Author : A Smith | Created : 2022-08-04 10:40:00
India has fielded some incredible bowlers over the years, with Anil Kumble and Javagal Srinath being two of their best. While Harbhajan Singh is also on this list as one of India's best bowlers, he didn't play against England as much as the other two did. So who is India's greatest bowler when it comes to facing off against England? Let's take a look at each player's career stats.
Anil Kumble's performance in ODIs against England is unparalleled and the best of any bowler in history.
He has played 89 matches, picked up 101 wickets and taken 8 five-fors. His match figures of 8/66 are also his career bests in an ODI.
In India's only World Cup final win, he took 3/20 as they beat Pakistan by 25 runs during the 1999 tournament at Lord's.
Javagal Srinath has taken 90 wickets against England, 85 against Australia and 81 against Sri Lanka. He is also the only player to have taken more than 50 wickets in Tests versus three other countries - New Zealand (53), West Indies (56) and South Africa (54).
Last but not least:
He was India's best bowler at World Cup 2003 with 20 wickets in seven matches at an average of 23.65.
Harbhajan Singh: 87 wickets
India's most successful bowler in the last two years, he has taken 87 wickets in only 17 matches. His best performance came with a six-wicket haul against South Africa earlier this year. His batting might not be as efficient as others on this list but it gets the job done when it matters. Harbhajan Singh is one of India's most experienced players and his experience alone makes him an asset to any squad
Anil Kumble is the best Indian bowler when it comes to match-ups with England. He has the most wickets in ODIs against England (63), he is the highest wicket-taker for India (63) and also holds the record for taking most wickets in a calendar year.
He has an outstanding average of 24.2 and strike rate of 26 given that he bowls at a decent pace, close to 80 mph. His economy rate of 4.5 is also impressive considering his overall numbers are very good as well as consistent over many years now since 1996! There are not many bowlers who can boast such high averages and strike rates against any team let alone England which is arguably one of strongest ODI sides ever assembled!
To put things into perspective, only two other Indians have more than 50 ODIs played against them: Ravi Shastri (58) & Harbhajan Singh (60). Both these players have been part time spinners throughout their careers but Anil Kumble has batted right handed at number 4 or 5 position consistently since 1996 so no wonder why he has been such threat during this period given majority focus is on him while batting too!
India is one of the best teams in the world. They have some of the best batsmen and bowlers in the game. Their batsmen are more famous than their bowlers, but when it comes to bowling, India has great talent.