Cricket World Cup 2023: Who are the world's best ODI bowlers?

With batting strike rates increasing every year, it’s a thankless task to be a white-ball bowler in this day and age, unless you are elite.

1. Mohammed Siraj

The number one ODI bowler in the world is hitting his straps at the right time for India. The sturdy Siraj is lightning-quick and enjoys swinging the ball into the right-hander. After scooping nine wickets in a recent series against Sri Lanka, Siraj recorded his career-best figures of 6/21 in the return series in Colombo in September.

2. Josh Hazelwood

The tall quick has been landing the ball on a dinner plate of late for the last few years. Mr Consistency has been the man Australia turn to when they need to tighten things up, and he often delivers. Fans will be hoping his back holds up, as it's seen him sidelined twice this season already. Hazlewood has picked up eight wickets in his last five matches.

3. Mujeeb Ur Rahman

Afghanistan's off-break supremo has been spinning his web of deceit around batters all the way up the ODI rankings. Rahman has enjoyed success in the recent Asian Cup, with tidy figures of 3/40 against Bangladesh and 3/33 a few weeks later against Pakistan.

4. Rashid Khan

The Afghan's most dangerous weapon is his googly, which helped propel him to the top of the ODI bowling rankings in 2018, the youngest ever to do so. Khan also needed just 44 matches to reach 100 ODI wickets, the fastest at the time. Partnering up with team-mate Rahman, the tweaker twins will be a handful in spinner-friendly Indian conditions.

5. Trent Boult

The Black Caps' highest wicket-taker at World Cups. The wily swing bowler has collected no less than 39 scalps in his 19 World Cup matches at a superb average of 21.79. Boult will be expected to lead New Zealand's attack from the front. With the ability to swing the ball both ways and a clever change of pace, Boult will be useful in the sub-continent conditions. 

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6. Mitchell Starc

Cometh the hour, cometh Mitch Starc. Australia's premier strike bowler has incredible World Cup pedigree, having been the highest wicket-taker of the past two World Cups. His 22 wickets at a scarcely believable average of 10.18 won him the Player of the Tournament in 2015, then Starc backed it up with another 27 wickets in the 2019 edition. Can he make it three in a row?

7. Adam Zampa

The Mullett-toting spinner has rocketed up the rankings in the last year due to a bucketload of wickets. Zampa has scooped no less than 33 wickets in his last 15 ODIs, including five four-wicket hauls. While there was a diabolical 0/113 spell in there (thanks, Heinrich Klaasen), the leg-break bowler will be encouraged by his recent form in India, where he has picked up seven wickets in his last five outings. 

8. Shaheen Afridi

Do not mistake Afridi's childlike smile for weakness. Following in the footsteps of Pakistan's proud pacemen, the tall quick is a menace with the ball. In fact, one has to go back to July 2021 to find the last ODI Afridi was wicketless. The 23-year-old has bowled exclusively on the subcontinent all year, bagging 24 wickets at an average of 22.04. 

9. Matt Henry

New Zealand's new ball specialist enjoys running in hard in the opening stanza, bowling full and fast. Henry was superb at the 2019 World Cup, taking 14 wickets including a brilliant spell to help dismantle India in the semi-finals. In the Black Caps' recent five-match tour of Pakistan, he picked up eight wickets.

10. Kuldeep Yadav

The spinner has picked up more ODI wickets in 2023 than any other player, with 33 scalps. Since returning from injury in 2021, the left-arm wrist spinner has worked on his arm speed and it is paying off. Yadav earned incredible figures of 4/6 against the West Indies in July and produced two match-winning performances in the recent Asian Cup.

READ MORE: Cricket World Cup 2023 fixtures, format and venues