The all-time greatest Indian bowler - A statistical analysis

India has been predominantly a batting powerhouse. Yet, India has produced some fine bowlers, both spinners and pacers. It is hard to believe that once an Indian held the record for the most number of wickets in Test cricket (Kapil Dev held the record till Courtney Walsh broke it in 2000).

To find out the best bowler India has produced, let us consider the top 5 highest wicket takers for India in ODIs and Tests combined.

1) Anil Kumble (956 wickets)

2) Kapil Dev (687 wickets)

3) Harbhajan Singh (665 wickets)

4) Zaheer Khan (573 wickets)

5) Javagal Srinath (551 wickets)

ODI bowling comparison:

1. Economy rate

Player Economy rate
Anil Kumble 4.30
Kapil Dev 3.71
Harbhajan Singh 4.30
Zaheer Khan 4.93
Javagal Srinath 4.44
Here, to calculate the points each player gets for economy rate, the formula used is

[100-economy rate of the player]/[100-least economic rate among the players]  * 10

Points Table

Player Points
Anil Kumble 9.93
Kapil Dev 10
Harbhajan Singh 9.93
Zaheer Khan 9.87
Javagal Srinath 9.92
2. Strike rate

Player Strike rate
Anil Kumble 43
Kapil Dev 44.2
Harbhajan Singh 46.5
Zaheer Khan 35.8
Javagal Srinath 37.8
Here, to calculate the points each player gets for strike rate, the formula used is

[100-strike rate of player]/[100-least strike rate among the players]  * 10

Points table

Player Points
Anil Kumble 8.87
Kapil Dev 8.69
Harbhajan Singh 8.64
Zaheer Khan 10
Javagal Srinath 9.68
3. Bowling average

Player Bowling Average
Anil Kumble 30.89
Kapil Dev 27.45
Harbhajan Singh 33.40
Zaheer Khan 29.43
Javagal Srinath 28.08
Here, to calculate the points each player gets for bowling average, the formula used is

[100-average of the player]/[100-least average among the players] * 10

Points table

Player Points
Anil Kumble 9.52
Kapil Dev 10
Harbhajan Singh 9.17
Zaheer Khan 9.72
Javagal Srinath 9.91
4. Ratio of Man-of-the-match awards won to number of matches played

Even a player’s contribution to team’s victory must be considered. Which, according to me is reflected in the man of the match awards won. So, if one sees the ratio of man of the match awards won to the number of matches played, one might get some idea of the bowler’s contribution towards his team’s victory.

Player Ratio
Anil Kumble 0.022
Kapil Dev 0.008
Harbhajan Singh 0.013
Zaheer Khan 0.030
Javagal Srinath 0.021
Here, the points for the above ratio are calculated by

Ratio for the player/highest ratio among the players

Points table

Player Points
Anil Kumble 7.33
Kapil Dev 2.66
Harbhajan Singh 4.33
Zaheer Khan 10
Javagal Srinath 7
Now, adding the points given for these 4 parameters, we get the final total for each player as follows:

Total points

Player Points
Anil Kumble 35.65
Kapil Dev 31.35
Harbhajan Singh 32.07
Zaheer Khan 39.59
Javagal Srinath 36.51
From the above calculations, statistically, Zaheer Khan is the best ODI bowler India has produced.

Test bowling comparison:

1. Strike rate

Player Strike rate
Anil Kumble 65.9
Kapil Dev 63.9
Harbhajan Singh 68.1
Zaheer Khan 58.6
Javagal Srinath 64
Points table

Player Points
Anil Kumble 8.23
Kapil Dev 8.71
Harbhajan Singh 7.70
Zaheer Khan 10
Javagal Srinath 8.69
2. Bowling average

Player Average
Anil Kumble 29.65
Kapil Dev 29.64
Harbhajan Singh 32.22
Zaheer Khan 32.06
Javagal Srinath 30.49
Points table

Player Points
Anil Kumble 9.99
Kapil Dev 10
Harbhajan Singh 9.63
Zaheer Khan 9.65
Javagal Srinath 9.87
3. Ratio of man-of-the-match awards to number of matches played

Player Ratio
Anil Kumble 0.075
Kapil Dev 0.061
Harbhajan Singh 0.061
Zaheer Khan 0.058
Javagal Srinath 0.104
Points table

Player Points
Anil Kumble 7.21
Kapil Dev 5.86
Harbhajan Singh 5.86
Zaheer Khan 5.57
Javagal Srinath 10
Now, we add the points for these 3 parameters in Tests:

Total Points

Player points
Anil Kumble 25.43
Kapil Dev 24.57
Harbhajan Singh 23.19
Zaheer Khan 25.22
Javagal Srinath 28.56
Surprisingly, according to above calculations, Javagal Srinath has been India’s best Test bowler, thanks to the more number of match-winning performances from the pacer.

Overall:
Points table (Test + ODI combined)

Player Points
Anil Kumble 61.08
Kapil Dev 55.92
Harbhajan Singh 55.26
Zaheer Khan 64.81
Javagal Srinath 65.07

Statistically, Javagal Srinath is the best bowler India has ever produced, with Zaheer Khan being a close second. Many prominent bowlers like Bishen Singh Bedi could not make it to the list as they did not satisfy the criteria required.