Top 5 left-arm bowlers in One-Day cricket

Wasim Akram

1. Wasim Akram (Pakistan)

Any list comprising the greatest left-arm bowlers would be incomplete without the legendary Wasim Akram. The original ‘Sultan of Swing’ was deadly accurate and bowled with fearsome pace in his initial years. His most special talent was the ability to move the ball both ways in one delivery – a feat not yet matched by anyone else. Together with Waqar Younis, he formed a terrifying new-ball pair.

Akram became the first bowler to take two ODI hat-tricks in 1990 – one against the West Indies and the other against Australia; all the batsmen were bowled on both occasions. His ability to reverse-swing the ball led him to grab three key English wickets in the 1992 World Cup final, thus winning the Man of the Match award and helping Pakistan to lift the title.

Other highlights include captaining his side to the 1999 World Cup final, and holding the record for the most number of wickets (55) in World Cup matches. Match-fixing allegations and Pakistan’s early exit in the 2003 edition saw his international career end in a somewhat disappointing manner.

Nevertheless, Wasim Akram remains one of the greatest left-arm fast bowlers to have played the game.