The pace at which the ball reaches the batsman is substantially slower with spin bowling than with quick bowling. However, they have a miraculous trajectory and a great rotation. In cricket, the spin bowling method is frequently employed. Spin bowling’s primary goal is to bowl quickly to cause the ball to vary from its usual straight course as it bounces on the field. The batsman will find it challenging to deliver a clean hit.
Here’s a list of the greatest spin bowlers ever to recognise the importance of spin bowling in cricket.
3. Anil Kumble, India
Anil Radhakrishna Kumble, a retired right-arm leg-break bowler and former captain of India’s cricket team, was named one of the 1996 Wisden Cricketers of the Year.
Additionally, in February 2015, he became the fourth player from India to be inducted into the ICC Hall of Fame. Anil played in 132 test matches between 1990 and 2008, taking 619 wickets in 236 innings. His finest bowling performances came in an innings (10/74) and a single test match (14/149).
He has a test bowling average of 29.65 and a 2.69 economy rate. In test cricket, Kumble took 5 wickets 35 times and 10 wickets 8 times. He also has his highest ODI performance of 6/12 and grabbed 337 wickets in 271 ODI games between 1990 and 2007. In ODI matches, Kumble has a bowling average of 30.89, an economy rate of 4.30, and twice he scalped 5 wickets in a game.
2. Shane Warne, Australia
In the 1994 Wisden Cricketers’ Almanack, legendary retired Australian right-arm leg break bowler Shane Keith Warne was named one of the Wisden Cricketers of the Year.
Interestingly, the Australian skipper Ricky Ponting referred to his departure from professional cricket as the “end of an era.” From 1992 to 2007, he played in 145 test matches, taking 708 wickets in 273 innings, with his best bowling performances coming in an innings (8/71) and a single test match (12/128).
His blowing average in Tests is 25.41, and his economy rate is 2.65. Additionally, in test cricket, Warne got 10 wickets 10 times and 5 wickets 37 times. In 194 of the ODI games he participated in between 1993 and 2005, he also collected 293 wickets and recorded his best ODI performance of 5/33. In ODIs, Warne has a bowling average of 25.73, an economy rate of 4.25, and one five-wicket haul.
1. Muttiah Muralitharan, Sri Lanka
The legendary right-arm off-break bowler from Sri Lanka, Muttiah Muralitharan, held the top spot among Test bowlers in the International Cricket Council’s player rankings for a record-breaking 1,711 days.
Moreover, Wisden Cricketers’ Almanack named him “the greatest Test match bowler ever” in 2002. In 113 test matches from 1992 to 2010, Muralitharan collected 800 wickets in 230 innings, with his greatest bowling figures being in an innings (9/51) and a single test match (16/220).
He has a test bowling average of 22.72 and a 2.47 economy rate. Additionally, in test cricket, Muralitharan took 10 wickets 22 times and 5 wickets 67 times. In 350 ODI games between 1993 and 2011, he also had 534 wickets, with a best ODI performance of 7/30. In one-day international matches, Muralitharan has a bowling average of 23.08, an economy rate of 3.93, and 10 times he has taken five wickets. The best spinner in cricket history, without a doubt.