Continuing in the series of articles of the different skills in the sport of cricket and we are comparing the best players involved in those skills. We have talked about wicket keeper batters then right arm fast bowlers then the best batters to have ever played the game. Today we will be talking about left arm fast bowlers because they are a rarity and they are the most difficult to face and the fans love watching them. We will talk about Wasim Akram vs Zaheer Khan vs Chaminda Vaas.
The first stats Comparison that we will do is between Wasim Akram and Zaheer Khan and we can say that these 2 are the Two best left arm fast bowlers to ever play for their nations India and Pakistan. Wasim Akram is an all time legend and will walk into any XI and Zaheer Khan is an inspiration to all young left arm pace bowlers. Six let’s see the stats of these 2 greats
Wasim Akram
Firstly we will talk about Wasim Akram and he is arguably the best left arm fast bowler to have ever played cricket and that is a big statement. Wasim Akram was known as the Sultan of Swing and he could make the ball do things the way he wanted and unlike any other bowler. Wasim Akram was an extraordinary talent and I was fortunate enough to watch him play live on TV.
Test Cricket
Wasim Akram was a giant in test cricket history of Pakistan as he is the bowler who has taken so many wickets in test cricket. He played 104 test matches for Pakistan and he took 414 wickets in test cricket. Wasim Akram picked these wickets at an average of 23.62. He has taken 25 Five wicket hauls in his tear career. And he is the only one among the 3 to have hit 2898 runs in test cricket with a highest score of 257 with a record 12 sixes in the Innings.
ODI Cricket
This was the format that Wasim Akram had his most glory in as he played 356 ODIs for Pakistan. In those 356 Matches he took 502 wickets and is the second highest wicket taker in the history of ODI cricket and the second person to get more than 500 ODI wickets. Wasim Akram had a bowling average of 23.52 in ODIs and he took 6 Five wicket hauls. He also made 3717 runs in ODIs which makes him the only player in history to score over 3500 runs and take over 500 Wickets in ODIs.
Check here Best Wasim Akram bowling Performances
Format | Test Cricket | ODIs |
Matches | 104 | 356 |
Top score | 257* | 86 |
Balls Bowled | 22627 | 18186 |
Wickets | 414 | 502 |
Bowling average | 23.62 | 23.52 |
5 wickets in an innings | 25 | 6 |
10 Wickets in a match | 5 | 0 |
Best bowling | 7/119 | 5/15 |
Zaheer Khan
Zaheer Khan is the best left arm fast bowler to have played cricket for India and that is a big thing and he did very well in both formats of cricket. Zaheer Khan was an inspiration to so many young left arm fast bowlers in India and he is the reason why now India has so many left arm bowlers.
Test Cricket
Zaheer Khan was a true great in test cricket as he played 92 Test Matches for India. And in those Matches he picked up 311 Test Wickets. He has got these wickets at an average of 32.95 and he has taken 11 Five wicket hauls in his career. Unlike Wasim Akram he could not do much with the bat as he got 1200+ runs in test cricket
Check here Best Zaheer Khan bowling performances
ODI Cricket
Zaheer Khan was at his best in this format because here the risk of getting injured was way lesser and he could aggressively throughout. Zaheer Khan played 200 ODIs for India and has taken 282 wickets for India. Zaheer Khan has picked 1 Five wicket haul for India in his ODI career.
Check here Best Performances of Zaheer Khan in ODI Cricket
Format | Test Cricket | ODIs |
Matches | 92 | 200 |
Balls Bowled | 18785 | 10097 |
Wickets | 311 | 282 |
5 wickets in an innings | 11 | 1 |
10 Wickets in a match | 1 | 0 |
Best bowling | 7/87 | 5/42 |
Stats Comparison
When we compare these 2 all time greats then we can see that Wasim Akram has got almost 6500 international runs so he has the clear edge in bathing and in bowling also Wasim Akram has got more than 100+ ODI test wickets and at a much better average. And in ODIs, Wasim Akram is way ahead as he has more than 220 ODI wickets and at a much better average as well.
Also Read: Chaminda Vaas vs Wasim Akram - Stats Comparison as Fast Bowler
