An important milestone for a bowler is taking a five-wicket haul in an innings, irrespective of the format. However, a fifer in T20I cricket is a rarity since a bowler can bowl only four overs in the game, and picking five or more wickets in a spell is a tough ask.
That is why a bowler picking five wickets or more in a T20I innings is a significant achievement and deserves a lot of adulation. They not only have 24 balls to deliver but also have to overcome the ever-attacking batters in this format.
So, this article talks about the potent bowlers who have taken five-wicket hauls the most times in the shortest format of the game.
Most 5-Wicket Hauls in T20Is
| Player | Team | Innings | 5-Wicket Hauls | Total Wickets |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rizwan Butt | Bahrain | 80 | 4 | 127 |
| Moazzam Baig | Malawi | 43 | 3 | 68 |
| Aamir Kaleem | Oman | 44 | 2 | 48 |
| Ashton Agar | Australia | 49 | 2 | 49 |
| Hernan Fennell | Argentina | 30 | 2 | 50 |
| Imran Tahir | South Africa | 38 | 2 | 63 |
| Manmeet Koli | Romania | 32 | 2 | 42 |
| Kuldeep Yadav | India | 47 | 2 | 86 |
| Bhuvneshwar Kumar | India | 86 | 2 | 90 |
| Sandeep Lamichhane | Nepal | 68 | 2 | 127 |
Key Insights on Five-Wicket Hauls in T20Is
Bowlers with Multiple T20I Five-Wicket Hauls
There are more than 180 bowlers who have taken at least one 5-wicket haul in T20 international cricket.
Out of these, so far, 25 of them have taken it multiple times.
Bahrain’s Muhammad Rizwan Butt (4) and Malawi’s Moazzam Ali Baig (3) are the only players to take more than two T20I fifers.
Among the full-member teams, Ashton Agar of Australia, India’s Kuldeep Yadav, Bhuvneshwar Kumar & Varun Chakravarthy, Sri Lanka’s Lasith Malinga & Ajantha Mendis, Bangladesh’s Mustafizur Rahman & Shakib Al Hasan, Rashid Khan of Afghanistan, Imran Tahir of South Africa, Pakistan’s Umar Gul and Tim Southee of New Zealand have all picked two five-wicket hauls in the T20I format.
Record-Breaking Five-Fers with Minimal and Maximum Runs Conceded
Yalinde Nkanya (Tanzania) holds the record for the lowest runs conceded in a T20I five-wicket haul: 5 runs against Cameroon in Kigali on December 9, 2022. Nkanya’s exceptional economy rate in that spell was 0.50.
Alzarri Joseph (West Indies) conceded the most runs in a five-wicket haul: 40 runs against South Africa in Johannesburg on March 28, 2023.
Joshua Rasu (Vanuatu) recorded the worst economy rate in a five-wicket haul: 12.70 (conceding 36 runs in just 2.5 overs) against Papua New Guinea (PNG) on July 12, 2019.
Consistency Against a Single Opponent
The following players have picked two 5-wicket hauls against the same opponent:
| Player | Opponent | Best Figures |
| Manmeet Koli (Romania) | Hungary | 5/28 (Spinaceto, 2024) & 5/12 (Szodliget, 2025) |
| Rashid Khan (Afghanistan) | Ireland | 5/3 (Greater Noida, 2017) & 5/27 (Dehradun, 2019) |
Consistency at a Single Ground
The following players have picked multiple 5-wicket hauls at the same ground:
| Player | Ground (Location) | Best Figures |
| Aamir Kaleem (Oman) | Al Amerat (Oman) | 5/15 |
| Lasith Malinga (Sri Lanka) | Pallekele (Sri Lanka) | 5/6 |
| Dinesh Nakrani (Uganda) | IPRC (Kigali, Rwanda) | 6/7 |
Milestones, Debut, and Age-Related Five-Wicket Haul Records
Umar Gul (Pakistan) was the first bowler to pick up a five-wicket haul in a T20I: 5/6 against New Zealand at The Oval on June 13, 2009.
Five players have picked a 5-fer in their T20I debut: Reo Sakurano-Thomas (Japan), Elias Sunny (Bangladesh), Hassan Mehmood (Sweden), Khizar Hayat (Malaysia), and Ankush Nanda (Luxembourg).
Muhammad Rizwan Butt (Bahrain) holds the record for the most five-wicket hauls that resulted in a win: 4 five-wicket hauls between 2022 and 2025.
Varun Chakravarthy (India) is the only player to pick a T20I five-wicket haul in a lost match twice.
The oldest player to take a T20I five-wicket haul is Tomakanute Ritawa (Cook Islands) at 46 years and 299 days, achieved against Fiji on September 14, 2022.
The youngest player to take a T20I five-wicket haul is Charlie Hinze (Japan) at 15 years and 224 days, achieved against Mongolia on May 11, 2024.
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