Indian batters have often found themselves in trouble while batting in SENA – South Africa, England, New Zealand, and Australia – countries. But the story is a bit different for bowlers, more so for pacers.
All four countries offer favourable bowling conditions, where Indian bowlers have found considerable success. They have extracted pace, bounce, swing, and sometimes spin to take wickets and give India an advantage over the hosts.
On that note, here are the top 10 bowlers with the most Test wickets for India in SENA countries.
Most Test Wickets for India in SENA Countries
| Player | Innings | Wickets | BBI | Avg | 5W/10W |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jasprit Bumrah | 64 | 159 | 6/33 | 21.46 | 11/0 |
| Anil Kumble | 67 | 141 | 8/141 | 37.04 | 5/1 |
| Ishant Sharma | 71 | 130 | 7/74 | 36.86 | 5/0 |
| Mohammed Shami | 63 | 123 | 6/56 | 32.88 | 4/0 |
| Zaheer Khan | 53 | 119 | 5/29 | 31.47 | 6/0 |
| Kapil Dev | 62 | 117 | 8/106 | 33.07 | 7/0 |
| Mohammed Siraj | 43 | 91 | 6/15 | 31.04 | 3/0 |
| Bishan Singh Bedi | 42 | 90 | 6/127 | 30.98 | 5/1 |
| Javagal Srinath | 42 | 89 | 6/76 | 34.31 | 4/0 |
| Erapalli Prasanna | 34 | 78 | 8/76 | 29.94 | 5/1 |
Explore More “Indian Bowling” Records
Most Wickets in Tests for India
Most Wickets in T20Is for India
Most ODI Wickets for India in a Calendar Year
Most Test Wickets for India in a Calendar Year
Most T20I Wickets for India in a Calendar Year
Most Wickets across All Formats for India
Most ODI 5-Wicket Hauls for India
Most Test 5-Wicket Hauls for India
Most Test 10-Wickets Hauls for India
Best ODI Bowling Figures for India
Best Test Bowling Figures for India
Best T20I Bowling Figures for India
Key Insights on Leading Wicket Takers for India in SENA Countries 🏏
Milestone and Cumulative Wickets in SENA Tests
6: The number of Indian bowlers who have taken 100 or more Test wickets in SENA countries.
Jasprit Bumrah currently leads the chart, having surpassed Anil Kumble’s tally.
The former Indian skipper Kapil Dev was the first Indian to claim 100-plus scalps in SENA countries.
Out of his overall tally, Bumrah’s 64 Test wickets in Australia are the most by an Indian in any of those four countries.
5-for Bowling Performances and Averages in SENA
11: Jasprit Bumrah has the most five-wicket hauls (five-fors) by an Indian bowler in SENA nations, surpassing Kapil Dev’s tally of seven. This is also an Asian record, with Wasim Akram as the joint-holder of this achievement.
In all, nine (or more) Indians have picked up five or more five-fors in SENA.
Of his overall five-fors, Bumrah’s three came within a year against South Africa, England, and Australia in 2018. That made him only the first Indian and Asian bowler to achieve this feat.
8/76: Erapalli Prasanna’s bowling figures in the third innings against New Zealand in the 1976 Auckland Test remain the best bowling figures by an Indian in SENA Tests.
4: The number of bowlers with 30-plus Test wickets who average below 30 in SENA countries. Bumrah has the best bowling average at approximately 21.47 (or better), taking a wicket after approximately every 21 runs. Shardul Thakur (Avg 31.25), Bhuvneshwar Kumar (Avg 29.23), and Erapalli Prasanna (Avg 29.94) are the other three bowlers who fit the criteria of averaging around 30.
10-Wicket Hauls and Calendar Year Totals
48: 2018 was a remarkable year for Jasprit Bumrah as he picked up 48 scalps in nine Tests played across South Africa, England (14 in both countries), and Australia (20). These are the most wickets by an Indian bowler in SENA countries combined in a calendar year.
45: Mohammed Shami was close behind Bumrah in 2018, picking up 45 wickets in SENA countries in the same calendar year.
7: Seven Indian bowlers have grabbed a ten-wicket haul in SENA countries in Test cricket. Check overall list here.
Kumble, Bishan Bedi, and Bhagwath Chandrasekhar returned with 10-wicket match hauls in Australia.
Erapalli Prasanna (New Zealand), Chetan Sharma (England), and Venkatesh Prasad (South Africa) did so in the other three countries.
Akash Deep is the seventh addition to this list, achieving a 10-wicket match haul (10/187) against England in the 2025 Edgbaston Test.
Read: The Best 10 Part-time Bowlers of All Time in Cricket
