The Indian cricket team has historically been renowned for its explosive batting rather than its bowling prowess. However, India has produced several fierce and tenacious bowlers who can compete with anyone around the world.
In recent years, India cricket schedule has developed a talent pool of fast bowlers who are ready to uproot the stumps of opposition players. This article will delve into the Indian speedsters who can produce raw speed on a cricket field. Let’s check out this list of India’s fastest bowlers, ranked based on the fastest deliveries delivered by them.
Let’s begin!
In the Indian Premier League (IPL), Sunrisers Hyderabad’s pacer, Umran Malik, has grabbed the spotlight by becoming the fastest bowler in India. During his second season of IPL Umran consistently maintained speeds of 150 kph throughout the season. In that same season, he bowled at a speed of 157 kph to become the fastest bowler in India.
Former and current bowlers from India are there to keep Umran company on the list of India’s fastest bowlers. Let’s have a look at who makes the cut in this compilation of India’s fastest bowlers.
Indian Fast Bowlers Speed List:
| Rank | Bowler | Fastest Delivery/Ball | Year |
| 1 | Umran Malik | 157 kph | 2022 |
| 2 | Irfan Pathan | 153.7 kph | 2007 |
| 3 | Mohammed Shami | 153.3 kph | 2014 |
| 4 | Jasprit Bumrah | 153.26 kph | 2018 |
| 5 | Navdeep Saini | 152.85 kph | 2019 |
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The young lad hailing from Jammu and Kashmir, Umran Malik, has taken the cricket world by storm with his incredible raw pace. Umran Malik is India’s Fastest Bowler by a significant margin and is well on his way to becoming one of the fastest in the world as well.
Umran Made his IPL debut in 2021 against the Kolkata Knight Riders as a replacement for Sunrisers Hyderabad. But it was during the match against Royal Challengers Bangalore that it impressed the cricket pundits and fans. In that match, Umran Bowled made five straight deliveries at more than 150 kph, earning praise from Virat Kohli, who was the Indian captain at the time.
In the following season of the IPL, he continued to impress by bowling at consistent speeds of more than 150 kph.
It was against the Delhi Capitals at Brabourne Stadium in Mumbai that he bowled his fastest bowl to date, at a speed of 157 kph. In the IPL, he stands as the fastest Indian bowler and is only behind Shaun Tait in overall rankings. With a bit of practice, dedication, and hard work, he has the potential to become one of the most dangerous bowlers in IPL history in the coming years. Besides that, also checkout the fastest century in ODI.
The second fastest bowler in India is Irfan Pathan, renowned for his exceptional swinging abilities. With the ability to swing the ball in both directions, Irfan consistently kept batsmen guessing and forced them to play the ball on its merits.
Irfan came into the limelight with a memorable hat-trick against Pakistan on their home soil in the very first over of the match under the most successful captain in India. With his sheer pace and swinging abilities, Irfan drew comparisons with Wasim Akram during his prime.
During the T20 World Cup in South Africa, Irfan bowled his fastest bowl to date, earning him the title of the fastest bowler in India. He achieved a remarkable speed of 153.7 kph during that tournament.
Mohammad Shami, a name known to every cricket lover in India, stands as one of the finest Indian fast bowlers to ever play for the country. Mohammad Shami has everything in his arsenal, be it pace, consistency, swing, or accuracy. It is very difficult for any player to face him when he is on song.
Shami was facing a low performance pre-pandemic, struggling to perform at the highest levels. However, in recent years, Shami has reinvented himself by moderating his pace and focusing solely on line and length. That is why he has become more lethal nowadays.
In his prime, Shami produced his fastest delivery at 153.3 kph in a test match against Australia in 2014. He played brilliantly in that series, finishing with 15 wickets in three matches.
Despite being just 29 years old, Jasprit Bumrah has already established himself as one of the premier fast bowlers in India. Within the current Indian lineup, he is arguably the most complete bowler. Jasprit Bumrah leads the Indian pace attack whenever he plays for India, can bowl in any situation, and is effective across all game formats. His ability to bowl pinpoint yorkers at the death makes him a potent weapon for the country. The unorthodox action from Bumrah further makes him one of the most difficult bowlers to read from the hand.
On the matter of fastest delivery, Jasprit clocked 153.26 kph during a match against Australia in the 2018 Border Gavaskar Trophy. That series proved to be a milestone for Jasprit as he ended the series as the joint-highest wicket-taker with 21 scalps. Jasprit’s exploits helped India win their first-ever test series in Australia.
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Navdeep Saini sits at the end of our five-player list of Fast Bowlers from India. Navdeep made an impression with his speed and pinpoint Yorkers. In a short span of time, he became an integral part of the Royal Challengers Bangalore unit. During an IPL match against the Mumbai Indians in 2019, he clocked his fastest delivery with a speed of 152.8 kph.
However, his promising start didn’t last long as he became prone to injury, leading to his exclusion from the team. Following his return to cricket from injury, he hasn’t been the bowler he was and has leaked runs in IPL. Currently, he is not in the running for the Indian national team.
In conclusion, the fastest bowler in India must pursue the speed, skill, and determination to excel in their craft. The fast bowlers of India possess the attributes needed to perform and execute their plans at the highest levels.
While these bowlers came out on top regarding bowling speed, it’s worth acknowledging that other bowlers like Ishant Sharma, Umesh Yadav, Mohammad Siraj, and Jaidev Undkat have also immensely contributed to Team India.
It’s important to note that while these bowlers may be the fastest in India, none of them could make the list of the top 10 fastest balls in cricket history in international cricket history. Hence, it’s safe to say that these players have a long way to go.
Feel free to share your opinion on this piece and start a healthy discussion. Additionally, you can check out the FAQs in the next section for more information.
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Ans: At the moment, Umran Malik with 157 kph is the fastest bowler in India.
Ans: In India, there is only one bowler who came close to Shoaib Akhtar’s delivery. So, in all likelihood, Umran Malik has the best chance to break Shoaib Akhtar’s record.
Ans: Currently, Jasprit Bumrah is the yorker King of India. He has been known to produce Yorkers consistently.
