5 bowlers who can take more than 400 Test wickets

Bulky, short and out of place with the slick bodies of today's cricketers, Rangana Herath is perhaps the only reminder of what the game was like back in the last decade. And then there is his craft, the none-too-fancy, left-arm slow off-spin, a much-degraded version of bowling, but combine them, give the banker a scenario, and he will bowl you to victories.

He has been doing this for a long, really long time, and as he stepped out of the shadows of a certain Muttiah Muralitharan, Herath has galloped away to 400 Test wickets, an elite club where only a select few have barged their way in. Not Herath, he has never barged through anything, he has slowly chipped away, opened the door smoothly and dawdled into the group.

Are there any other bowlers currently in the game who can sprint into this group? We believe there are as many as 5 bowlers who have the pedigree to join Herath and his boys in the exclusive club.

#5 Kagiso Rabada

All of 22, this young prodigy from South Africa has shown enough to convince people that he can assume the mantle from Dale Steyn and that he has the ability to lead the Proteas attack for a very long time in the future.

In 21 matches, he has amassed 92 wickets at an average of 24.50 and with an astounding strike rate of 42.5.

These are amazing numbers, and if the young turk manages to stay fit, there is no reason why he cannot be the next big thing in the world with the red ball.

#4 Nathan Lyon

Australia's most successful off-spinner

From a curator at the Adelaide Oval to the most successful off-spinner in the history of Australian cricket, the journey has been exciting, monotonous, frugal, and fulfilling for Nathan Lyon.

In his six years in international cricket, Lyon has endured periods of doubt and has time and again emerged as the mainstay of the Australian bowling attack across all conditions.

When he picked up 13 wickets in Bangladesh during the second Test match, thus bowling Australia to an emphatic win, he had cleared his Asia hurdle and now with 269 Test wickets in 69 matches, there is no reason Lyon cannot breach the 400 mark and then go beyond!

#3 Josh Hazlewood

Upwards and onwards

Ever since the tall, lanky New South Welshman made his debut against India at Brisbane, Josh Hazlewood has been a constant fixture in the Australian bowling attack.

Despite his relative inexperience, Hazlewood became the leader of the bowling attack owing to his potency with the ball not only in Australian conditions but across different surfaces and conditions.

With 118 wickets in 31 Tests, Hazlewood has only gone from strength to strength in his career so far and if he stays fit and channels all his focus into his bowling, he might sprint away to the 400-wicket club in Test cricket.

#2 Ravichandran Ashwin

Sprinting away!

292 Test wickets in 52 matches at a strike rate of 52.4 and with an average of 25.26, Ravichandran Ashwin might just reach the target by the end of the next year, such has been his form with the ball over the last 15 months.

However, his biggest test will be when India tour overseas where the conditions won't be as helpful. This is where he has to evolve and if his performance on the county circuit is anything to go by, he may well have found a way to perform in unresponsive circumstances.

He picked up 29 wickets including two five-wicket hauls in four games. This bodes well for him as India will be traveling to England next year.

#1 Stuart Broad

Just 12 wickets away

In James Anderson and Stuart Broad, England are blessed to have a bowling combination that seldom disappoints. However, even as Anderson has broken away by screaming his way to 506 wickets, his bowling partner is a silent performer who keeps at it even if wickets are not flying towards him.

He is currently at 388 wickets and with the Ashes coming up, may be able to break into the coveted group.

Also, he is fit and bowling quite well, and there is no reason why he cannot pull away from the rest of the names in this group.