Sri Lanka’s first ODI match was against the West Indies in the 1975 World Cup, when they joined the sport as an associate member. That was the beginning of this team’s journey.
Since then, Sri Lanka has seen many Lankan players dominate in this format against top-class teams. Their fearless batting approach took their team to new heights; however, Sri Lanka’s batters have had tough times against some particular bowlers.
Here, in this article, we will take a look at the top 10 bowlers with the most wickets against Sri Lanka in ODI.
Most Wickets against Sri Lanka in ODI
| Player | Innings | Wickets | Average |
|---|---|---|---|
| Wasim Akram (PAK) | 58 | 92 | 20.96 |
| Waqar Younis (PAK) | 50 | 84 | 24.35 |
| Shahid Afridi (PAK) | 67 | 67 | 37.44 |
| Zaheer Khan (IND) | 48 | 66 | 32.19 |
| Harbhajan Singh (IND) | 44 | 61 | 26.95 |
| Shaun Pollock (SA) | 35 | 51 | 23.90 |
| Abdul Razzaq (PAK) | 43 | 50 | 29.88 |
| Ajit Agarkar (IND) | 24 | 49 | 20.61 |
| Saqlain Mushtaq (PAK) | 27 | 47 | 24.87 |
| Irfan Pathan (IND) | 30 | 45 | 29.13 |
Key Insights
92: Wasim Akram faced Sri Lanka in 59 games and took 92 wickets at an excellent average of 20.96, including 5 four-wicket hauls. This is the most wickets taken by a bowler against Sri Lanka in the ODI format.
6/21: In the 2023 Asia Cup final, India’s Mohammed Siraj delivered the best bowling figures against Sri Lanka as he scalped 6 wickets for 21 runs. Siraj went past Waqar Younis’ previous best of 6/26 taken in an Austral-Asia Cup match in Sharjah in 1990. Siraj’s bowling figures are also one of the best for India in the 50-over format.
5: A total of 5 bowlers have managed to grab 2 or more five-wicket hauls against Sri Lanka. The bowlers are Ottis Gibson, Clint McKay, Robin Singh, Usman Shinwari, and Waqar Younis.
20.61: India’s Ajit Agarkar has the best bowling average of 20.61 among the bowlers who have bowled in 20+ innings against Sri Lanka in ODIs.
