Top 5 List: Most International Wickets For India

Cricket, a large section of India's population treats cricket as their love, as an emotion rather than just a game. That year was 2013 when India won an ICC title for the last time. India, despite being everyone's favorite team at the start of the tournament, always comes back empty-handed for some reason or the other. It is bowling sometimes and batting sometimes, which lets down the hope. Nevertheless, Team India has had wizards of the game who have single-handedly produced results many times in history.

Cricket was first mostly regarded as a batsman's game, but as time went on, bowlers also grew to play a significant role in the game. India has won several games thanks to some outstanding bowling efforts. Jasprit Bumrah's spectacular bowling performance a few months ago enabled India to upset England by 10 wickets. India chased down England's 110 runs in 18.4 overs as the pacer took six wickets for just 19 runs.

In this article, we will find out who has taken the most international wickets for team India.

Top-5 Most International Wicket-takers For India

1- Anil Kumble

In all international cricket formats, legendary leg-spinner Anil Kumble has taken the most wickets for India. Kumble made his debut for India in a Test match against England in 1990. He went on to take 953 wickets for India in 401 games, with an average of 30.06. The Bangalore-born cricketer had 619 Test wickets in 132 games with an average of 29.65. He secured eight 10-wicket hauls and 35 five-wicket hauls.

Kumble played 269 games in the ODI since making his debut against Sri Lanka on April 25, 1990. He also holds the record for India's most ODI wickets in a single year with 61 in 1996. He took 334 ODI wickets for India.

2- Harbhajan Singh

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Harbhajan Singh, a former spinner, ranks second on the list of Indian players with the most wickets across all formats. The talented off-spinner took 707 wickets at an average of 32.59 in 365 games. In 1998, Harbhajan faced Australia in his first Test match. By the time of his retirement, he had taken 417 wickets in 103 games in the longest format. Harbhajan Singh, the man fondly termed "The Turbantor," finished his ODI career as the nation's fifth-highest wicket-taker in the 50-over category. In a career that lasted 17 years, from 1998 to 2017, he took 265 wickets.

3- Kapil Dev

Kapil Dev, the captain of India who won the 1983 World Cup, took 687 wickets in 356 games. Of the 687 wickets, 434 came in the longest format, while 253 came in one-day international cricket. He is India's third-highest wicket-taker in international cricket with 24 five-wicket hauls and two ten-wicket hauls.

4- Ravichandran Ashwin

Ravichandran Ashwin has taken the most wickets for India in all formats among active players. With 650 wickets taken in 250 games, Ashwin comes in fourth on the list. Ashwin, who now has 438 wickets in 86 Tests and 151 in ODIs, and 61 in T20Is, is India's second-highest wicket-taker in the longest format.

Ashwin has taken five wickets 30 times and 7 ten wicket-hauls with a strike rate of 46.1.

5- Zaheer Khan

Zaheer Khan, a left-arm fast bowler, is India's second-highest wicket-taker among fast bowlers and is fifth on the list of wickets in international matches. He is also fourth on the list of the highest wicket-taker for India in ODIs.

The 2011 World Cup winner, Zaheer Khan, bagged 597 wickets in 303 matches across all formats. Out of which, he took 269 wickets in 194 appearances since making his debut in 2000 against Kenya.

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LIST OF TOP 10 ALL-TIME INTERNATIONAL WICKET-TAKERS FOR INDIA

Player	Span	Mat	Inns	Wkts	Test wkts	ODI wkts	T20 wkts	Econ	SR	5	10
A Kumble	1990-2008	401	499	953	619	334	0	3.11	57.9	37	8
Harbhajan Singh	1998-2016	365	442	707	417	365	25	3.32	58.7	28	5
N Kapil Dev	1978-1994	356	448	687	434	253	0	3.05	56.6	24	2
R Ashwin	2010-2022	264	338	665	438	151	61	3.40	46.1	30	7
Z Khan	2000-2014	303	373	597	311	269	17	3.89	48.4	12	1
J Srinath	1991-2003	296	348	551	236	315	0	3.55	49.0	13	1
RA Jadeja	2009-2022	295	342	482	241	188	48	3.53	51.0	11	1
I Sharma	2007-2021	199	280	434	311	115	8	3.63	53.3	11	1
Mohammed Shami	2013-2022	165	218	392	214	148	18	4.08	39.5	7	0
AB Agarkar	1998-2007	221	237	349	58	288	3	4.51	41.2	3	0

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