Some bowlers who haven't even played international cricket are recognized for their weird bowling action. Spin bowlers use different bowling techniques, which batsmen feel hard to tackle. Modern cricket favours batsmen, as they have the entire innings to showcase their talent and skills. But actually, bowlers have an equal part in the game. They have different bowling options like in-swing, out-swing, off-spin, leg-break, and many more. So here are the top 10 bowlers with the weirdest bowling actions:
10. Colin Croft
Colin Croft was a former Caribbean cricketer. He threatens the batsman with his unique bowling action and is one of the fearsome bowlers that the Caribbean has produced. Often he runs up to the crease behind the umpire, in the line of the stumps, thus making it difficult for the batsman to judge. When he reaches the crease, he jumps to his left and bowls a quicker delivery. He pretends to be a left-arm pacer, but actually, he was a right-arm pacer.
9. Jeff Thomson
Jeff Thomson was a legendary former Australian bowler who was said to be the fastest bowler ever in cricket history. The right-arm fast-bowler played 51 test matches and picked up 200 wickets. He runs up to the crease as others do. But when he is about to bowl, he drags himself back and gains some potential. Finally, he delivers with some extra pace which frightens the batsman. He had an unusual slinging action.
8. Mike Procter
Mike Procter was a former South African fast-bowler who is known for his cruel behavior as a match referee. He banned Harbhajan Singh for three matches in 2007. He played seven test matches and took 41 wickets. He had a suspicious bowling action. He tends to bowl off the wrong foot. He jumps off his wrong foot while bowling a ball. This helped him to create a late swing, which frightens the batsman at the other end.
7. Kedar Jadhav
Kedar Jadhav is an Indian all-rounder from Maharashtra. The right-arm off-break bowler played 73 ODI matches and 9 T20 matches for India. Though he had not taken many wickets, he is used as a part-time bowler in the Indian team. He has made some dismissals using his bowling action. He keeps the ball lower and drags himself back at the crease. He releases the ball under his shoulders, creating some width, which is difficult to judge whether the ball is turning. Though he is not a great spinner in shorter formats, the team required his contribution in middle overs, which is the secret of his success.
6. Muttiah Muralidharan
Muttiah Muralidharan was a former Sri Lankan off-spin bowler. Undoubtedly, he is the best spinner of the game. His unique bowling style helped him to bowl those 800 wickets in test cricket. He runs up to the crease, hiding the ball from the batsman in his hand, and releases it near to his head. He often runs across the line to bowl, which makes the batsman a bit confusing. His bowling actions were reported to be suspicious several times. Apart from all those difficulties, he emerged as the highest wicket-taker in cricket.
5. Jasprit Bumrah
Jasprit Bumrah is an Indian right-arm fast-bowler. He is a promising fast-bowler for India in the future. He has excellent accuracy and exists as a great asset to the Indian team in both shorter and longer formats of the game. Cricket analysts say that Bumrah has used some science in his bowling action. He has a slow run-up to the crease, then uses his shoulders to make a clock rotation which creates a downward force. Then the ball is bounced well at a high pace, which makes it challenging for the batsman to tackle the ball from hitting the stumps or getting an edge.
4. Lasith Malinga
Lasith Malinga was a former Sri Lankan fast-bowler. When we consider the weirdest bowling, Malinga would be the first person to come to our minds. Famously known for his bleached hair, Malinga is an icon of the modern-day fast-bowlers. The dangerous short and full-length ball bowled by him still threatens the batsman worldwide. He bowls a slinging delivery, which is impossible to predict. He runs up to the crease and drags himself back to generate extra pace. Then he bowls a round-arm action ball, which makes batsmen unsure about playing the ball.
3. Shivil Kaushik
Shivil Kaushik is an Indian slow left-arm wrist-spin bowler from Punjab. His international debut is yet to happen, but he played for Gujarat Lions in IPL in 2016-17. He depicts the action of Paul Adams, a former South African player. The Chinaman bowler has a unique bowling action, which is unpredictable as he releases the ball soon. He hides the ball from the batsman and then releases the ball above his head in a different manner.
2. Sohail Tanvir
Sohail Tanvir is a Pakistani bowler, famously known for his unorthodox left-arm bowling action. He played 62 ODI matches and picked up 71 wickets. He has played for many teams in domestic cricket in different leagues. His unique bowling action gained the attention of T20 cricket franchises, where he made several variations in delivering the ball. He is also reported as a wrong-footed bowler. Generally, he runs up to the crease and uses both of his hands before releasing the ball.
1. Paul Adams
Paul Adams was a former South African left-arm wrist-spin bowler who had a unique bowling action. He played 45 test matches and 24 ODI matches. He had an unorthodox bowling action, which makes batsmen difficult to tackle. He makes no look at the ball while releasing. At the start of his career, he was wondered by many of the cricketing fans worldwide, as that was an uncommon way of bowling. But later on, he lacked variety in bowling, so the batsmen found it easy to tackle his balls.
