New Delhi. Despite playing as a specialist bowler in Test cricket, some players could not do justice to their talent in this format. They took wickets but conceded a lot of runs during this period due to which they are counted among the ‘expensive’ bowlers (criteria is minimum 20 Tests). Some of these bowlers achieved a lot of success in white ball cricket but their Test career could not last long. There is a good number of Asian players in this list of specialist bowlers.
Bangladesh’s Rubel Hossain is at the top of the list. Rubel, who bowls at a good pace, had a successful ODI career but failed in Tests. In his 14-year international career, he played only 27 Tests and his bowling average was 76.78. Rubel’s name came into the limelight in 2018 when in the final of the T20I Nidahas Trophy, India’s Dinesh Karthik hit 22 runs including two sixes and two fours in the 19th over of the innings bowled by this Bangladeshi bowler and then made India the champion by hitting a 6 off Soumya Sarkar on the last ball of the last over. One bowler each from Pakistan and India is also in this list.
A look at the bowlers who gave runs at an average of more than 45 in Test cricket.
Rubel led the team to many victories in ODIs but in Tests…
Rubel Hussain gave Bangladesh team many memorable victories in ODIs but his career in Tests could never run smoothly. Rubel, who played a significant role in the team’s ODI series win over England in the World Cup 2015 and New Zealand in 2010, has also taken a hat-trick against the Kiwi team in this format. Rubel, who took 129 wickets (best 6/26) at an average of 34.31 in 104 ODIs, took only 28 wickets in 28 T20Is at an average of 32.57 but failed in Tests. After making his Test debut in 2009, this right-handed bowler could play only 27 Tests till 2020 and could take only 36 wickets. In his entire Test career, he could take 5 wickets in an innings only once. His bowling average was 76.77, economy was 3.92 (runs conceded per over) and strike rate was 117.3 (balls bowled per wicket) which is very poor in terms of red ball cricket.
Legendary cricketers who never played a Test match in India, 3 of them retired at the same time
Sami opened his ‘claws’ in his debut test, took a hat-trick in the third match but…
Mohammad Sami was counted among the best fast bowlers of Pakistan. Due to his quick arm action, he was able to gain a lot of speed. At the age of 20, he earned fame by taking 5 wickets in his debut test against New Zealand. He also took a hat-trick in the third test against Sri Lanka in Lahore but soon started becoming directionless. His career went well in ODIs and T20Is but he was soon out of the Pakistan Test team. In 36 Test matches, Sami took 85 wickets at an average of 52.74 and an economy of 3.58, these ‘numbers’ do no justice to his talent. He took 121 wickets in 87 ODIs at an average of 29.47 and 21 wickets in 13 T20Is at an average of 18.42.
Shahadat Hussain was very expensive in all three formats
Two players named ‘Shahadat Hossain’ have played international cricket from Bangladesh, out of which Shahadat Hossain Dipu is still playing international cricket while Kazi Shahadat Hossain played 38 Tests from 2005 to 2015 as a right-handed fast bowler. Shahadat (Kazi) achieved the first hat-trick for Bangladesh in ODIs, also played six T20Is but could not become a ‘long-distance runner’ in all three formats. He kept proving to be very expensive. He could take only 72 wickets in 38 Tests at a ‘heavy’ bowling average of 51.81, 47 wickets in 51 ODIs at an average of 45.59 and 4 wickets in 6 ODIs at an average of 49.50. However, Shahadat’s name is on the honours board there due to taking 5 wickets in an innings in the Lord’s Test against England. He was the first bowler from Bangladesh to achieve this feat.
Sehwag-Gilli and Head, famous for their stormy batting, all three have a special record of 0
Indies fast bowler Powell’s career was very short
West Indies’ right-arm fast bowler Darren Powell was also very expensive in terms of average and economy in all three formats. He played 37 Tests, 55 ODIs and 5 T20Is between 2002 and 2009 but could not achieve much success. He took 85 wickets in Tests at an average of 47.85 and an economy of 3.44, taking 5 wickets in an innings only once. While taking 71 wickets in ODIs, Powell’s average was 31.53 and in T20Is it was 65.50.
Two New Zealand spinners have a Test bowling average of 47+
New Zealand’s off-break bowler Paul Wiseman’s international career was also ordinary. Although he took 61 wickets in 25 Tests, his bowling average was 47.59, and in terms of economy, he conceded more than 3 runs per over. His ODI career was even worse. In 15 matches of this format, he could take only 12 wickets at an average of 30.66. Like Wiseman, the career of Indian-origin Jeetan Patel, who played 24 Tests for New Zealand as an off-spinner, was also not up to expectations in terms of average (47.35) and economy (3.16). Between 2005 and 2017, Jeetan played 24 Tests, 43 ODIs and 11 T20Is and took 65 wickets in Tests (5 wickets in an innings once), 49 wickets in ODIs (best 3/11) and 16 wickets in T20Is.
Agarkar took many wickets in ODIs but was expensive in Tests
Ajit Agarkar, the head of India’s current selection committee, is also among those bowlers whose Test career was not as successful as his ODI career. Ajit has one century in Tests and three half-centuries in ODIs, but he proved to be a pure bowler rather than an all-rounder most of the time in his international career. Agarkar, who took 288 wickets (two 5-wicket hauls) in ODIs at an average of 27.85, could play only 26 Tests in which he took 58 wickets. Agarkar, who took 6 wickets for 41 runs against Australia, had a bowling average of 47.32 and economy of 3.39, which would be considered disappointing in terms of Test cricket. In his international career from 1998 to 2007, Ajit also played 4 T20Is but could take only 3 wickets.
Tags: Ajit Agarkar, Test cricket
FIRST PUBLISHED : September 16, 2024, 07:57 IST