#1 Bhuvaneswar Kumar - India
This is a no-brainer. Bhuvi is the best fast bowler at the moment and there's no stopping him. Some may say that the pace at which he bowls is not so threatening but the fact is that his line, length, and movement is the best in the world. Bhuvi is very economical at the death and is very accurate with his yorkers. Not many bowlers begin their career, as well as Bhuvneshwar Kumar did, for India. He struck in his very first over in both ODIs and T20Is, both against Pakistan in 2012 and 2013 respectively. Another one of Indian cricket's extracts from the state of Uttar Pradesh, his predecessors being Praveen Kumar and RP Singh, Kumar is well renowned for his ability to swing the ball both ways.
Consequently, Kumar lost his place in the side as he thrived for extra pace and in the process lost his main weapon, i.e. swing. After beginning with Bangalore and a stint with Pune, it was with Hyderabad franchise in 2014 where he started to get his mojo back. There were talks about him being only a new-ball bowler but he toiled hard to better his bowling with the old ball and came out triumph, acquiring the quality to bowl fast yorkers at the death. He also became the first bowler to win the award for most wickets in an edition in successive seasons of the Indian T20 League. He rarely fails with the ball. Bhuvi is a good batsman too and a reliable number 8. He certainly can bat a bit with a proper batsman at the other end. He is a fantastic fielder who can cover large distances in no time. Bhuvi is a quality player and more importantly, an excellent bowler and the leader of the Indian pace attack.
For these reasons, Buvaneswar kumar takes the Top spot in top 5 best fast bowlers in the world.
#2 Kagiso Rabada - South Africa
After a close contest with Bumrah, the bowler at the top of our list is none other than the South African sensation, Kagiso Rabada. Ever since his debut, he has been a revelation and has been South Africa’s mainstay in the absence of Dale Steyn. Rabada can get the ball to move both ways and is adept at reverse-swing: abilities which make him a complete Test bowler. To go with his ability to extract movement, Rabada bowls rapidly and consistently bowls upwards of 90 mph. The South African has been impressive in all formats. In ODIs, he possesses an average of 26 while in T20Is, he averages only 21. However, his numbers in Test cricket are simply mind-boggling. After 32 Tests, he averages 21.71 and has a strike rate of 39. These numbers pit him against the greatest fast bowlers ever. At 23 years of age, Rabada has time on his hands and if he continues in the same vein, he could land up as one of South Africa’s greatest.
In January 2018, Kagiso Rabada took five wickets in the first Test match against India and then was eventually ranked number 1 in ICC Test Rankings. Soon, he became the youngest bowler to take 150 Test wickets and was also the leading wicket-taker in the year 2018. Rabada was named the best young player by Wisden and also won CSA's Player of the Year Award. The word ruthless defines his bowling best and he has been delivering for his team more often than not. The speedster played for Delhi in the Indian T20 League and the year 2019 was very successful for him as he was the second in the list for most wickets in that season. Rabada surely has raised the bar for the quickies and he is destined for greatness. Along with Jasprit Bumrah and Pat Cummins, Kagiso Rabada seems to be holding the mantle of the most feared and talented pace bowlers in the world in this generation. The 2019 World Cup will tell how big a match-winner the Protean pacer will be and how his career graph goes. Going by his achievements so far, one should not be surprised if he just goes bigger and better in his cricket accolades.
For these reasons, Rabada takes the second spot in top 5 best fast bowlers in the world.
#3 Jasprit Bumrah - India
Jasprit Bumrah has taken the world by storm since his introduction in 2016. Initially renowned for an awkward action, he has developed the other facets of his bowling, which make him one of the ace pacers in the world today. Bumrah burst onto the scene as a limited overs specialist. His armoury included a deadly yorker and an indecipherable slower delivery. These assets made him a hard nut to crack in the end overs, which is where he made his name. Additionally, he has made the switch to red-ball cricket seamlessly. After missing the first couple of tests in England, he was India’s best bowler in the last three Tests, which included a match-winning 5-wicket haul in Nottingham. Bumrah is an exciting prospect and one can expect him to shoulder India’s bowling responsibility in the years to come. He could’ve taken the top spot but his limited exposure in the Test arena proved to be his undoing.
Bumrah was the strike bowler for India in World Cup 2019 and he proved the world why he is the no.1 ranked ODI bowler. The pacer amassed 18 wickets in just 9 matches with an economy of just 4.41 and became the leading wicket-taker for India in the tournament. Jasprit bowled 9 maidens in 2019 World Cup which is also the highest by any bowler in the showpiece event. His yorkers were as deadly as a bullet in this tournament which helped him taking wickets but also led to an injury of his teammate Vijay Shankar after he was struck by Bumrah's yorker on his toe during a net-session.
For these reasons, Bumrah takes the Third spot in top 5 best fast bowlers in the world.
#4 Mitchell Starc - Australia
Fast and furious, that’s the best way to describe one of the fearsome pace bowlers of the 21st century - Mitchell Aaron Starc. He burst onto the scene in the early 2009/10 season, representing New South Wales and was soon compared with Mitchell Johnson. The only similarity though was that they both were left-arm quick bowlers. Other than that they had their different style. Johnson with his slinging action relied more on pace and bounce whereas Starc with his upright action depended more on swing and deadly yorkers. Starc is an excellent limited overs bowler and was instrumental in Australia’s World Cup victory in 2015. The lanky fast bowler can bowl at speeds in excess of 145 kmph and can hit yorkers at will. In addition, he can make the new ball talk and is a nightmare for right-handed batsmen at the start of the innings. Following years were fruitful for Mitchell Starc, who discovered a new aggressive side to his bowling. He was among the top bowlers in 2015 and finished 2016 as the most successful pace bowler in Tests after claiming 50 wickets. Not to forget his deadly bowling in the 2015 World Cup which earned him the Player of the Tournament tag and also made him the number one bowler in the ICC ODI rankings. There aren’t many in world cricket who possess the deadly combination of pace and swing. Thus, it is a shame that Starc hasn’t played as much cricket as he should’ve.
But everything comes with a price. His eagerness to bowl the extra mile put his body through a lot of strain and as a result he suffered an ankle injury and a stress fracture. The Australian team management though have managed their premium fast bowler quite well by giving him ample time to rest and recover. The quality and ability that Starc possesses, he still has not done full justice to his Test career and the Kangaroos would be hoping a lot from him in the near future.
Due to his injury-prone nature, Starc can only takes the Fourth spot in top 5 best fast bowlers in the world.
#5 Trent Boult - New Zealand
The left-arm bowler from New Zealand has been around the upper echelons of fast bowling over the past few years. After a breakthrough World Cup in 2015, he has gone from strength to strength. Boult’s biggest weapon is swing. With the ability to swing the ball both ways, left-armer Trent Boult possesses phenomenal ability when running in through the 30 yards. Seaming conditions obviously aided his style of bowling but the fact that he can make the ball talk on tracks which virtually had nothing in them, makes him a significant threat to batsmen all around the world. Boult has proven to be a wicket-taker everywhere across the globe. Though he would’ve liked to have a better T20 record, his ODI and Test statistics make for impressive reading.
In Tests, he averages 27 with 6 five-wicket hauls and 11 4-wicket hauls. Additionally, he is a proven match winner in Tests and has displayed the ability to tilt games in his side’s favour with the ball. Trent’s been highly rated by former New Zealand great Sir Richard Hadlee, who thinks he’s one of the best new ball bowlers the Kiwis have ever had. He formed one half of the deadly duo with good friend Tim Southee, a pair which was the focal point of many wins they achieved. In 2014, which was Black Caps’ best Test year, the pair collected 67 out of 143 wickets in that year - almost half of the total. However, this came about because of a transformation inspired by Brendon McCullum when he took over as skipper. McCullum always had a taste for the attacking flavour and with Boult collecting wickets like a hunter on the top of his game, he couldn’t be ignored for too long, the combination was a perfect match. Due to the Kiwis lack of quality in pace at the time, Trent Boult spearheaded the attack along with Southee and come the 2015 World Cup, he ended up as the joint-highest wicket-taker of the tournament with 22 wickets to his name. He was one of the key figures in New Zealand making it to their first ever World Cup final.Boult is one of the most talented bowlers going around but his failure to keep the batsmen quiet at the death.
For these reasons, Boult takes the Fifth spot in top 5 best fast bowlers in the world.
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