Pakistan has produced many high-quality bowlers over the years, in test Cricket some mighty legends from Wasim Akram to Mushtaq Ahmed. In this article, we discussed the top 5 Pakistani Bowlers who take the most wickets in the test for Pakistan. It should be noted that these figures are current as of December 2022 and are subject to change as players continue to represent Pakistan in Test cricket.
Most wickets in the test for Pakistan:
These are the top 5 bowlers who took the most wickets in test cricket for Pakistan.
- Wasim Akram
- Waqar Younis
- Imran Khan
- Danish Kaneria
- Yasir Shah
1. Wasim Akram:
Wasim played 104 Test matches for Pakistan between 1984 and 2002 and took 414 wickets at an average of 23.62. He was a left-arm fast bowler and is the highest wicket-taker for Pakistan in test cricket. He is considered one of the greatest swing bowlers in the history of Test cricket, and his wicket-taking ability contributed to Pakistan’s success in the 1990s.
Wasim made his Test debut in 1984 against New Zealand. Throughout his Test career, Akram took five wickets in an innings on 25 occasions and ten wickets in a match on 5 occasions. He took career-best figures of 7/119 against New Zealand in 1990.
Apart from his on-field achievements, Wasim is the first bowler in the world to take more than 400 wickets in both Tests and ODIs. He is the only Pakistani bowler to take two hat-tricks in Test cricket. Wasim is considered one of the founders, and perhaps the greatest master of reverse swing bowling.
2. Waqar Younis:
Waqar Younis is the second-highest wicket-taker in test cricket for Pakistan. Younis made his debut for the Pakistan cricket team in 1989 and played for the team till 2003. In Test cricket, he played 87 matches and took 373 wickets at an average of 23.56. He was a fast bowler, known for his ability to swing the ball both ways and generate pace and bounce off the pitch. After Dale Steyn, Younis has the best strike rate, for any bowler with over 350 Test wickets.
3. Imran Khan:
Imran Khan is the third-highest wicket-taker in Test cricket for Pakistan. Khan made his Test debut in 1971 against England. He was a right-arm, fast bowler. He was known for his all-round abilities as a batsman and bowler and was considered one of the best all-rounders in the world during his playing days.
In Test cricket, Imran took 362 wickets at an average of 22.81, including 23 5-wicket hauls and six 10-wicket hauls. Khan was one of the pioneers of reverse swing bowling in the late 1970s. Khan is the second fastest cricketer after Ian Botham to score 3000 runs and 300 wickets in Test cricket (just 75 Tests).
Also Read: Most Test runs for Pakistan in Test Cricket History
4. Danish Kaneria:
Danish Kaneria is fourth on the list of bowlers who have taken the most Test wickets for Pakistan. He was a right-arm leg-spinner. After Anil Dalpat, Danish was the second Hindu to play in the Pakistan team. Kaneria made his debut for the Pakistan cricket team in 2000 against England and played for the team till 2010. He played a total of 61 Test matches in which he took 261 wickets at an average of 34.79, including 15 5-wicket hauls and 2 10-wicket hauls. He was a key member of the Pakistan cricket team for many years and was known for his ability to take wickets on the regular basis.
However, Kaneria’s career was not without controversy. In 2012, he was banned for life by the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) for spot-fixing, a form of corruption in which the outcome of certain parts of a match is fixed in advance for money. The ban effectively ended Kaneria’s professional cricket career.
5. Yasir Shah:
Yasir Shah is currently the best leg-spinner in Pakistan’s Test team. In this list, he is the 5th highest wicket-taker for Pakistan in Test cricket. He is a right-arm leg-spinner. Shah made his debut for the Pakistan cricket team against Australia in 2014 and has played a total of 48 Test matches. In these matches, he took 244 wickets at an average of 30.69, including 16 5-wicket hauls and 3 10-wicket hauls.
He is the fastest bowler to take 100 and 200 wickets in Test cricket. Shah is Pakistan’s fastest bowler to take 50 Test wickets. He is the first leg-spinner to take 5 wickets at Lord’s cricket ground. Yasir became the highest wicket-taker by any Asian team in a single match at Lord’s. He is the first Pakistani bowler to take 10 wickets in a single day of a Test match.
Shah has had a successful career so far and is considered one of the leading leg-spinners in international cricket. He has been a key member of the Pakistan cricket team in recent years and is likely to continue to play a key role for the team in the future as well.
Also Read: Most T20 Runs for Pakistan in Cricket History
Most test wickets for Pakistan:
| Player | Matches | Wkts | BBI | Average | 5 | 10 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wasim Akram | 104 | 414 | 7/119 | 23.62 | 25 | 5 |
| Waqar Younis | 87 | 373 | 7/76 | 23.56 | 22 | 5 |
| Imran Khan | 88 | 362 | 8/58 | 22.81 | 23 | 6 |
| Danish Kaneria | 61 | 261 | 7/77 | 34.79 | 15 | 2 |
| Yasir Shah | 48 | 244 | 8/41 | 31.38 | 16 | 3 |
| Abdul Qadir | 67 | 236 | 9/56 | 32.80 | 15 | 5 |
| Saqlain Mushtaq | 49 | 208 | 8/164 | 29.83 | 13 | 3 |
| Mushtaq Ahmed | 52 | 185 | 7/56 | 32.97 | 10 | 3 |
| Shoaib Akhtar | 46 | 178 | 6/11 | 25.69 | 12 | 2 |
| Saeed Ajmal | 35 | 178 | 7/55 | 28.10 | 10 | 4 |
| Sarfraz Nawaz | 55 | 177 | 9/86 | 32.75 | 4 | 1 |
| Iqbal Qasim | 50 | 171 | 7/49 | 28.11 | 8 | 2 |
| Umar Gul | 47 | 163 | 6/135 | 34.06 | 4 | 0 |
| Fazal Mahmood | 34 | 139 | 7/42 | 24.70 | 13 | 4 |
| Intikhab Alam | 47 | 125 | 7/52 | 35.95 | 5 | 2 |
| Mohammad Amir | 36 | 119 | 6/44 | 30.47 | 4 | 0 |
| Mohammad Asif | 23 | 106 | 6/41 | 24.36 | 7 | 1 |
| Abdul Razzaq | 46 | 100 | 5/35 | 36.94 | 1 | 0 |
| Shaheen Shah Afridi | 25 | 99 | 5/36 | 24.86 | 4 | 1 |
| Abdur Rehman | 22 | 99 | 5/63 | 29.39 | 2 | 0 |
| Tauseef Ahmed | 34 | 93 | 5/28 | 31.72 | 3 | 0 |
| Mohammad Abbas | 25 | 90 | 5/27 | 23.02 | 4 | 1 |
| Mohammad Sami | 36 | 85 | 5/38 | 52.74 | 2 | 0 |
| Wahab Riaz | 27 | 83 | 6/67 | 34.50 | 2 | 0 |
| Mushtaq Mohammad | 57 | 79 | 8/69 | 29.22 | 3 | 0 |
All information on stats from Cricinfo. Further to see click this
Questions
Who is the most 5 wickets haul in test for Pakistan?
Wasim Akram took 25 5-wicket hauls this is the highest in Pakistan test cricket.
Who is the most 10 wickets haul in test for Pakistan?
Imran Khan is the most ten-wicket haul for Pakistan in test cricket. He took 6 10-wicket hauls in test cricket.