Top 5 left-arm spinners with most Test wickets ever

During the opening Test of the two-match series against Sri Lanka at the Galle Cricket Club, India’s left-arm spinner, Ravindra Jadeja, registered his name in the record books when he dismissed Keshara Nuwantha as his 350th wicket in the longest format of the game. He joined a rare list of left-arm spinners to have earned the feat.

Jadeja remains a veteran for the Indian side in the five-day format. At an age where he is very close to being 38, Jadeja hopes to continue his success with the red ball in the longest format and complete the dream of playing 100 Tests for the blue brigade, for which he will need to play 10 more red-ball games after this.

While picking up his 350th wicket in Test cricket, Jadeja also joined the rare list of becoming just the fourth player in world cricket, along with Kapil Dev, Ian Botham, and Daniel Vettori, to enjoy the combination of 4000+ runs and 350+ wickets in the longest format.

Herath, Vettori, Jadeja, Underwood & Taijul— Test cricket's best left-arm spinners

#5 Taijul Islam (Bangladesh)-

Bangladesh’s experienced left-arm spinner, Taijul Islam, finds himself at the fifth position of the table. He has picked up 271 wickets in 109 innings of the format at an average of 30.38 and a strike rate of 59.5, with the help of a couple of ten-wicket hauls and 19 five-wicket hauls at the best bowling figures of 8/39 in an innings, which came against Zimbabwe in 2014 in Mirpur.

Taijul has been a vital member of the Asian side’s spin attack, maintaining the right line and length. He also has two seven-wicket hauls against Zimbabwe and Pakistan. It shows how incredible he has been over the years for the Bangladesh side, as he went past Shakib Al Hasan’s 246 wickets a few months ago.

#4 Derek Underwood (England)-

Derek Underwood played for the England side between 1966 and 1982. He is the fourth leading wicket-taker in Tests among the left-arm spinners, having collected 297 wickets in 151 innings at an average of 25.83 and a strike rate of 73.6, along with six ten-wicket and 17 five-wicket hauls at the best figures of 8/51, which came against Pakistan at Lord’s.

Underwood also celebrated three seven-wicket hauls, one of which came against New Zealand in 1969 at Lord’s, while the other two were against Australia in 1968 and 1975 respectively in The Oval and Adelaide. Underwood had the excellent ability to keep the ball in the same place for a long time.

#3 Ravindra Jadeja (India)-

Ravindra Jadeja is India’s most successful left-arm spinner in the history of Test cricket. He has bagged 351 wickets in 168 innings of the longest format at an average of 25.06 and a fine strike rate of 58, with the help of three ten-wicket hauls and 15 five-wicket hauls at the best bowling figures of 7/42 against Australia in 2023 at the Arun Jaitley Stadium in Delhi.

Jadeja’s biggest weapon has been his pace, especially in the stump-to-stump line, which is the hardest thing to tackle for most of the batters. He also has another seven-wicket haul against England in 2016 in Chennai, along with his two six-wicket hauls against the Aussies and the South African side.

#2 Daniel Vettori (New Zealand)-

The former New Zealand captain, Daniel Vettori, is second on the list with 362 wickets in the red-ball format in 187 innings at an average of 34.36 and a massive strike rate of around 80, with the help of 20 five-wicket hauls and three ten-wicket hauls at the best bowling figures of 7/87 in an innings.

Vettori was the youngest player to make his Test debut for the Kiwis, playing against England at an age of just 18 in 1997. He has a superb record against the Aussies with 66 wickets in 19 Tests, while his 12 wickets for 149 came at Eden Park, Auckland, in 2000. Vettori was exceptional in his variations with the ball.

#1 Rangana Herath (Sri Lanka)-

When Muttiah Muralitharan was part of the Sri Lankan side and their premier spinner of the side, Rangana Herath missed several games. But once the former retired, Herath showed his class with the ball in the longest format.

Herath has featured in the red-ball format for 19 years, where he picked up 433 wickets in 170 innings at an average of 28.07 and a strike rate of 60, thanks to his 34 five-wicket hauls and nine ten-wicket hauls at the best bowling figures of 9/127 in an innings, which came against Pakistan in Colombo.

Herath also enjoyed his 8/63 spell against Zimbabwe in Harare, along with his four seven-wicket hauls, which came against Bangladesh, India, and Australia (twice).