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Top 5 Bowlers Fastest To Pick 100 Wickets In T20I Cricket

image-lsu65mbjWanindu Hasaranga joined 100-wicket T20I club (SLC)

In T20I cricket’s high-octane arena, where each delivery carries the tone of an entire match, the fine art of bowling often takes centerstage amidst batter’s relentless rage for quick runs. Whether spinning webs of deception or unleashing thunderbolts at the crease, bowlers must master the fine balance between containment and aggression, seeking to stifle opposition batsmen while persistently hunting for wickets.

It is within this crucible where only a handful of bowlers have managed to distinguish themselves from the rest by crossing the 100-wicket milestones. Among these elites, a few of them have carved their names in T20I history by becoming the quickest to reach the landmark figure.

Here at OneCricket, we take a look at five of the quickest bowlers in the world of T20Is to get to 100 wickets (as of February 2024), in terms of number of matches played.

Top Five Fastest Bowlers To Complete 100 T20I Wickets:

5. Ish Sodhi - 78 matches

image-lsu7aaarIsh Sodhi ranks fifth in the list (BCCI)

New Zealand tweaker Ish Sodhi is currently sitting on an illustrious pile of 132 T20I wickets. The leg-spinner made his format debut back in July 2014 through a match against West Indies at Roseau. While the cricketer celebrated the occasion with a match-winning spell, his T20I juggernaut rolled on as he went on to helm New Zealand’s spin attack for nearly a decade, spanning a number of T20 World Cups on the way.

Sodhi reached his 100th T20I wicket in October 2022 with a match-winning two-fer against Bangladesh at Christchurch. He achieved the feat in his 78th outing, bettering Tim Southee’s 84-match record to become the quickest New Zealand bowler to complete the three-figure mark.


4. Lasith Malinga - 76 matches

image-lsu7ci8hLasith Malinga claimed 107 T20I wickets (AP)

Sri Lankan pace legend Lasith Malinga, to put it mildly, revolutionized the art of death-overs bowling in the game’s truncated format. While the legendary speed merchant boasted of a truckload of options in his expansive bowling armory to counter raging opposition batsmen in the slog overs, he was equally effective with the new-ball through his pinpoint accuracy and unpredictable slower deliveries.

Malinga claimed 107 T20I wickets during his 14-year format journey for Sri Lanka, and reached the 100-wicket landmark in just his 76th appearance back in September 2019. At the time, he became the quickest bowler from his country to reach the coveted milestone until he lost his throne five years later in February 2024.


3. Mark Adair - 72 matches

image-lsu7oa7eMark Adair with Ireland teammates (AP)

Mark Adair is not only the sole Ireland representative in T20Is 100-wicket club, but is also the quickest fast bowler in the world (72 matches) to get to the landmark figure, bettering Lasith Malinga by four matches when he achieved the feat back in December 2023 with an away game against Zimbabwe.

Adair made his T20I debut in July 2019 at Bready, where he celebrated the occasion with a match-winning four-fer for his country. To date, the right-arm fast bowler has seized 102 wickets from just 74 innings all while holding an impressive T20I average of 19.71.


2. Wanindu Hasaranga - 63 matches

image-lsu8624vWanindu Hasaranga beomes 2nd fastest bowler to reach 100 wickets (AP)

Sri Lankan enigma machine Wanindu Hasaranga became the latest member of T20Is 100-wicket club when his match-winning two-fer dashed Afghanistan’s rising hopes at Dambulla in February 2024. A veteran of 170 T20 matches, including 63 internationals for Sri Lanka, the leg-spinner usurped legendary paceman Lasith Malinga to become the fastest bowler for his country to reach the celebrated number.

Hasaranga’s career T20I average of 15.36 also stands among the best in the world with over 100 wickets in their respective pockets. As of now, the 26-year-old Sri Lankan all-rounder finds his name as the second quickest in the world to complete 100 T20I wickets, and the fastest in the world among the top nine Test-playing nations.


1. Rashid Khan - 53 matches

image-lsu8bpvyRashid Khan is the fastest bowler to take 100 wickets (AP)

Afghanistan spin legend Rashid Khan continues to remain the fastest bowler in the world to complete 100 T20I wickets, and by a landslide no less. The leg-spinner, who made his T20I debut back in October 2015 at a tender age of 17, attained his breakthrough moment in just the 53rd match of his career.

Over the course of his journey, Rashid Khan has taken his war-torn nation to unprecedented heights across both forms of white-ball cricket. The seasoned cricketer has so far claimed 130 wickets in 82 T20I games for Afghanistan, and with age on his side (25 years), Khan is well on course to became the first and the quickest to scale the format’s 200-wicket milestone as well.