Legendary leg-spinner Anil Kumble has picked the most wickets for India across formats in international cricket.

Having made his international debut against England in a Test match in 1990, Kumble went on to claim 953 wickets for India in 401 matches at an average of 30.06.

The Bangalore-born cricketer ended his career with 619 Test wickets in 132 matches at an average of 29.65. He picked 35 five-wicket hauls and eight 10-wicket hauls. 

Kumble also played 269 One-Day International (ODI) matches between 1990 and 2007, bagging 334 wickets at an average of ​​30.83.

Former spinner Harbhajan Singh is second on the list of most wickets for India across formats. The quality off-spinner picked 707 wickets in 365 matches at an average of 32.59.

Harbhajan made his Test debut against Australia in 1998 and ended his career with 417 wickets in 103 matches in the longest format.  

Fondly known as ‘The Turbantor’, Harbhajan also featured in 234 ODIs, claiming 265 wickets at an average of 33.47.

Former fast bowler Kapil Dev, off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin and seamer Zaheer Khan complete the top five list of most wickets for India across formats.

The 1983 World Cup-winning captain, Kapil Dev, picked 687 wickets for India in 356 matches. An impressive 434 of those 687 wickets came in the longest format while 253 were picked in ODI cricket.

On the other hand, the 2011 World Cup winner Zaheer Khan bagged 597 wickets in 303 matches.

Among active players, Ravichandran Ashwin has the most wickets for India across formats. Ashwin features fourth on the list as he has scalped 680 wickets in 267 matches so far. The second-highest wicket-taker for India Tests, Ashwin has so far tallied 457 scalps in 89 Tests followed by 151 wickets in ODIs and 72 wickets in the T20Is.

Most wickets for India across formats

Player Test wickets ODI wickets T20I wickets Total wickets
Anil Kumble 619 334 - 953
Harbhajan Singh 417 265 25 707
Kapil Dev 434 253 - 687
Ravichandran Ashwin 460 151 72 683
Zaheer Khan 311 269 17 597
Javagal Srinath 236 315 - 551
Ravindra Jadeja 253 189 51 493
Ishant Sharma 311 115 8 434
Mohammed Shami 223 159 24 406
Ajit Agarkar 58 288 3 349

Featured photo: LAKRUWAN WANNIARACHCHI / AFP