Vaibhav Arora names his top five pacers of all time, includes only one Indian [Exclusive]

Published - 27 Dec 2025, 17:12 IST | Updated - 27 Dec 2025, 17:13 IST

Kolkata Knight Riders seamer Vaibhav Arora recently revealed his list of the top five fast bowlers of all time, naming legends who headlined pace bowling across eras. Interestingly, Arora included only one Indian in his elite list.

Speaking in an exclusive interview with CricTracker, the KKR pacer, who was retained by the franchise for the 2026 IPL season, picked Dale Steyn, James Anderson, Shoaib Akhtar, Brett Lee, and Jasprit Bumrah as his all-time greats.

At the top of Arora’s list is Steyn, widely regarded as one of the most complete fast bowlers the game has seen. Steyn finished his Test career with 439 wickets at an average of 22.95 and a strike rate of 42.3. Across formats, he claimed over 800 international wickets, maintaining sub-23 averages in Tests and T20Is.

Anderson, the most successful fast bowler in Test history, also featured in the list. With 704 Test wickets, Anderson’s longevity and mastery of swing bowling set him apart and earned him worldwide praise. His first-class tally of over 1,100 wickets saw him dominate for nearly two decades at the top level. Pakistan speedster, Akhtar, also made it to Arora's list. The former took 178 Test wickets and 247 ODI wickets, regularly clocking at extreme speeds.

He also chose Australian quick, Lee, who finished with 310 Test wickets and 380 ODI wickets, averaging 23.36 in the 50-over format. The only Indian on the list, Jasprit Bumrah, stands out for changing fast bowling from India. Bumrah has already taken 234 Test wickets at an exceptional average of 19.79, along with 149 ODI and 103 T20I wickets. His ability to dominate across formats places him among the modern greats and in the KKR pacer's all-time list.

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The 28-year-old also took part in a Rapid Fire round, where he was given a set of options to pick from and choose.

Ajinkya Rahane’s captaincy or Shreyas Iyer’s captaincy? - Shreyas IyerVirat Kohli's aggression or MS Dhoni's calmness - MS DhoniInswinger or outswinger? - InswingerKKR home crowd or away crowd energy? - KKR home crowdWicket celebration: calm nod or full energy roar? - Full energy roadDream wicket: top-order batter or a dangerous finisher? - Top-order batterTest cricket or T20 cricket? - Test cricketLasith Malinga’s yorker or Jasprit Bumrah’s yorker - Bumrah’s yorker