Top 5 Indian spinners with most wickets in T20I Cricket

Only one Indian spinner has taken more than 100 wickets in T20I cricket.

T20I cricket is often considered a batsman-friendly format due to the aggressive batting and less favourable conditions for bowlers.

Since bowlers have only four-over spells and batters often look to smash from the first over in a T20I match, it becomes too challenging to scalp wickets and bowl economically.

Even prominent and established bowlers have been hit for a lot of runs on some instances. For spinners, the job becomes even more difficult. Despite this, several Indian spinners have consistently performed well over the past few years.

A few of them have dismantled opposition teams regularly and have numerous wickets in their kitty. In this article, let’s take a look at the top five Indian spinners with the most wickets in T20Is.

Spinners with the most wickets for India in T20I cricket

5. Ravichandran Ashwin – 72 wickets

Despite pulling the curtains down on his international career, Ravichandran Ashwin is still the fifth-highest wicket-taker for India among spinners. Between 2010 and 2022, Ashwin played 65 matches and took 72 wickets at an average of 23.22 and an economy rate of 6.90.

The 39-year-old also bagged two four-wicket hauls in his career, with a best bowling show of 4/8 against Sri Lanka in February 2016.

4. Varun Chakravarthy- 74 wickets

Right-arm spinner Varun Chakravarthy is a frontline spinner for India in T20Is. After making his international debut in 2021, he was dropped from the national team for a few years due to poor form but continued to perform consistently well in domestic cricket.

With 74 wickets in 47 games at an average of 16.89 and an economy of 7.59, he has done a spectacular job in the shortest format. The 34-year-old has also registered two five-wicket hauls and a four-fer in his career, with a best bowling figure of 5/17.

3. Kuldeep Yadav- 95 wickets

Kuldeep Yadav can be termed the best orthodox spinner to ever play for India and has made a mark across all three formats. From 2017 to date, Kuldeep has clinched 95 scalps in 54 games at a fabulous economy of 6.95 and an average of 13.74.

With three 4-wicket hauls and two fifers in his career, the 31-year-old is one of the dominant spinners for India over the years.

2. Yuzvendra Chahal – 96 wickets

Although Yuzvendra Chahal has lost his spot in the T20I team since 2023, his name still pops up in the list of most successful Indian spinners. Chahal, who was also part of multiple T20 World Cup editions, has bagged 96 scalps in 80 games.

Averaging 25.09 at an economy of 8.19, Chahal has two four-wicket hauls and a fifer in his kitty, including an impeccable best show of 6/25 against England in February 2017 in Bengaluru.

1. Axar Patel- 100 wickets

All-rounder Axar Patel steals the top spot on this list and is the only Indian spinner with more than 100 T20I wickets. With his left-arm spin, the former Indian vice-captain has bagged 101 scalps in 99 matches at an average of 21.59 and an economy of 7.37.

Although he has not picked any fifer in the shortest format so far, he has been the most consistent Indian spinner since his first T20I game in 2015.

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