T20 cricket is now by far the most watched format in international cricket and its popularity soared to such great heights that some cricket pundits prophesied doom to other formats of the game due to its gigantic success. Although we have a number of T20 leagues around the world now, none of them comes close to the Indian Premier League (IPL) in terms of popularity.
Since its inception in 2008, the IPL has provided spectacular entertainment to cricket fans all over the world. The fans have been delighted to see both international superstars and the domestic cricketers playing in the same team.
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Let us look at some of the bowlers of the 1990s whose presence would have made the IPL even more wonderful. It is true that some of these players contributed or are still contributing to the teams in the IPL in various roles such as coach or mentor but the joy of watching them with the ball on the field would have been unmatched.
#1 Wasim Akram
Wasim Akram was a magician with the ball and a player worth his weight in gold. He was, without an iota of doubt, the greatest left-arm pacer in the entire history of cricket and the first ‘Sultan of Swing’ from Pakistan. He was a great master of every aspect of fast bowling – yorker, bouncer, swing and variations in pace.
The former Pakistani skipper's record of 502 wickets in 356 ODIs at a miserly economy rate of just 3.89 runs per over is ample testimony to his wizardry with the ball. He could not only get wickets by the bucketload without leaking plenty of runs but his ability to also strike lusty blows forms a complete package any captain would want in his frontline bowler
The fact that he played a stellar role in Pakistan's victory against England in the final of the 1992 World Cup vividly demonstrates that he was a big match player. With his large bag of bowling tricks and the ability to make some quick runs down the order, Akram would have been a player any team would die for. Although he is involved in the IPL as a coach, watching him bowl in this league would have been a sight to behold.
#2 Curtly Ambrose
West Indies went into a steady and seemingly perpetual decline in the 1990s and became a pale shadow of the much-feared world world-beating of the 1980s. Even the number of lethal fast bowlers they kept producing began to dwindle. But, they still had a very much feared pace bowler in Curtly Ambrose.
Ambrose was not only fast and tall, but also clever and deadly accurate. His tally of 225 wickets in 176 ODIs is highly impressive and what is even more striking is his economy rate of 3.48 runs per over, which shows how difficult he was to hit. On his day, the man from Antigua could sweep away the batting line ups like a Tsunami, as he did against Australia with a magical 7/1 spell in a test at Perth in 1993.
Although pitches in India do not traditionally favour bounce, Ambrose would still be able to generate plenty of it, thanks to his 6 feet 7 inches tall frame. That alone would surely have made life difficult for many batsmen, especially for the domestic cricketers who are not used to such high-quality bowling.
#3 Heath Streak
For Zimbabwe, world-class players were always in short supply and they had absolutely no such player in the 1990s, except Andy Flower and Heath Streak. If Andy Flower was by far their best batsman in both formats, Heath Streak carried the entire burden of Zimbabwe’s bowling on his shoulders like a Hercules till his retirement in 2005.
The bowling attack of Zimbabwe was virtually a one man army led by this indefatigable Bulawayo-born cricketer. It was Streak’s towering presence that lent respectability to an otherwise completely lackluster attack. Besides his monumental contribution with the ball to Zimbabwe’s cricket, he made close to 3000 ODI runs at an average of 28, which prove that he was very capable with the willow too. He could pick wickets, hammer the ball, field brilliantly, be a leader and probably did everything for Zimbabwe team, except walking on water.
Streak’s tally of 239 wickets in 189 ODI matches is admirable and more so, considering the dismal management of cricket in his country. For his genuine all-round ability, Streak would have been in great demand in the IPL.
#4 Saqlain Mushtaq
In the latter half of the 1990s, Saqlain Mushtaq was a key component of Pakistan’s team in both formats. He was the first exponent of the ‘Doosra’ which became a very potent weapon for an off-spinner against batsmen. Later, leading off spinners such as Muttiah Muralitharan and Harbhajan Singh too added this weapon to their arsenal and reaped rich rewards.
Bowling Doosras without significant change in the bowling action fetched Saqlain wickets by the bucketload. He picked up 288 wickets in just 169 ODI matches, which amounts to an incredible 1.70 wickets per match. With a large bag of tricks that can bamboozle any batsman in the world, Saqlain was also mighty effective in the death overs. Had it not been for the overshadowing presence of the legendary Muttiah Muralitharan, Saqlain would have been regarded as the best off spinner of his era.
Considering the success of spinners such as Ravi Chandran Ashwin, Amit Mishra and Sunil Narine in the IPL, it is hard to imagine how a spinner of Saqlain’s variety would not be lethal on the spin-friendly Indian pitches.
#5 Javagal Srinath
Although India keeps on churning out many top-notch batsmen and spinners, the fast bowling cupboard has, however, never been at the same notch. Javagal Srinath was among those few quality pacers India was fortunate to have. While most pacers came and disappeared, Javagal Srinath was a constant in the Indian pace attack for more than a decade.
The Indian speedster took up the mantle of leadership after the legendary Kapil Dev’s retirement and did a commendable job until his retirement in 2003 where he was a key cog in India’s 2003 World Cup campaign. It has been difficult for India to unearth a bowler of the calibre of Srinath, who picked up 315 wickets in 229 ODIs and is widely regarded as the nation’s greatest pace bowler after Kapil Dev. On his day, the Karnataka native could pose very serious problems to the batsmen with beautiful inswingers and cutters.
Apart from being a fine bowler, he could also whack the ball in the death overs.
#6 Allan Donald
If Lance Klusener was the hero of the immortal 1999 World cup semi-final clash between South Africa and Australia for almost taking the Proteas home, Allan Donald became the cursed figure for being run out that led to Australia’s entry into the final. But, none can deny his contribution to the South African cricket in the post-apartheid era and his place in the cricket history as one of the most dangerous bowlers.
Till Jacques Kallis and Shaun Pollock came along and rose in prominence, Donald was the only stellar performer for the Proteas in both formats of the game. He possessed the ability to bring the ball in or move it away and even the best of the batsmen often found him a hard nut to crack. Injuries dimmed his effectiveness in the fag end of his career but he was the most feared bowler during his prime.
Donald, who was nicknamed ‘the White Lightning’, picked up 272 wickets in 164 matches, which amounts to an astonishing 1.65 wickets per match and would have been an automatic choice for any team in the IPL because of his amazing wicket taking ability.
#7 Darren Gough
Unlike many great fast bowlers in the history, Darren Gough was not over six feet and hence could not obtain the bounce that a very tall bowler like Glenn McGrath got naturally. But that did not stop this Yorkshire-born bowler from becoming England’s most effective bowler in both formats for almost a decade. He was constantly troubled by a spate of injuries which forced him to cut short his test career but when fit, he was dazzling.
With fine changes in pace and effective swing, Gough often got the better of the batsmen and cemented his position in the team as the leader of the bowling attack. Along with Andrew Caddick who ably supported him, he formed a reliable bowling partnership. Towards the end of his career, the right armer’s effectiveness diminished but by then, he had already accomplished enough to be regarded as one of the greatest pace bowlers in the history of England.
Gough has 229 wickets in 58 tests and 235 wickets in just 159 ODIs to his name and would have been an impressive pick for any team.
#8 Waqar Younis
The other ‘Sultan of Swing’ from Pakistan and probably the fastest in the world in his heyday. The name of Waqar Younis brings to mind many inswinging toe crushers delivered with the greatest precision which made the batsmen hop around or fall to their knees. When it came to bowling yorkers, Waqar was second to none. His ultra-fast missile like deliveries sent the stumps of many batsmen cartwheeling.
With a magnificent run-up, he often bowled ‘balls of fire’ which made that batsmen look helpless. Along with Wasim Akram, he formed a devastating opening bowling partnership that wreaked havoc on many batting line-ups. When Waqar was on song, he was unplayable, even for the best of the batsmen.
Although he had a tendency to leak runs, his amazing wicket taking rate, as evidenced by his tally of 416 wickets in just 262 ODIs, compensates for it. His express pace and a phenomenal ability to bowl deadly yorkers consistently would have made him a hot favorite for many franchise owners in the IPL, a match winner any captain would dream of having in his team.
#9 Damien Fleming
Damien Fleming, whose test career began in a roaring fashion with a hat-trick against Pakistan in Rawalpindi, showed the potential to take 300 wickets in both ODIs and tests but finished off his career with far less, thanks to a spate of injuries that often restricted his international appearances. Fleming’s ODI career lasted only 88 matches in which he took 134 wickets.
However, when fully fit, he delivered outswingers and precise yorkers at a lively pace that made life difficult for the men with the willow. He was highly underrated and lived under the shadows of the unerring Glenn McGrath, but when in rhythm, Fleming could match even the best.
Fleming will be best remembered for bowling the last over of the semi-final in 1999 against South Africa which ended in heartbreak for the Proteas. After conceding two boundaries off the first two balls to Lance Klusener, who was in a murderous mood, Fleming came back well with two dot balls that culminated in Allan Donald’s run out.
Fleming’s ability to send down deliveries into the block-hole that the batsmen could only defend made him a death overs specialist in the ODIs. For his adeptness at bowling at the death, Fleming would have been an easy pick in the IPL.
#10 Courtney Walsh
For becoming the first bowler to break the barrier of 500 test wickets, Courtney Walsh’s name will be etched in the annals of cricket history forever. Walsh was one of the very few silver linings for the West Indies team of the 1990s that fell to bottomless depths from stratospheric heights. Since his debut in 1984, the Jamaican always remained a vital cog in the wheel of the West Indian bowling attack.
By the time the former Windies skipper called it a day in 2001, Walsh had bowled a whopping 5000 overs in test cricket in a career that spanned 17 years which is a testimony to his immense physical stamina. Along with Curtly Ambrose, Walsh formed one of the best bowling partnerships ever.
Walsh claimed 227 wickets in 205 ODIs and 519 wickets in 132 tests. The numbers clearly demonstrate that Walsh enjoyed greater success in tests than in ODIs. However, Walsh was one of those very few bowlers who could boast of an economy rate of less than 4 in ODIs, which would have made him a hot property in the IPL.
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