Bangladesh’s Shakib Al Hasan has taken close to 50 wickets over the course of 7 tournaments since the T20 World Cup began in 2007, which makes him the most prolific wicket-taker in the history of the T20 World Cup. He was the first bowler to achieve 50 wickets in T20 history and is regarded as one of the most dangerous bowlers in T20 cricket due to his accurate and consistent bowling.
Pakistan’s Shahid Afridi (39 wickets) and Sri Lanka’s Lasith Malinga (38 wickets) are also listed among the all-time leading wicket-takers. Afridi’s ability to produce key wickets with leg-spin bowling at critical moments in matches has helped him to achieve great success in T20 matches. Malinga’s unorthodox and highly exaggerated slinging bowling style has resulted in numerous iconic and game-changing bowling performances for the Sri Lankan cricket team.
Other Leading Wicket-Takers in T20 World Cups
Rounding out this group of the top five all-time T20 World Cup wicket-takers are Sri Lanka’s Wanindu Hasaranga and Afghanistan’s Rashid Khan, both with approximately 37 T20 World Cup wickets. They each demonstrate the characteristics of a strike bowler, coming into play when conditions are favourable for a spin or variation-based attack. All the bowlers listed above combine deft skill and precision, making scoring runs an arduous task for batters regardless of the playing conditions.
Most Wickets in a Single T20 World Cup
The record for the most wickets taken by a bowler in a single year (edition) rather than over a career/overall is different. In the 2024 edition of the competition, Fazalhaq Farooqi from Afghanistan was the leading wicket-taker with 17 wickets – a very high number of strikeouts for a single competition. The second-highest wicket-taker for that year was India’s Arshdeep Singh, who also collected 17 wickets. Other notable amateurs included Australia’s Jasprit Bumrah (15) and Rashid Khan of Afghanistan (14).
Overview Summary – T20 World Cup Bowling Icons
While we have seen various editions of T20 World Cups over the years; there are also many great players, who are also proven winners, at the top of the T20 all-time bowling lists. Players like Shakib Al Hasan, who is now the all-time leading wicket taker in T20 World Cups because of his ability to continue changing and being relevant to all forms of play.
Similarly, although both Shahid Afridi and Lasith Malinga are retired, they are still two of the greatest all-time bowlers and both have had massive impacts on the game’s outcome through their exceptional spell of bowling, even today. In contrast, the current batch of players such as Wanindu Hasaranga and Rashid Khan have already established themselves as two of the most rising stars on the T20 World Cup all-time wicket-takers list and both will have many more opportunities to break records as they continue their careers in T20.
T20 World Cup 2026 stadiums: Where’s India vs Pakistan and the final
