Left-arm pacer Arshdeep Singh is India’s highest wicket-taker in T20Is, and on Saturday (October 24), he will lead India’s fast-bowling attack along with Bhuvneshwar Kumar in the second T20I against New Zealand.
In the fixture scheduled to take place at Hagley Oval in Christchurch, Arshdeep will have a chance to enter his name in the history books. If the Punjab-based cricketer manages to dismiss at least two Kiwi batters in the second T20I, then he will break the all-time record for most wickets by an Indian in a calendar year in T20Is.
As of now, Arshdeep has dismissed 36 batters in 28 T20I matches for India in 2026. The record for taking the most wickets for India in a calendar year in T20Is is held by Bhuvneshwar. The Meerut-born right-arm
pacer played 32 T20Is for India in 2022 and accounted for the dismissal of 37 batters.
Most wickets for India in a calendar year in T20Is
| PLAYER | MATCHES | WICKETS | BEST FIGURES (INNINGS) | ECONOMY | 5W | YEAR |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bhuvneshwar Kumar | 32 | 37 | 5/4 | 6.98 | 1 | 2022 |
| Arshdeep Singh | 18 | 36 | 4/9 | 7.49 | 0 | 2024 |
| Varun Chakaravarthy | 20 | 36 | 5/24 | 7.08 | 1 | 2025 |
| Arshdeep Singh | 28 | 36 | 5/51 | 9.29 | 1 | 2026 |
| Arshdeep Singh | 21 | 33 | 4/37 | 8.17 | 0 | 2022 |
| Axar Patel | 28 | 32 | 3/27 | 8.92 | 0 | 2026 |
The record for taking the most wickets in T20Is in a calendar year is held by Ali Dawood of Bahrain. Ali Dawood dismissed 63 batters in 37 T20I matches in 2025.
Most wickets in a calendar year in T20Is
| PLAYER | COUNTRY | MATCHES | WICKETS | BEST FIGURES (INNINGS) | 5W | YEAR |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ali Dawood | Bahrain | 37 | 63 | 7/19 | 1 | 2025 |
| Alpesh Ramjani | Uganda | 30 | 55 | 4/9 | 0 | 2023 |
| Rizwan Butt | Bahrain | 34 | 55 | 6/9 | 1 | 2025 |
| Henry Ssenyondo | Uganda | 30 | 49 | 4/4 | 0 | 2023 |
| Umair Tariq | Austria | 30 | 48 | 5/32 | 1 | 2025 |
| Ehsan Khan | Hong Kong | 27 | 46 | 4/5 | 0 | 2024 |
| Yalinde Nkanya | Tanzania | 28 | 45 | 5/2 | 1 | 2022 |
| Aqib Iqbal | Austria | 36 | 43 | 3/28 | 0 | 2025 |
| Martin Akayezu | Rwanda | 38 | 42 | 4/17 | 0 | 2023 |
| Junaid Siddique | UAE | 25 | 40 | 4/14 | 0 | 2024 |
Among players from Full Member teams, Ireland’s Josh Little tops the list. Little played 26 T20Is for the Irish team in 2022 and picked up 39 wickets.
Most wickets in a calendar year in T20Is (full-member teams)
| PLAYER | COUNTRY | MATCHES | WICKETS | BEST FIGURES (INNINGS) | 5W | YEAR |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Josh Little | Ireland | 26 | 39 | 4/35 | 0 | 2022 |
| Wanindu Hasaranga | Sri Lanka | 20 | 38 | 4/15 | 0 | 2024 |
| Bhuvneshwar Kumar | India | 32 | 37 | 5/4 | 1 | 2022 |
| Wanindu Hasaranga | Sri Lanka | 20 | 36 | 4/9 | 0 | 2021 |
| Tabraiz Shamsi | South Africa | 22 | 36 | 4/25 | 0 | 2021 |
| Arshdeep Singh | India | 18 | 36 | 4/9 | 0 | 2024 |
| Shaheen Shah Afridi | Pakistan | 23 | 36 | 4/30 | 0 | 2024 |
| Mohammad Nawaz | Pakistan | 26 | 36 | 5/19 | 1 | 2025 |
| Varun Chakaravarthy | India | 20 | 36 | 5/24 | 1 | 2025 |
| Arshdeep Singh | India | 28 | 36 | 5/51 | 1 | 2026 |
Arshdeep needs 4 wickets to go past Little’s tally and take the No. 1 position.
Arshdeep has 146 wickets to his name in 100 T20Is for India, and he is just four wickets away from becoming the first Indian to take 150 wickets in the 20-over format of the game.
So far, eight bowlers have dismissed 150 or more batters in T20Is, but there is no Indian on the list.
Most wickets in T20Is
| Player | TEAM(S) | TIME SPAN | MATCHES | WICKETS | BEST FIGURES (INNINGS) | ECONOMY | 5W |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rashid Khan | Afghanistan, ICC | 2015-2026 | 118 | 197 | 5/3 | 6.14 | 2 |
| Adil Rashid | England | 2009-2026 | 153 | 171 | 4/2 | 7.56 | 0 |
| Ehsan Khan | Hong Kong | 2016-2026 | 119 | 165 | 5/26 | 6.11 | 1 |
| Ish Sodhi | New Zealand | 2014-2026 | 142 | 165 | 4/12 | 8.16 | 0 |
| Tim Southee | New Zealand | 2008-2024 | 126 | 164 | 5/18 | 8 | 2 |
| Wanindu Hasaranga | Sri Lanka | 2019-2026 | 101 | 163 | 4/9 | 7.09 | 0 |
| Mustafizur Rahman | Bangladesh | 2015-2026 | 130 | 163 | 6/10 | 7.38 | 2 |
| Adam Zampa | Australia | 2016-2026 | 118 | 153 | 5/19 | 7.35 | 1 |
| Shakib Al Hasan | Bangladesh | 2006-2024 | 129 | 149 | 5/20 | 6.81 | 2 |
| Rizwan Butt | Bahrain | 2022-2026 | 97 | 148 | 6/9 | 6.75 | 4 |
| Arshdeep Singh | India | 2022-2026 | 100 | 146 | 5/51 | 8.65 | 1 |
| Mitchell Santner | New Zealand | 2015-2026 | 139 | 144 | 4/11 | 7.19 | 0 |
Arshdeep has played 32 T20Is for India at the home of the opposition and dismissed 45 batters. If he manages to take a five-wicket haul in the second T20I, then he will become the first Indian to take 50 T20I wickets in away matches (at the home of the opposition).
Most wickets for India in away (home of opposition) T20Is
| PLAYER | TIME SPAN | MATCHES | WICKETS | BEST FIGURES (INNINGS) | ECONOMY | 5W |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Arshdeep Singh | 2022-2026 | 32 | 45 | 4/9 | 8.31 | 0 |
| Kuldeep Yadav | 2017-2025 | 19 | 39 | 5/17 | 6.73 | 2 |
| Yuzvendra Chahal | 2016-2023 | 32 | 37 | 3/21 | 8.37 | 0 |
| Hardik Pandya | 2016-2025 | 40 | 36 | 4/33 | 8.42 | 0 |
| Jasprit Bumrah | 2016-2025 | 30 | 35 | 3/11 | 6.55 | 0 |
| Bhuvneshwar Kumar | 2014-2026 | 31 | 32 | 5/24 | 7.13 | 1 |
The world record for taking the most T20I wickets at the home of the opposition is held by Adil Rashid of England. Rashid has dismissed 77 batters in 70 T20Is played so far at the home of the opposition.
