Most T20I Wickets for India in a Calendar Year

Most T20I Wickets for India in a Calendar Year

Highest Indian T20I Wicket-Taker Every Year

Key Insights on Indian Bowlers with Most T20I Wickets in a Calendar Year

Record Holders for Most T20I Wickets in a Year

Bhuvneshwar Kumar holds the record for taking the most wickets in a calendar year for India in T20I cricket, scalping 37 wickets at an average of 19.56 in the year 2022.

Bhuvneshwar Kumar’s performance in 2022 included one of his two five-wicket hauls in T20Is, alongside two four-wicket hauls.

Arshdeep Singh is second, capturing 36 wickets in a mere 18 games at an average of 13.50 in 2024.

Arshdeep Singh also occupies the third spot, having scalped 33 wickets in the 2022 T20I season for India.

Notable Milestones and High-Wicket Instances

Only three other instances exist of an Indian bowler taking 25 or more T20I wickets in a calendar year, besides the top three records.

Jasprit Bumrah was the first player from India to take 25 or more wickets in a year in T20I, taking 28 wickets back in 2016.

The other instances are Arshdeep Singh, who took 26 wickets in the 2023 season, and Varun Chakravarthy, who has achieved that in the current running season.

By achieving multiple high-wicket seasons, Arshdeep Singh became the first Indian bowler to breach the 100-wicket mark in the shortest format of the game.

Best Performance Metrics (Minimum 20 Wickets)

A total of 15 instances are on record where an Indian bowler picked 20 or more T20I wickets in a calendar year, achieved by 11 different bowlers.

Amongst the bowlers with 20 or more wickets in a calendar year, Kuldeep Yadav‘s bowling average of 9.80 in 2018 is the lowest. He took 21 wickets in just 9 games with the help of a five-wicket haul (his first) and a four-wicket haul.

Kuldeep Yadav‘s economy rate of 5.97 in the year 2018 is the lowest for this criteria, followed by Jasprit Bumrah‘s 6.62 in 2016.

The Chinaman bowler, Kuldeep Yadav, also has the best strike rate (9.80) in 2018 amongst this group. Arshdeep Singh (2024) and Yuzuvendra Chahal (2017) have the next best strike rate (10.80) each in a calendar year.

Bowlers with Multiple 20+ Wicket Seasons and Five/Six-Wicket Hauls

Chahal (2017) and Bhuvneshwar Kumar (2022) have picked four wickets or more in an innings thrice each, which is the most for any Indian player in a year.

The 11 different bowlers who have achieved the 20 or more T20I wickets feat are Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Arshdeep Singh, Jasprit Bumrah, Yuzuvendra Chahal, Ravichandran Ashwin, Harshal Patel, Varun Chakravarthy, Axar Patel, Kuldeep Yadav, Hardik Pandya, and Ravi Bishnoi.

Arshdeep has taken 20 or more wickets in a season the most times for India, achieving it for three years (2022, 2023, and 2024) in succession.

Only Yuzuvendra Chahal and Axar Patel have picked at least 20 wickets in a T20I calendar year more than once, apart from Arshdeep.

Chahal picked 23 wickets each in 2017 & 2022, while Axar picked 21 wickets (at 23.80) in 2022 and 20 wickets (at 16.30) in 2024.

Two Indian bowlers have picked six-wicket hauls: Deepak Chahar (6/7) and Chahal, who picked 6/25 in 2017. Chahal’s bowling figures are the best amongst the players mentioned here.

You can find the overall list of most T20I wickets in a calendar year, including the non-Indian players here.