We tend to see a lot of maidens in Tests as opposed to the other shorter formats like ODIs or T20Is. This is because, in Tests, batsmen usually take a great deal of time to get settled and more often look to play a long inning.
As the format shortens, maiden overs become a rarity. At least in ODIs, there is a possibility of seeing 1 or 2 maiden overs per innings. (Check out which bowler has the most maidens in ODI cricket).
But as the game truncates further, maiden overs become like gold dust. Yes, we are talking about T20Is, wherein even a dot ball or a string of dots is in itself a significant achievement for a bowler, let alone a maiden over. This is due to the fact that batsmen are always in an attacking mindset, and the bowlers need to be on their toes at all times to get the better of the former.
Due to all these reasons, coupled with cricket being a batsmen’s game, bowling a maiden in the T20I format is very tough, and there are bowlers who have achieved this on more than one occasion. So here is the list of the top 10 bowlers with the most maiden overs in T20Is.
Most Maiden Overs in T20I Cricket
| Player | Innings | Maiden Overs |
|---|---|---|
| Frank Nsubuga (UGA) | 57 | 17 |
| Shem Ngoche (KENYA) | 95 | 14 |
| Jasprit Bumrah (IND) | 69 | 12 |
| Sanjaykumar Thakor (TAN) | 56 | 11 |
| Bhuvneshwar Kumar (IND) | 86 | 10 |
| Dinesh Nakrani (UGA) | 59 | 10 |
| Ghulam Ahmadi (GER) | 44 | 10 |
| Nopphon Senamontree (THA) | 35 | 10 |
| Richard Ngarava (ZIM) | 63 | 10 |
| Henry Ssenyondo (UGA) | 78 | 9 |
Key insights from the above stats
4: In the top 10 list of bowlers with the most number of maiden overs in the T20 international format, we see only 4 bowlers from the full-member nation. And the rest of them are from an ICC Associate or Affiliate nation.
15: The most number of maiden overs bowled by a single bowler in his overall T20I career, and the proud owner of this stunning record is Frank Nsubuga, a left-arm spinner from Uganda.
10: There are 3 bowlers across different countries who have bowled 10 maiden overs in the shortest format of international cricket, and they hold the record of bowling the joint second-most number of maidens in T20Is. The bowlers are Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Jasprit Bumrah (both from India), and Ghulam Ahmadi of Germany.
Also Read: Top 10: Most T20I Wickets for India
8: A total of 8 bowlers have delivered 6 maiden overs each, and they all come joint 5th in this list of most maiden overs bowled in T20Is. Out of these, only 2 are from full member or Test-playing nations, namely Nuwan Kulasekara of Sri Lanka and Mustafzur Rahman of Bangladesh. The 2 others who didn’t find a mention in the table but also have bowled 6 maidens are Sanjay Thakor from Tanzania and Kenya’s Viraj Patel.
2: India and Uganda are the only countries where we have more than 1 entry in the top 10.
