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        Kaushik Narayanan

        4381 days ago

        Kaushik Narayanan 2554

        #Cricket

        Text

        The all-time greatest Indian bowler - A statistical analysis

        India has been predominantly a batting powerhouse. Yet, India has produced some fine bowlers, both spinners and pacers. It is hard to believe that once an Indian held the record for the most number of wickets in Test cricket (Kapil Dev held the record till Courtney Walsh broke it in 2000).

        To find out the best bowler India has produced, let us consider the top 5 highest wicket takers for India in ODIs and Tests combined.

        1) Anil Kumble (956 wickets)

        2) Kapil Dev (687 wickets)

        3) Harbhajan Singh (665 wickets)

        4) Zaheer Khan (573 wickets)

        5) Javagal Srinath (551 wickets)


        ODI bowling comparison:

        1. Economy rate

        Player Economy rate
        Anil Kumble 4.30
        Kapil Dev 3.71
        Harbhajan Singh 4.30
        Zaheer Khan 4.93
        Javagal Srinath 4.44
        Here, to calculate the points each player gets for economy rate, the formula used is

        [100-economy rate of the player]/[100-least economic rate among the players]  * 10

        Points Table

        Player Points
        Anil Kumble 9.93
        Kapil Dev 10
        Harbhajan Singh 9.93
        Zaheer Khan 9.87
        Javagal Srinath 9.92
        2. Strike rate

        Player Strike rate
        Anil Kumble 43
        Kapil Dev 44.2
        Harbhajan Singh 46.5
        Zaheer Khan 35.8
        Javagal Srinath 37.8
        Here, to calculate the points each player gets for strike rate, the formula used is

        [100-strike rate of player]/[100-least strike rate among the players]  * 10

        Points table

        Player Points
        Anil Kumble 8.87
        Kapil Dev 8.69
        Harbhajan Singh 8.64
        Zaheer Khan 10
        Javagal Srinath 9.68
        3. Bowling average

        Player Bowling Average
        Anil Kumble 30.89
        Kapil Dev 27.45
        Harbhajan Singh 33.40
        Zaheer Khan 29.43
        Javagal Srinath 28.08
        Here, to calculate the points each player gets for bowling average, the formula used is

        [100-average of the player]/[100-least average among the players] * 10

        Points table

        Player Points
        Anil Kumble 9.52
        Kapil Dev 10
        Harbhajan Singh 9.17
        Zaheer Khan 9.72
        Javagal Srinath 9.91
        4. Ratio of Man-of-the-match awards won to number of matches played

        Even a player’s contribution to team’s victory must be considered. Which, according to me is reflected in the man of the match awards won. So, if one sees the ratio of man of the match awards won to the number of matches played, one might get some idea of the bowler’s contribution towards his team’s victory.

        Player Ratio
        Anil Kumble 0.022
        Kapil Dev 0.008
        Harbhajan Singh 0.013
        Zaheer Khan 0.030
        Javagal Srinath 0.021
        Here, the points for the above ratio are calculated by

        Ratio for the player/highest ratio among the players

        Points table

        Player Points
        Anil Kumble 7.33
        Kapil Dev 2.66
        Harbhajan Singh 4.33
        Zaheer Khan 10
        Javagal Srinath 7
        Now, adding the points given for these 4 parameters, we get the final total for each player as follows:

        Total points

        Player Points
        Anil Kumble 35.65
        Kapil Dev 31.35
        Harbhajan Singh 32.07
        Zaheer Khan 39.59
        Javagal Srinath 36.51
        From the above calculations, statistically, Zaheer Khan is the best ODI bowler India has produced.


        Test bowling comparison:

        1. Strike rate

        Player Strike rate
        Anil Kumble 65.9
        Kapil Dev 63.9
        Harbhajan Singh 68.1
        Zaheer Khan 58.6
        Javagal Srinath 64
        Points table

        Player Points
        Anil Kumble 8.23
        Kapil Dev 8.71
        Harbhajan Singh 7.70
        Zaheer Khan 10
        Javagal Srinath 8.69
        2. Bowling average

        Player Average
        Anil Kumble 29.65
        Kapil Dev 29.64
        Harbhajan Singh 32.22
        Zaheer Khan 32.06
        Javagal Srinath 30.49
        Points table

        Player Points
        Anil Kumble 9.99
        Kapil Dev 10
        Harbhajan Singh 9.63
        Zaheer Khan 9.65
        Javagal Srinath 9.87
        3. Ratio of man-of-the-match awards to number of matches played

        Player Ratio
        Anil Kumble 0.075
        Kapil Dev 0.061
        Harbhajan Singh 0.061
        Zaheer Khan 0.058
        Javagal Srinath 0.104
        Points table

        Player Points
        Anil Kumble 7.21
        Kapil Dev 5.86
        Harbhajan Singh 5.86
        Zaheer Khan 5.57
        Javagal Srinath 10
        Now, we add the points for these 3 parameters in Tests:

        Total Points

        Player points
        Anil Kumble 25.43
        Kapil Dev 24.57
        Harbhajan Singh 23.19
        Zaheer Khan 25.22
        Javagal Srinath 28.56
        Surprisingly, according to above calculations, Javagal Srinath has been India’s best Test bowler, thanks to the more number of match-winning performances from the pacer.

         

        Overall:
        Points table (Test + ODI combined)

        Player Points
        Anil Kumble 61.08
        Kapil Dev 55.92
        Harbhajan Singh 55.26
        Zaheer Khan 64.81
        Javagal Srinath 65.07

        Statistically, Javagal Srinath is the best bowler India has ever produced, with Zaheer Khan being a close second. Many prominent bowlers like Bishen Singh Bedi could not make it to the list as they did not satisfy the criteria required.

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