Pacers form the cornerstone of a bowling inning in the T20 format of the game, as they are the main architects of keeping the scoring rate of the opposition intact.
They are the ones who will be enlisted by their respective captains to bowl at various facets of bowling in the inning, be in the powerplays or the middle phase, and most crucially, at the death. Each has its own challenge, and a great pacer should be able to adjust to different game situations.
Let us take a closer look at the fast bowlers who have excelled in all these scenarios and emerged successful. An important metric to measure here is the wickets taken, so here are the top 10 wicket-takers among pacers in T20Is.
Most Wickets by Fast Bowlers in T20Is
| Player | Team | Innings | Wickets | Economy Rate | Best Bowling (Innings) | 4W/5W |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tim Southee | New Zealand | 123 | 164 | 8.00 | 5/18 | 2/2 |
| Mustafizur Rahman | Bangladesh | 125 | 158 | 7.28 | 6/10 | 3/2 |
| Mark Adair | Ireland | 100 | 142 | 7.82 | 4/13 | 4/0 |
| Haris Rauf | Pakistan | 92 | 133 | 8.38 | 4/18 | 5/0 |
| Rizwan Butt | Bahrain | 85 | 132 | 6.82 | 6/9 | 3/4 |
| Shaheen Shah Afridi | Pakistan | 101 | 131 | 7.79 | 4/22 | 2/0 |
| Junaid Siddique | UAE | 90 | 124 | 7.65 | 5/35 | 5/1 |
| Arshdeep Singh | India | 78 | 121 | 8.50 | 5/51 | 2/1 |
| Jasprit Bumrah | India | 87 | 111 | 6.53 | 3/7 | 0/0 |
| Richard Ngarava | Zimbabwe | 89 | 111 | 7.26 | 4/16 | 2/0 |
| Bilal Khan | Oman | 78 | 110 | 6.78 | 4/19 | 3/0 |
| Hardik Pandya | India | 120 | 110 | 8.27 | 4/16 | 3/0 |
Find the same record for ODIs and Tests here.
Key Insights on Leading Wicket Takers Among Fast Bowlers in T20Is
Fastest Pacers to Reach T20I Career Bowling Milestones
Tim Southee was the first fast bowler to take 150 wickets in T20I cricket. He ended his career with 164 wickets in 123 innings for New Zealand.
Southee and Mustafizur Rahman took 118 matches to pick up 150 wickets, making them the fastest to achieve the milestone among pacers in T20Is.
India’s Arshdeep Singh is the quickest pacer to grab 100 wickets in T20Is, taking the milestone wicket in his 64th match.
Malaysia’s Syazrul Idrus is the fastest pacer to pick up 50 T20I wickets, taking 25 matches.
Record-Breaking Performance by Spell, Series and Year
Syazrul Idrus has delivered the best bowling figures as a fast bowler in T20Is. He claimed seven wickets for eight runs against China in Kuala Lumpur in 2023. This is also the best bowling figure by any bowler in T20Is.
West Indies’ Jason Holder and Bahrain’s Ali Dawood have picked up the most wickets as pacers in a bilateral T20I series. Holder took 15 wickets in a 2022 series against England, while Dawood levelled the record in a 2025 series against Bhutan.
Ali Dawood fetched 63 wickets in 37 innings in 2025, the most by any bowler in a calendar year in T20Is.
Bahrain’s Rizwan Butt (55) is the other fast bowler to take more than 50 wickets in a year in T20Is.
Elite Bowling Averages, Strike Rates, and Economy Rates for Seamers in T20Is
Argentina’s Hernan Fennell is the only fast bowler to average below 12 in T20Is (minimum 500 balls bowled).
Obed Harvey (Ghana), Samuel Conteh (Sierra Leone), and Atif Mehmood (Spain) are the three fast bowlers with economy rates below 5.50 in T20Is (minimum 500 balls bowled).
Syazrul Idrus (Malaysia), Umair Tariq (Austria), and Nalin Nipiko (Vanuatu) have strike rates below 12 among pacers in T20Is (minimum 500 balls bowled).
Bahrain’s Rizwan Butt is the only fast bowler to take four or more five-wicket hauls in T20Is.
Top T20I Pacers by Match Phase
Southee and Shaheen Shah Afridi (Pakistan) are the two pacers who have taken more than 50 wickets in the powerplay overs in T20Is.
Hardik Pandya is the only fast bowler to bag more than 60 wickets in the middle overs in T20Is.
Mustafizur Rahman has claimed the most wickets among pacers in the death overs in T20Is, with around 47 per cent of his career scalps coming in the last four overs.
Southee took 91 of his 164 wickets in New Zealand, the most by a fast bowler at home in T20Is.
Read Next | 7 Death Bowling Experts of All Time in International Cricket
