Fast bowlers play a quintessential role in helping the team take crucial wickets early in the game. By doing so, the batting team gets under surreal pressure. On the other hand, even spinners do play a crucial role in keeping the batsmen in check with subtle bowling variations of line and length.
On top of that, the bowling team would also have a great chance to tilt the game towards their favour if either the pacers or spinners do their job quite perfectly. One of the most common tactics for bowlers is to target the stumps.
Case in point, Pakistan have produced top-tier pacers and spinners in their history. Let’s have a look at the three bowlers from Pakistan who took the most wickets in international cricket.
1. Wasim Akram – 916 wickets
Pakistan’s bowling great Wasim Akram comes first on the list with the most wickets taken by a Pakistani in the history of international cricket. Wasim Akram has taken 414 wickets in Tests and 502 wickets in ODIs.
It is worth noting that Wasim Akram has bagged 25 fifers and 5 ten-wicket hauls in the longest format of the game. He registered his best bowling figures of 11/110 in Tests. On the other hand, he has taken a total of six 5-wicket-hauls in One-Day Internationals, registering his best bowling figures of 5/15.
2. Waqar Younis – 789 wickets
Pakistan’s bowling great Waqar Younis was one of the vital fast-bowling weapons of Pakistan’s bowling set-up. Waqar Younis has taken as many as 373 wickets in Tests. He took 416 wickets in One-Day Internationals. Overall, he has taken 22 fifers and 5 ten-wicket hauls in Tests.
He registered his personal best bowling figures of 13/135 in Tests. As far as his ODI career is concerned, he bagged as many as 13 fifers. He registered his personal best bowling figures of 7/36.
3. Shahid Afridi – 541 wickets
Shahid Afridi was one of the pivotal all-rounders in the history of Pakistani cricket. He extended his vital contribution with the bat and ball across all three formats of the game.
The former Pakistani all-rounder is the third-leading wicket-taker for Pakistan in international cricket. Notably, he took 48 wickets in Tests, 395 wickets in ODIs and 98 wickets in Twenty20 Internationals. Afridi took 1 fifer in Tests and nine fifers in ODIs.
