Former Indian pacer Zaheer Khan has named his top 5 favourite ODI bowlers of all time, which did not include Jasprit Bumrah. The 31-year-old pacer, who is currently out of action due to a back injury, is widely considered one of the best pacers of his generation. Recently, former cricketer Michael Clarke even went on to call him the ‘greatest all-format fast bowler’.
However, when picking his top five favourite bowlers, Zaheer didn’t name any Indian bowler. He preferred Wasim Akram, Glenn McGrath, Waqar Younis, Chaminda Vaas, and Dale Steyn over his fellow countrymen.
Zaheer Khan’s top 5 bowlers:
Explaining the logic behind his choice while speaking to Cricbuzz, Khan said, “There were a lot of the international bowlers around me who were making a really good impact. Wasim Akram is obviously one of those names who were impactful in this format with his variations, those yorkers, going around the wicket, over the wicket, and using those slow ones. In this format, he’s had a huge impact.”
Khan, who was part of the 2011 World Cup winning team, added: “Another name that I really looked up to also was Glenn McGrath. With the accuracy which he had, the simplicity in the action, and that extra bounce and impact with the new ball, it is something which was very evident right throughout his career, across all formats.”
Talking about his choice of Waqar Younis, Khan said, “Let’s talk about Waqar Younis. You talk about the strike rate; you talk about the impact. If you look at his numbers (416 wickets in 262 ODIs) also, they are right up there, and especially the number which is striking is the number of fifers (13) he has taken in the ODI format right throughout his career. So, the impact was phenomenal in terms of having that striking ability.”
