Most wickets for India in T20 World Cup

Ever since the inaugural edition of the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup in 2007, which a young Indian side won against all odds, the premier cricket tournament has seen some extraordinary bowlers take centre stage.

Currently, Bangladesh player Shakib Al Hasan’s 44 wickets is the record for most wickets taken in the T20 World Cup history.

Meanwhile, spin bowler Ravichandran Ashwin holds the record for most wickets for India in T20 World Cup with 32 wickets in 23 matches. Ashwin made his T20 World Cup debut in the 2012 edition.

Ravichandran Ashwin’s best bowling figures at the T20 World Cup is 4/11, which he recorded in a group phase match against Australia in the 2014 edition. India won that match by 73 runs.

The 36-year-old, who is currently India’s fourth-highest wicket-taker in T20Is behind Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Yuzvendra Chahal and Jasprit Bumrah, has been an integral part of the national side over the years and has now featured in five T20 World Cups.

Ravindra Jadeja is next on the list of most wickets for India in T20 World Cups. The slow left-arm orthodox spinner, who first played in the 2009 edition, has taken 21 wickets in 22 matches. He bagged seven wickets in the previous edition, which is his individual best.

Jadeja was all set to feature in the Twenty20 World Cup 2022 but an unfortunate injury ruled him out of the tournament in Australia.

With 16 wickets in 15 matches, Former all-rounder Irfan Pathan is next on the list. Irfan Pathan, who currently plies his trade as a cricket pundit, took 10 wickets at an economy of 6.77 in the inaugural edition and played a crucial part in India lifting the trophy. His best figures of 3/16 came in the final against arch-rivals Pakistan - a performance that won him the Man of the Match award too.

The left-armer formed a formidable pace bowling partnership with RP Singh and the duo accounted for a total of 22 wickets in that first edition of World T20.

Legendary spinner Harbhajan Singh also features on the list of the most wickets for India in T20 World Cup. Nicknamed ‘The Turbanator’, he has taken 16 wickets in 19 matches between 2007 and 2012. Interestingly, he also holds the record for bowling the most number of maiden overs in World T20 with four in as many editions.

Ashish Nehra completes the top 5. The left-arm fast has scalped 15 wickets from his 10 matches in the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup. In fact, 10 of his wickets came in the 2010 edition while the other five were taken in 2016 - an edition that saw him feature in the ‘ICC Team of the Tournament’ for helping Team India reach the semi-finals.

RP Singh, with 14, and Yuvraj Singh and Zaheer Khan, with 12 each, are the other top wicket-takers for India in the T20 World Cup.