Most Wickets In T20 Cricket

Arnav Chopra∙ Updated: Feb 5 2025, 8:45 PM

Rashid Khan, Dwayne Bravo and Sunil Narine (Source: @CricCrazyJohns/X.com, @IPL/X.com, @KKRiders/X.com)Rashid Khan, Dwayne Bravo and Sunil Narine (Source: @CricCrazyJohns/X.com, @IPL/X.com, @KKRiders/X.com)

Playing in different T20 leagues around the world and representing various teams all over the year has become a new trend for global T20 freelancers. With this new era, many players have now shifted to playing full-time for different franchises at different times of the year, as they have managed to rack up record after record.

Cricketers are now putting their focus on playing more T20 cricket as there is now plenty of competition in that bracket, too, with players now getting fantastic opportunities to play at different venues and in various conditions.

Positioning focus on all these, some multi-talented players have earned a name for themselves playing in T20 leagues worldwide. So therefore, we will have a look at the top five players who have bowled exceedingly well in T20 cricket and have made a name for themselves by being the highest wicket-takers in the overall format.

5. Shakib Al Hasan - 492 Wickets (In 444 Matches)

Number five on the list is Bangladesh's Shakib Al Hasan, who has featured in 444 T20 matches, beginning his career in 2006. He has picked up 492 wickets at an economy of 6.79, while his strike rate is 18.9. To go along with his five fifers, he has an average of 21.49 in his illustrious career. The left-arm spinner has been highly impressive for any side he has played for, with runs also coming from his bat. Plus, not to forget, his quality of playing in high-pressure situations.

4. Imran Tahir - 531 Wickets (In 428 Matches)

Number four on this list features South Africa's charismatic leg spinner Imran Tahir, who, at the age of 45, is still going strong, playing in franchise leagues throughout the world as he is currently representing Joburg Super Kings in SA20. In 428 matches, Tahir has bagged 531 scalps with an economy of 6.97, while he averages only 19.99.

Not to forget his four fifers and his strike rate of 17.1. He runs in and changes the pace of the delivery accordingly to deceive the batter with his outstanding googlies and leg breaks. Known for his iconic run-in-the-park celebrations, Tahir remains one of the main go-to bowlers for any skipper and any side he plays for.

3. Sunil Narine - 574 Wickets (In 536 Matches)

There are many players who will come and go, but Sunil Narine, playing for the Knight Riders franchise in global T20 tournaments, remains one of the most iconic stories ever. With 574 wickets to his name, Narine has bowled with an economy of 6.12 while averaging 21.60 in 536 matches that he has featured in T20 cricket overall.

Narine's mystery spin is still very much effective, as batters fail to read him even after playing 15 years of cricket. The off-spinner is highly effective because of the fact that he keeps his economy rate in check and doesn't let the batters score runs easily off him, which keeps mounting the pressure on the opposition side as they tend to try and play big shots and throw their wickets away against the wily spinner.

2. Dwayne Bravo - 631 Wickets (In 582 Matches)

Dwayne 'Champion' Bravo, as he is fondly called, still remains one of the most legendary bowlers ever in T20 cricket, even after retiring from the format last year when he played his last game for Trinbago Knight Riders in CPL. He is the only pacer to feature on this list, as Bravo has played most of his career for his beloved Chennai Super Kings in the Indian Premier League. 

Talking about his overall T20 career, the pacer has been a part of 582 T20 matches and has managed to grab 631 wickets at an average of 24.40, whereas his economy was 8.26. The Caribbean bowler, who has helped his side lift the T20 World Cups in 2012 and 2016 while also helping his IPL franchise CSK win multiple titles, was highly efficient because of his ability to bowl dipping slower yorkers that would not allow batters to get under the ball.

Adding to this, he was a death-over specialist who would bowl and run in overs, especially when defending the target for his side, and would succeed more often than not.

1. Rashid Khan - 633 Wickets (In 461 Matches)

On top of this list features the Afghanistani spin sensation Rashid Khan, who has done wonders in T20 cricket with his outstanding leg-break bowling. The leg spinner has been highly crucial for any side he has played for in the past decade since his debut in 2015. Moreover, with his variations still extremely challenging for batters to understand, Rashid can turn the match in his side's favour from any position.

To the unversed, in the recent SA20 Qualifier 1 game between MI Cape Town and Paarl Royals, Rashid picked two wickets to get past Bravo on the list and become the all-time leading wicket-taker in the format.

Now, after playing 461 games, he has a whopping 633 wickets to his name, where he averages 18.07 and bowls at an economy of 6.49. Additionally, he has a strike rate of 16.6 and has picked four five-wicket hauls in his outstanding short-format career. Therefore, with plenty of matches ahead of him, we can expect him to be at the top of the list for several more years.