Fastest To Take 200 Wickets In ODIs

Aakash Saini

Mohammed Shami walking off after dismantling Bangladesh [Source: AP Photos]Mohammed Shami walking off after dismantling Bangladesh [Source: AP Photos]

Bowlers, either pacers or spinners, have long been the driving force behind ODI cricket, relentlessly testing batters with variations, precision, and skill. Their ability to dictate the flow of an innings, whether through sheer pace or cunning deception, has often been the defining factor in a team's success.

Giving their all to win a match for their respective teams, bowlers also tend to reach personal heights along the way. Here we take a look at five certain bowlers who completed 200 wickets in the format in record time.

5. Brett Lee – 112 matches

Australian fast bowler Brett Lee completed 200 ODI wickets in the 112th match of his career, doing so during the third ODI of Australia’s all-format tour of England in mid-2005. At the time, Lee was the second quickest bowler in the world and the fastest among all pacers to get to the landmark figure. The cricketer made his 50-overs internationals debut in January 2000, and he went on to stockpile 380 wickets in the format by the time of his retirement a decade later.

4. Trent Boult – 107 matches

New Zealand pace demon Trent Boult took 107 ODI matches to reach 200 wickets in the format, doing so during the auspicious stage of the 2023 ODI World Cup match against Bangladesh in Chennai. The speedster picked up two match-winning wickets in the game, and he is currently sitting on a pile of 211 ODI wickets from 114 matches. Boult also holds an impressive bowling average of 24.38 in the format, along with an economy rate of just 4.99.

3. Mohammed Shami – 104 matches

Mohammed Shami became the world’s second-joint quickest, and the fastest among all Indian bowlers to complete 200 ODI wickets when he picked up his third wicket of the match against Bangladesh at the 2025 ICC Champions Trophy. Reaching the feat in just 104 ODIs, Shami also became the fastest to get to the landmark figure in terms of number of balls bowled, as it took him just 5,126 balls to do so.

Celebrating the occasion, the Indian paceman even completed a sensational five-wicket haul to extend his active ODI tally to 202 wickets. A beast in ICC events, Mohammed Shami has claimed 55 of those wickets in just 18 World Cup matches.

2. Saqlain Mushtaq – 104 matches

Former Pakistan cricketer Saqlain Mushtaq continues to remain the quickest spin bowler to complete 200 wickets in ODIs. Having made his ODI debut in late 1995, Mushtaq completed the feat in just the fourth year of his international career, doing so against South Africa during the 1999 Cricket World Cup in England. Overall, the legendary off-spinner concluded his playing career with 288 ODI wickets in just 169 matches, all while maintaining impressive average and economy rates of 21.78 and 4.29 respectively.

1. Mitchell Starc – 102 matches

Australia’s multi-World Cup winner Mitchell Starc took just 102 ODI matches to get to 200 wickets. Fastest to reach the landmark figure, the legendary fast bowler is also the second-quickest in terms of number of balls bowled in the format. Starc also finished as the leading wicket-taker of two separate ODI Cricket World Cups, in 2015 and 2019 respectively to demonstrate his 50-overs excellence in major ICC events.

As of now, Mitchell Starc’s profile includes 244 wickets in 127 matches at an average of 23.40.