Kuldeep Yadav is in red-hot form these days. The Kanpur-based cricketer has played all six matches of the Asia Cup 2025 for Team India and dismissed 13 batters. He picked up one wicket for the Suryakumar Yadav-led side in the Super 4s match against Sri Lanka on Friday, which also helped him break the record of taking the most wickets in an edition of the Asia Cup T20Is.
On Sunday, September 28, when Kuldeep will feature for Men in Blue against Pakistan in the final of Asia Cup 2025, he will have a chance to break Lasith Malinga’s record of 33 wickets and become the highest wicket-taker in Asia Cup (ODIs and T20Is combined) history.
Malinga played 15 matches for Sri Lanka in the Asia Cup and dismissed 33 batters, whereas Kuldeep has 32 wickets
to his name in 17 matches.
Most wickets in Asia Cup (ODIs and T20Is combined)
| PLAYER | COUNTRY | ODIs | ODI WKTS | T20Is | T20I WKTS | TOTAL |
| Lasith Malinga | Sri Lanka | 14 | 29 | 1 | 4 | 33 |
| Kuldeep Yadav | India | 11 | 19 | 6 | 13 | 32 |
| Muttiah Muralitharan | Sri Lanka | 24 | 30 | 0 | 0 | 30 |
| Ravindra Jadeja | India | 20 | 25 | 6 | 4 | 29 |
| Shakib Al Hasan | Bangladesh | 18 | 22 | 7 | 6 | 28 |
In the T20I edition of the Asia Cup, Kuldeep has 13 wickets to his credit in six matches, and in the ODI format, he has dismissed 19 batters in 11 matches. On the other hand, Malinga picked up 29 wickets in 14 Asia Cup matches played in ODI format and 4 wickets in one match played in T20I format.
If Kuldeep manages to take at least two wickets in the summit clash on Sunday at Dubai International Cricket Stadium, he will top the wicket-takers list.
The two wickets in the match against Pakistan will also help Kuldeep break Irfan Pathan’s record of taking the most wickets for India in one edition of the Asia Cup (ODIs and T20Is combined). Pathan dismissed 14 batters in six matches of the 2004 Asia Cup.
Most wickets in one edition of Asia Cup for Team India
| PLAYER | FORMAT | YEAR | MATCHES | WICKETS | BEST FIGURES |
| Irfan Pathan | ODI | 2004 | 6 | 14 | 3/28 |
| Kuldeep Yadav | T20I | 2025 | 6 | 13 | 4/7 |
| Sachin Tendulkar | ODI | 2004 | 6 | 12 | 3/21 |
| Bhuvneshwar Kumar | T20I | 2022 | 5 | 11 | 5/4 |
| Mohammed Siraj | ODI | 2023 | 5 | 10 | 6/21 |
| Kuldeep Yadav | ODI | 2018 | 6 | 10 | 3/45 |
The overall record of taking the most wickets in one edition of the Asia Cup is in the name of former Sri Lankan spinner Ajantha Mendis.
Most wickets in one edition of Asia Cup
| PLAYER | COUNTRY | FORMAT | YEAR | MATCHES | WICKETS | BEST FIGURES |
| Ajantha Mendis | Sri Lanka | ODI | 2008 | 5 | 17 | 6/13 |
| Irfan Pathan | India | ODI | 2004 | 6 | 14 | 3/28 |
| Kuldeep Yadav | India | T20I | 2025 | 6 | 13 | 4/7 |
| Sachin Tendulkar | India | ODI | 2004 | 6 | 12 | 3/21 |
| Amjad Javed | UAE | T20I | 2016 | 7 | 12 | 3/25 |
Mendis played five matches in the 2008 Asia Cup and dismissed 17 batters.
In the ongoing Asia Cup, Kuldeep has picked up four wickets in two matches against Pakistan.
