Most successful bowlers for India across all three formats

For all the accolades India bestows on the batsmen, the bowlers have always stood in a corner, never too flustered with the lack of recognition, but always in the mix to win games.

The batsmen can score as many runs as they feel like, if the bowlers do not pick up wickets, the results will never be as expected.

Test cricket, the purest form of the game dictates you to pick up 20 wickets in order to win games and this is where the bowlers step up.

Now, let us take a look at top five bowlers for India across all the three formats and recognize their worth.

#5 Javagal Srinath

Javagal Srinath was pacy, scary and mighty effective

Javagal Srinath took the baton from Kapil Dev and forced India to wake up and take fast bowling seriously.

At his prime, he was pacy, he was scary and he was mighty effective.

Owing to the conditions, Srinath always preferred to hit the pitch and extract bounce and movement. With a strong shoulder action, he was also a master of the cutters and when the conditions favoured him, he could also extract seam and swing.

In 296 matches, Srinath picked up 551 wickets with a strike rate of 49 and an economy rate of 3.55.

He had 13 five wicket hauls and one 10-wicket haul in his career.

#4 Zaheer Khan

Zaheer Khan was instrumental in taking India to the number 1 ranking in Test

Arguably, the best left-arm fast bowler to have emerged from the Indian subcontinent after Wasim Akram, Zaheer Khan was a master in the subcontinent conditions as he could extract reverse swing and was an absolute treat to watch in overseas conditions when he could get the new ball to talk.

After a sterling start to his career, Zaheer was plagued with injuries, which took away many years off his career, but, when he made a comeback into the Indian setup back in 2006 after a fruitful county season, he became a complete bowler and had that inherent knowledge of when to go for the kill and pick up wickets.

In the 303 matches he played for India across all the three formats, the left-armer picked up 597 wickets at a strike rate of 48.4 and with an economy rate of 3.89.

He was instrumental in taking India to the number 1 ranking in Test cricket and then winning the 2011 World Cup.

Along the way, he picked up 12 five-wicket hauls and a single 10-wicket haul in a Test match.

#3 Kapil Dev

Kapil Dev was a charismatic character who could galvanise teams

There will be no debates here as Kapil Dev was the best fast bowler to have ever played for India.

Also, such was his pedigree and influence, India is still grappling to find a fast bowling all-rounder anywhere close to Kapil Dev.

He was a leader of men, a charismatic character who could galvanise teams and as a result of which India upset the apple cart by clinching the 1983 World Cup under his leadership.

Coming back to his bowling abilities, Kapil played 356 matches for India and picked up 687 wickets at a strike rate of 56.6.

His economy rate was 3.05 and he picked up 24 five-wicket hauls and 2-ten wicket hauls across Test and One Day Internationals.

#2 Harbhajan Singh

Harbhajan Singh was a complete package with the ball

Plucky, belligerent, poignant and a match-winner, Harbhajan Singh was all about colour, both on and off the field.

The man from Punjab is India’s most successful off-spin bowler and his talent was unbridled and when on song, he could run through oppositions.

His greatest asset is his ability to change the flight, speed, and length of deliveries which befuddles the batsmen and then he also can spin the ball both ways.

A complete package with the ball, Harbhajan played in an era when the rules were heavily stacked in favour of the batsmen and came up triumphant.

In the 365 matches he has played for India so far, the offie has picked up 707 wickets with a strike rate of 58.7 and with an economy rate of 3.32.

Also, he picked up 28 five-wicket hauls and five 10-wicket haul.

#1 Anil Kumble

Anil Kumble's greatest ally was his impeccable consistency

If stats are to be believed, Anil Kumble has won India the most number of matches ever in history.

But, let us just put the stats aside and decipher the man; there has been no person who has tried harder, no person who displayed astonishing levels of commitment, no person deserves the accolades more than Kumble.

He was not your conventional leg-spinner, he darted the ball in and got it to break just a smidgen, but his greatest ally was his impeccable consistency, the unwavering lengths, and the remarkable dependability.

In the 401 matches Kumble played for India, he picked up 953 wickets at a strike rate of 57.09.

Also, along the way, he notched up 37 five-wicket hauls and eight 10 wicket-haul.

The most successful Indian bowler and Anil Kumble deserves this spot by all means!