Asian batters may have struggled in adverse conditions in South Africa, England, New Zealand, and Australia (SENA). But the bowlers have cherished their time in these four countries.
With the helpful bowling conditions on offer, many Asian bowlers have performed well in SENA countries, especially in Test cricket. These bowlers have made the red ball do the talking with their swing and seam capabilities.
Now that’s about pacers, but spinners are also not too far. Despite not having the conditions in their favour, they have taken a lot of wickets.
On that note, here are the top 10 Asian bowlers with the most Test wickets in SENA countries.
Asian Bowlers with Most Test Wickets in SENA
| Player | Innings | Wickets | BBI | Avg | 5W/10W |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wasim Akram (PAK) | 55 | 146 | 7/119 | 24.11 | 11/3 |
| Jasprit Bumrah (IND) | 59 | 145 | 6/33 | 21.02 | 9/0 |
| Anil Kumble (IND) | 67 | 141 | 8/141 | 37.04 | 5/1 |
| Ishant Sharma (IND) | 71 | 130 | 7/74 | 36.86 | 5/0 |
| Mohammed Shami (IND) | 63 | 123 | 6/56 | 32.88 | 4/0 |
| Muttiah Muralitharan (SL) | 34 | 120 | 9/65 | 26.50 | 10/5 |
| Zaheer Khan (IND) | 53 | 119 | 5/29 | 31.47 | 6/0 |
| Kapil Dev (IND) | 62 | 117 | 8/106 | 33.07 | 7/0 |
| Waqar Younis (PAK) | 51 | 113 | 6/78 | 29.15 | 6/1 |
| Imran Khan (PAK) | 46 | 109 | 7/40 | 26.55 | 8/2 |
Key Insights
6: As many as 10 Asian bowlers have taken 100 or more Test wickets in SENA countries, and six of whom are Indians. The Indian number rises to 14 if we consider bowlers with 50-plus wickets.
27: In all, 27 bowlers have picked up 50 or more wickets in SENA conditions in Test cricket. There are nine Pakistan bowlers to go past that number, while four Sri Lankans feature among them.
28: No bowler from Bangladesh has thus far crossed 50 Test wickets in SENA. Shakib Al Hasan is the highest wicket-taker, with 28 scalps across eight matches.
146: Wasim Akram leads the chart right now with 146 wickets. But Jasprit Bumrah is likely to overtake him and perhaps go beyond 150 wickets.
141: Spinners usually don’t get a lot of help in SENA countries. But Anil Kumble has taken the most wickets among spinners, with 141 scalps in 35 SENA Tests. Muttiah Muralitharan (120) is the other tweaker with 100-plus wickets. India’s Bishan Singh Bedi fell short of the 100-wicket milestone by 10 victims.
9/65: Muralitharan has registered the best bowling figures in a Test innings in a SENA country. The former Sri Lankan spinner returned the figures of 9 for 65 against England in the 1998 Oval Test.
5: Murali has also taken the most 10-wicket hauls. He has five 10-fers to his name, with Akram (3) and Imran Khan (2) being the others with multiple 10-wicket hauls.
11: Akram, though, has bagged the most Test five-fors in SENA nations. The former Pakistan pacer picked up 11 five-wicket hauls.
21.02: Bumrah’s bowling average and strike rate are the best among the Asian bowlers with 50 wickets. The Indian quick averages close to 21 runs per wicket and strikes a scalp after every 46th ball.
Read: 8 Factors that make Mohammed Shami LETHAL!
