London [UK], October 13 (ANI): England wicketkeeper-batter Jos Buttler and former pacer Stuart Broad chose the top 10 bowlers of the 21st century, putting Indian pace stalwart Jasprit Bumrah at number three over greats of the game, including Australian pacer Glenn McGrath and Sri Lankan spin wizard Muttiah Muralitharan.
Buttler and Broad were speaking on the ‘For the Love of Cricket’ podcast, which they co-host.
The leading wicket-taker in international cricket, Muralitharan (1,347), who won a Cricket World Cup (1996) and ICC Champions Trophy (2002) in a career spanning 20 years, was placed at sixth spot, while McGrath, a three-time World Cup winner and the leading wicket-taker in the tournament history (71 wickets), was placed at fourth spot. McGrath has taken 949 wickets in 376 matches and is the fifth-highest wicket-taker.
At the top spot was leg-spin genius, the late Shane Warne of Australia, who ended his international career with 1,001 wickets and a World Cup title to his name. He is the only member of the 1,000-international-wicket club besides Murali. Warne is the second-highest Test wicket-taker of all time and Australia’s top wicket-taker.
James Anderson, England’s leading wicket-taker with 991 scalps and overall the most successful pacer of all time, was placed at second place. He formed a long and highly productive pace bowling partnership with Broad.
Bumrah is one of the finest Indian pacers ever and one of the finest of the modern era, with 511 wickets in 243 matches, including 18 five-wicket hauls. While he has achieved memorable heroics in away Tests, his ability to extract wickets at spin-friendly Indian conditions makes him a legend in his own right. He is India’s eighth-highest wicket-taker ever. He has won two T20 World Cup titles with India, winning the ‘Player of the Tournament’ in the 2024 edition and ‘Player of the Match’ in the 2026 final against New Zealand.
On the fifth place in Australia’s 2023 World Cup-winning and World Test Championship-winning skipper Pat Cummins (535 international wickets), followed by Muralitharan. Seventh, eighth, and ninth spots are taken by the South African trio of Dale Steyn (699 wickets), Kagiso Rabada (631 wickets) and Shaun Pollock (823 wickets), respectively. The 10th spot went to Australia’s left-arm pacer Mitchell Starc, a two-time World Cup winner and World Test Championship winner (773 international wickets).
Notably, stars like Ravichandran Ashwin, Nathan Lyon, Ravindra Jadeja, Anil Kumble and Tim Southee, some of the most productive names of the 21st century, were not included in the list.
The top 10 bowlers of the 21st century by Buttler and Broad: Shane Warne, James Anderson, Jasprit Bumrah, Glenn McGrath, Pat Cummins, Muttiah Muralitharan, Dale Steyn, Kagiso Rabada, Shaun Pollock, Mitchell Starc. (ANI)
Related reading
