It is said that bowlers win series for a nation. It is often challenging to adjust oneself in foreign conditions. Significantly, the job becomes more difficult for a bowler to understand foreign pitches. There may be ups and turns in the pitch that the bowler needs to understand and strategize accordingly. On the contrary, it is easy to bowl in home conditions. It is because they are aware of the conditions on home pitches. The record of Indian bowlers on Indian pitches is excellent. Let us have a look at the list of Indian bowlers who have taken most wickets in Indian soil:
1. Anil Kumble
A legend in not only Indian cricket but world cricket, Anil Kumble tops the list of Indian bowlers who have the most wickets on Indian soil. Anil Kumble is the highest wicket-taker in India in both tests and ODI. His leg spin ability made him a very tough bowler to play. No other bowler in Indian cricket could match his ability to date. Anil Kumble has taken a total of 476 wickets on the Indian soil. His test wickets tally comes to 350 wickets, and ODI wickets tally comes to 126 wickets.
2. Ravichandran Ashwin
Ravichandran Ashwin is currently India’s no 1 test bowler. He is a fearsome bowler. No oversea batsmen like to play him on Indian conditions. Ravichandran Ashwin is an off-spinner who prefers to bowl more carrom balls. He has an incredible home soil record. He has taken a total of 424 wickets on home soil. He has taken 337 wickets in tests, 65 wickets in ODIs and, 22 wickets in T20I cricket at home. He is the only bowler who could go past the record of Anil Kumble in home conditions in India. He is also a handy batter who could be explosive with the bat also.
3. Harbhajan Singh
Harbhajan Singh, popularly known as the “Tubanator”. He has 376 wickets to his name on home soil. Out of these 376 wickets, he has taken 265 wickets in tests, 110 wickets in ODIs and, one wicket in T20I on home soil. He was a terrific off-spinner. He was a significant cause for India’s famous win in the Border Gavaskar trophy in 2001 which was played in India. He was even part of two world cups which India won. He served Indian cricket for a very long time.
4. Kapil Dev
Kapil Dev was one of the frontline bowlers of India in the 1980s. Kapil Dev was the first captain of India who brought world cup to India. He was a match-winner for Team India. He could contribute with the bat, also. And he has proved this ability on many occasions where his contribution with the bat had helped India to win matches. Kapil Dev had taken 319 wickets in total on home soil. He had taken 219 wickets in test cricket on home soil which is the highest by a fast bowler on home soil. He had taken 100 wickets in ODIs on home soil.
5. Ravindra Jadeja
Here comes Ravindra Jadeja, another spinner in this list. Jadeja is a proper all-rounder who is an active player and can go past many records in world cricket. He is also an off-spinner who has a lot of turn-in pitches. He is a match-winner for whichever team he represents. He has a total tally of 299 wickets to his name on home conditions. Out of these 299 wickets, he has 194 wickets, 91 wickets and, 14 wickets, in Test, ODI and, T20I cricket, respectively on home soil.
6. Javagal Srinath
Javagal Srinath is a reputed fast bowler of his time. Javagal Srinath is always best remembered in world cricket for his nailing Yorkers which made him a difficult bowler to play. He has a total of 211 wickets on home condition. Out of which he had taken 108 wickets, in Test cricket and 103 wickets in ODI cricket in home soil.
7. Zaheer khan
Zaheer is one of the mainstays in bowling unit for India for quite a long time. He was a pacer and had a lot of ways to trouble the batsmen. He was the highest wicket-taker in ODI World Cup, 2011, in which India won. He played a pivotal role in the pace department for quite a long time and never disappointed the captain whenever the captain was in search for wickets. He could even swing the ball. He had taken a total of 199 wickets in home. He had taken 104 wickets in Test cricket, 94 wickets in ODIs and 1 wicket in T20I cricket on home soil.
8. Ishant Sharma
Ishant Sharma is a veteran bowler of Indian cricket. He is an active cricketer who has not announced retirement from world cricket yet. He is a bowler who restricts the opposing batsmen from making runs. He even represents himself in IPL. He has taken a total of 138 wickets in home condition. Out of these, he has taken a total of 104 wickets in Test cricket, 30 wickets in ODIs and 4 wickets in T20I cricket on home condition. He is currently not part of the current Indian setup. But looking at his performances, the selectors may consider the decision of giving him another chance in team India.
9. Mohammad Shami
Here comes another active pacer who has taken 133 wickets on Indian soil. He has taken 76 wickets in Test cricket, 55 wickets in ODIs and 2 wickets in T20Is on home soil. His bounce on Indian pitches makes him a very special bowler. He is a terrific bowler and is a match-winner for his team.
10. Ajit Agarkar
Agarkar was one of the important pacers in home conditions. His deliveries used to be very accurate. He had taken a total of 119 wickets in home soil. Out of these, he had taken 10 wickets in Test cricket and 109 wickets in ODI cricket. He was a limited overs cricket specialist.
