning that the bowlers have little or nothing in their favor. Thus, the fact that these bowlers come out and make use of the wickets and strategies to secure their wickets is certainly something that is most impressive. That said, here are the top bowlers of 2016 as filtered by the team.

Mustafizur Rahman – Bangladesh

One of the most prized assets of the Bangladesh cricket team at the moment, Mustafizur Rahman has been impressive in recent times with the ball. Especially in the T20I format, the 21-year-old sensation has been simply unplayable, to say the least. However, now he is expected to be a part of the Test and ODI formats in a much bigger role, and it will be interesting to see how he copes up with that.

Having been injured for the most part of the 2016 season, Mustafizur boasts of only decent T20I stats. In eight matches he has played in the year Mustafizur has 16 wickets to his name including an impressive economy rate of 6.12 in the campaign.

Devendra Bishoo – West Indies

While West Indies cricket has been in shambles, for the most part, the fact of the matter remains that Jason Holder and his band of merry men took great pride in securing their first win overseas in almost eight years. For this, Devendra Bishoo was impressive as he went on to pick an impressive amount of wickets to help the Windies save the game on more than one occasion.

While a standout performance for the leg-spinner remains to be those epic figures of 8/49 with the pink ball against Pakistan in the UAE, Bishoo boasts of 22 wickets in the six matches he has played in this season of cricket for the West Indies.

Rangana Herath – Sri Lanka

At the age of 39, Rangana Herath looks far from finished with international cricket any time soon. The southpaw was also the beneficiary of a hat-trick against the Australians in the famous series that saw the Sri Lankans complete a clean-sweep against the Aussies for the first time in their history. In addition, Herath was made the skipper of the side for the tour of Zimbabwe, something that saw him do a fantastic job, to say the least.

In 8 Test matches played against England, Australia, and even Zimbabwe, Herath boasts of 54 wickets, therefore a wonderful conversion rate with the ball. While the SLC looks to replace him with a younger player, it seems quite clear that Herath will certainly make an impression on the side at least until a time when the Lankans have found a replacement.

Adil Rashid – England

The leg-break bowler from England was recalled back into the grand scheme of things following the appointment of Andrew Strauss as the director of cricket for England. Since then, Rashid has been a prominent part of the England squad across all three formats and has also proved to be the difference for the Britons given his canny bowling in recent times. He was also a prominent part of the England squad that reached the final of the World T20 earlier this year.

In 17 ODIs, Rashid boasts of 29 wickets, one shy of Adam Zampa on the top of the tree. He is also tied for second place with John Hastings from Australia. He has a similar record in Test matches that has seen him pick 30 wickets in the seven Test matches that he has featured in for England thus far. This also includes a successful tour of India despite the fact that the Indians claimed a 4-0 win in the series.

Yasir Shah – Pakistan

Yasir Shah has had a mixed year as their premier bowler in 2016. Having been the best bowler in the world at one point, it is certainly funny the way he dropped severely off the pace before redeeming himself at a slow pace soon after against the West Indies. However, one thing that was constant as far as the 30-year-old leggie is concerned is the fact that he has put in 100 percent effort in all the deliveries he has bowled.

In 2016, Yasir Shah has been the best bowler for Pakistan in Test matches, something that propelled Misbah-iul-Haq’s men to the world number one ranking. However, the only stat worth mentioning is the fact that he boasts of 43 wickets in the nine Test matches that have seen the Pakistanis conclude 2016 in third place on the table.

Kagiso Rabada – South Africa

With Dale Steyn beginning to show signs of restraint in recent months as well as a few injury concerns, young Kagiso Rabada is someone who has been impressive in recent times with the ball. The 22-year-old has impressed one and all with his ability to sustain bowling at high speeds for the most part and is also one of the few who can perhaps match up to the standards set by Shaun Pollock and Dale Steyn in the past.

He is one of the few bowlers on this list who boasts of an impressive bowling record in all three formats. In 15 ODIs, Rabada has 13 wickets while 8 T20 internationals has seen him be the beneficiary of 13 wickets. However, it is his Test match record that has seen him impress one and all with 42 wickets to his name in 8 matches, an incredible output for a bowler.

Trent Boult – New Zealand

When it comes to being a benefactor of swing, Trent Boult is perhaps one of the best exponents of such bowling prowess in the world. Along with Tim Southee, Boult has formed a formidable partnership, something that makes him even more dangerous in New Zealand conditions down under. However, his only drawback sees him not making enough of an impact when it comes to bowling four overs in the T20 format of the game.

While Boult has seen himself go down the pecking order when it comes to T20 internationals for the Kiwis, he boasts of 25 wickets in the 12 One-Day matches he has featured in thus far. In spite of a rather horrific year in Test matches, Boult once again has a decent record with 31 wickets to his name in 10 Tests he has featured in.

Mitchell Starc – Australia

In spite of the injuries as well as the losses for the Aussies in recent times, Mitchell Starc finds himself as Australia’s best bowler in the year 2016. Of course, there has also been Josh Hazelwood who has complemented Starc across all formats of the game, but the fact of the matter remains that the 27-year old is one of the few old-school nasty fast bowlers in the world today.

Moreover, Starc’s wicket-taking abilities are there for all to see as he concluded the year with 45 wickets in 7 Test matches. Having been injured right through the World T20 earlier this year, Starc has not played any T20Is this year. However, the 13 ODIs he has played have seen him pick up 26 wickets while impressing with the bat for a wee bit as well.

Ravi Ashwin – India

Ashwin

Ravichandran Ashwin has been the best bowler in international cricket in the year 2016. With wickets galore across all formats of the game, the 30-year-old has quite effectively solidified himself as the premier bowler for the Indian cricket team at the moment. What’s more is the fact that he has revealed under the captaincy of Virat Kohli in Tests which has seen him pick upwards of 50 wickets in this season in the 17 Tests he has played.

The only blemish in what would seem to be perceived as a near-perfect record would be the simple fact that he has not played any ODIs this year. However, in 17 T20Is played this year, Ashwin has 23 wickets to his name, something that sees him tied for the second place with Afghan leg-spinner Rashid Khan and behind fellow teammate Jasprit Bumrah. He is the undisputed number one in Tests having picked 72 wickets in the 12 Test matches he has played, a country mile ahead of Rangana Herath in the second place.