Most wickets in T20 World Cup: Shakib’s 50, and the ten bowlers still chasing it
Shakib Al Hasan has the most wickets in T20 World Cup history with 50. The all-time list, the leading wicket-taker in every edition, and the best figures ever bowled.
May 30, 2024 · Updated Aug 20, 2026
Shakib Al Hasan has taken the most wickets in the men’s T20 World Cup: 50 in 43 matches, at 20.12 apiece and 6.86 an over. He played his last edition in 2024 and has not been passed since.
He is closer to being caught than the batting record is. Twenty-three bowlers have taken 30 or more wickets at this tournament and ten of them were still playing in 2026, five within ten wickets of Shakib. Adil Rashid and Adam Zampa are on 44, Rashid Khan on 43, Jasprit Bumrah and Wanindu Hasaranga on 40. On the all-time run-scoring list, by contrast, only three of the top twelve are still active.
Most wickets in T20 World Cup history
All figures are for the men’s tournament proper, as at 20 August 2026.
| Bowler | Span | Mat | Wkts | BBI | Ave | Econ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Shakib Al Hasan (BAN) | 2007-2024 | 43 | 50 | 4/9 | 20.12 | 6.86 |
| Adil Rashid (ENG) | 2009-2026 | 38 | 44 | 4/2 | 22.36 | 7.18 |
| Adam Zampa (AUS) | 2016-2026 | 25 | 44 | 5/19 | 13.84 | 6.52 |
| Rashid Khan (AFG) | 2016-2026 | 27 | 43 | 4/9 | 15.30 | 6.36 |
| Jasprit Bumrah (IND) | 2016-2026 | 26 | 40 | 4/15 | 13.65 | 5.66 |
| Wanindu Hasaranga (SL) | 2021-2026 | 20 | 40 | 3/8 | 11.47 | 6.01 |
| Shahid Afridi (PAK) | 2007-2016 | 34 | 39 | 4/11 | 23.25 | 6.71 |
| Lasith Malinga (SL) | 2007-2014 | 31 | 38 | 5/31 | 20.07 | 7.43 |
| Anrich Nortje (SA) | 2021-2026 | 21 | 38 | 4/7 | 12.00 | 5.71 |
| Arshdeep Singh (IND) | 2022-2026 | 22 | 36 | 4/9 | 17.36 | 7.81 |
| Saeed Ajmal (PAK) | 2009-2014 | 23 | 36 | 4/19 | 16.86 | 6.79 |
| Tim Southee (NZ) | 2010-2024 | 25 | 36 | 3/4 | 17.91 | 6.99 |
| Ajantha Mendis (SL) | 2009-2014 | 21 | 35 | 6/8 | 15.02 | 6.70 |
| Umar Gul (PAK) | 2007-2014 | 24 | 35 | 5/6 | 17.25 | 7.30 |
| Trent Boult (NZ) | 2014-2024 | 18 | 34 | 4/13 | 12.50 | 5.93 |
One check worth running on any version of this list: is Wanindu Hasaranga on it? He led the wicket charts at two tournaments running and has 40, which puts him level with Bumrah in the top six — but he is missing from several widely reproduced versions of this table, including one that otherwise runs all the way down to 22 wickets. A top ten with no Sri Lankan in it below Malinga has dropped him.
Shakib’s 50 took the long way round
The record belongs to the man who played the most cricket at this tournament, not the man who bowled best in it. Shakib appeared at nine editions between 2007 and 2024 — every one of them — and 43 matches is more than anyone else in the top fifteen has managed. His average of 20.12 is the third-worst of the fifteen bowlers above and his economy of 6.86 ranks tenth of them.
That is not a criticism so much as a description of how the record is built. There have been ten T20 World Cups in nineteen years. A bowler needs to be picked for six or seven of them to accumulate fifty wickets at ordinary rates, and almost nobody lasts that long in the format.
The alternative route is to be very good for a short time, and the table shows both. Hasaranga has 40 wickets from 20 matches — two a game, the best rate of any bowler with 30 or more — from four editions. Trent Boult took 34 in 18. Neither is near the record; both were more dangerous than the man who holds it.
The best of the wicket-takers, by the other measures
Twenty-three bowlers have taken 30 or more wickets at T20 World Cups. Ranked by what they cost rather than how many they took, the order changes completely.
| Measure | Best | Figure | Next |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average | Wanindu Hasaranga | 11.47 | Anrich Nortje 12.00 |
| Economy | Jasprit Bumrah | 5.66 | Anrich Nortje 5.71 |
| Strike rate | Wanindu Hasaranga | 11.4 | Anrich Nortje 12.6 |
| Wickets per match | Wanindu Hasaranga | 2.00 | Trent Boult 1.89 |
Bumrah’s economy is the number worth sitting with. He has bowled 96.2 overs at this tournament and conceded 546 runs, which is 5.66 an over across ten years of T20 cricket getting steadily more violent. In the same period the team totals went the other way entirely: our page on the highest score in a T20 World Cup records that seven of the ten biggest totals in the tournament’s history were made in 2026 alone.
The leading wicket-taker in every T20 World Cup
| Edition | Bowler | Wkts | Mat | BBI | Ave | Econ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2007 | Umar Gul (PAK) | 13 | 7 | 4/25 | 11.92 | 5.60 |
| 2009 | Umar Gul (PAK) | 13 | 7 | 5/6 | 12.15 | 6.44 |
| 2010 | Dirk Nannes (AUS) | 14 | 7 | 4/18 | 13.07 | 7.03 |
| 2012 | Ajantha Mendis (SL) | 15 | 6 | 6/8 | 9.80 | 6.12 |
| 2014 | Imran Tahir (SA) | 12 | 5 | 4/21 | 10.91 | 6.55 |
| 2014 | Ahsan Malik (NED) | 12 | 7 | 5/19 | 13.83 | 6.68 |
| 2016 | Mohammad Nabi (AFG) | 12 | 7 | 4/20 | 13.66 | 6.07 |
| 2021 | Wanindu Hasaranga (SL) | 16 | 8 | 3/9 | 9.75 | 5.20 |
| 2022 | Wanindu Hasaranga (SL) | 15 | 8 | 3/8 | 13.26 | 6.41 |
| 2024 | Fazalhaq Farooqi (AFG) | 17 | 8 | 5/9 | 9.41 | 6.31 |
| 2024 | Arshdeep Singh (IND) | 17 | 8 | 4/9 | 12.64 | 7.16 |
| 2026 | Jasprit Bumrah (IND) | 14 | 8 | 4/15 | 12.42 | 6.21 |
| 2026 | Varun Chakravarthy (IND) | 14 | 9 | 3/7 | 20.50 | 9.25 |
Ten editions, thirteen rows, because three of them were shared. That is the check to run on any version of this table: the tournament has been played ten times — 2007, 2009, 2010, 2012, 2014, 2016, 2021, 2022, 2024 and 2026 — and if a list gives you ten names with no ties, it has quietly dropped somebody.
The record for one edition is 17, held jointly by Fazalhaq Farooqi and Arshdeep Singh from 2024. Hasaranga’s 16 in 2021 is next. Two bowlers have led the charts at consecutive tournaments: Umar Gul in 2007 and 2009, and Hasaranga in 2021 and 2022.
Best bowling figures in a T20 World Cup match
Ajantha Mendis still holds the record, and it has stood since 2012: 6 for 8 against Zimbabwe at Hambantota on 18 September 2012, four overs, two maidens. No other bowler has taken six in a T20 World Cup innings.
| Figures | Bowler | Overs | Opposition | Ground | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 6/8 | Ajantha Mendis (SL) | 4.0 | Zimbabwe | Hambantota | 18 Sep 2012 |
| 5/3 | Rangana Herath (SL) | 3.3 | New Zealand | Chattogram | 31 Mar 2014 |
| 5/6 | Umar Gul (PAK) | 3.0 | New Zealand | The Oval | 13 Jun 2009 |
| 5/9 | Fazalhaq Farooqi (AFG) | 4.0 | Uganda | Providence | 3 Jun 2024 |
| 5/10 | Sam Curran (ENG) | 3.4 | Afghanistan | Perth | 22 Oct 2022 |
| 5/11 | Akeal Hosein (WI) | 4.0 | Uganda | Providence | 8 Jun 2024 |
Herath’s 5 for 3 is the strangest line on the list: three and a half overs, two of them maidens, an economy rate of 0.85, and the cheapest five-wicket haul the tournament has produced. The only spell to match that economy is Adil Rashid’s 4 for 2 against West Indies at Dubai on 23 October 2021 — 2.2 overs, two runs, four wickets, and still his best T20 World Cup return.
There have been 14 five-wicket hauls in T20 World Cup history, and they are spread remarkably evenly: two apiece in 2012, 2014, 2016, 2021, 2024 and 2026, one each in 2009 and 2022, and none at all in 2007 or 2010. Romario Shepherd took one of the 2026 pair, 5 for 20 against Scotland at Eden Gardens on 7 February.
Where India’s bowlers sit
India have two bowlers in the all-time top twelve — Jasprit Bumrah on 40 and Arshdeep Singh on 36 — with Hardik Pandya on 33 not far behind. All three played in 2026, and two of them have topped an edition’s charts: Arshdeep jointly in 2024, Bumrah jointly in 2026.
Bumrah’s 2026 was the more valuable of the two campaigns. He took 14 wickets in eight matches at 12.42 and 6.21 an over, and finished with 4 for 15 in the final at Ahmedabad, a spell that took out New Zealand’s top order and won him the match award as India retained the trophy. Varun Chakravarthy matched his 14 wickets but needed nine matches and conceded 9.25 an over doing it.
The full story of that tournament is on our T20 World Cup winners list.
Common questions about the most wickets in T20 World Cup
Who has taken the most wickets in T20 World Cup history? Shakib Al Hasan of Bangladesh, with 50 wickets in 43 matches at an average of 20.12. He played every edition from 2007 to 2024.
Who has taken the most wickets in a single T20 World Cup? Fazalhaq Farooqi and Arshdeep Singh, with 17 each at the 2024 tournament. Wanindu Hasaranga’s 16 in 2021 is the next best.
What are the best bowling figures in a T20 World Cup? Ajantha Mendis’s 6 for 8 against Zimbabwe at Hambantota in 2012. Nobody else has taken six wickets in an innings at the tournament.
Which active bowler is closest to the record? Adil Rashid and Adam Zampa, both on 44, six behind Shakib. Rashid Khan is on 43, and Bumrah and Hasaranga on 40.
Who was the leading wicket-taker at the 2026 T20 World Cup? Jasprit Bumrah and Varun Chakravarthy shared it on 14 wickets. Bumrah took his in eight matches at 6.21 an over, including 4 for 15 in the final.
Has any bowler led the wicket charts twice? Yes, two of them. Umar Gul topped the list in 2007 and 2009, and Wanindu Hasaranga in 2021 and 2022.
More T20 World Cup records
- Most runs in T20 World Cup
- Highest score in T20 World Cup
- T20 World Cup winners list
- Who won the first T20 World Cup
- Most wickets in T20 cricket
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Photo credit: Surjeet Yadav / AFP