Axar Patel is all set to retain his place in India’s playing XI for the second T20I against England, which is scheduled to be played at Old Trafford in Manchester on Saturday (July 4). In the match, set to start
at 7:00 PM IST, the Gujarat-based spin-bowling all-rounder will have a chance to enter his name in the record books.
If Axar, who has played 97 T20I matches for India since making his debut against Zimbabwe in Harare on July 17, 2015, manages to take at least one wicket in the Manchester T20I, he will become the first Indian spinner to take 100 wickets in T20Is.
As of now, Axar has 99 wickets to his name. So far, only three bowlers—Arshdeep Singh, Jasprit Bumrah, and Hardik Pandya—have managed to take 100 or more wickets for India in T20Is.
Most wickets for India in T20Is
| PLAYER | MATCHES | WICKETS | BEST FIGURES | 5-WKT HAULS |
| Arshdeep Singh | 87 | 131 | 5/51 | 1 |
| Jasprit Bumrah | 95 | 121 | 4/15 | 0 |
| Hardik Pandya | 138 | 114 | 4/16 | 0 |
| Axar Patel | 97 | 99 | 3/9 | 0 |
| Yuzvendra Chahal | 80 | 96 | 6/25 | 1 |
| Kuldeep Yadav | 54 | 95 | 5/17 | 2 |
| Bhuvneshwar Kumar | 87 | 90 | 5/4 | 2 |
| Varun Chakaravarthy | 46 | 73 | 5/17 | 2 |
| Ravichandran Ashwin | 65 | 72 | 4/8 | 0 |
| Ravi Bishnoi | 45 | 64 | 4/13 | 0 |
While Arshdeep tops the list with 131 wickets in 87 matches, Bumrah has accounted for the dismissal of 121 batters in 95 matches, and Hardik has picked up 114 wickets in 138 T20Is.
In the list of Indian spinners with the most wickets in T20Is, Axar is followed by Yuzvendra Chahal and Kuldeep Yadav. While Chahal has dismissed 96 batters in 80 T20Is for India, Kuldeep has 95 wickets to his name in 54 matches.
Most wickets by Indian spinners in T20Is
| PLAYER | MATCHES | WICKETS | BEST FIGURES | 5-WKT HAULS |
| Axar Patel | 97 | 99 | 3/9 | 0 |
| Yuzvendra Chahal | 80 | 96 | 6/25 | 1 |
| Kuldeep Yadav | 54 | 95 | 5/17 | 2 |
| Varun Chakaravarthy | 46 | 73 | 5/17 | 2 |
| Ravichandran Ashwin | 65 | 72 | 4/8 | 0 |
| Ravi Bishnoi | 45 | 64 | 4/13 | 0 |
| Ravindra Jadeja | 74 | 54 | 3/15 | 0 |
| Washington Sundar | 61 | 51 | 3/3 | 0 |
| Yuvraj Singh | 58 | 28 | 3/17 | 0 |
| Harbhajan Singh | 28 | 25 | 4/12 | 0 |
Axar, who captains Delhi Capitals in the IPL, played for India in the first T20I against England at the Riverside Ground in Chester-le-Street on July 1, but he didn’t get a chance to bowl as no play was possible in the second innings due to rain.
He also played in both the T20Is against Ireland in Belfast in June 2026 but was able to take only two wickets in the series opener and remained wicketless in the second match.
The overall record for the most wickets by a spinner in T20Is is held by Afghanistan’s Rashid Khan (193), and the 27-year-old is followed by New Zealand’s Ish Sodhi and England’s Adil Rashid.
Most wickets by spinners in T20Is
| PLAYER | COUNTRY | MATCHES | WICKETS | BEST FIGURES | 5-WKT HAULS |
| Rashid Khan | Afghanistan | 115 | 193 | 5/3 | 2 |
| Ish Sodhi | New Zealand | 142 | 165 | 4/12 | 0 |
| Adil Rashid | England | 146 | 164 | 4/2 | 0 |
| Wanindu Hasaranga | Sri Lanka | 98 | 161 | 4/9 | 0 |
| Adam Zampa | Australia | 118 | 153 | 5/19 | 1 |
| Ehsan Khan | Hong Kong | 111 | 152 | 4/5 | 0 |
| Shakib Al Hasan | Bangladesh | 129 | 149 | 5/20 | 2 |
| Sandeep Lamichhane | Nepal | 78 | 142 | 5/9 | 2 |
| Mitchell Santner | New Zealand | 138 | 142 | 4/11 | 0 |
While Sodhi has picked up 165 wickets in 142 matches so far, Rashid has 164 wickets to his credit.
