Having world-class bowlers in the lineup is a boost for any team in a game dominated by batters. Over the years, batters have become beasts, but some bowlers have dealt significant damage to the best of the best batting lineups.
Year after year, such bowlers have picked up many wickets, ending up as the highest wicket-taker in a specific calendar year. So, in this article, we will look at the top 10 instances of bowlers with the most wickets in a calendar year in all formats.
Most Wickets in a Calendar Year in All Formats
| Player | Innings | Wickets | Year |
|---|---|---|---|
| Muthiah Muralidaran (SL) | 56 | 136 | 2001 |
| Muthiah Muralidaran (SL) | 49 | 128 | 2006 |
| Shane Warne (AUS) | 48 | 120 | 1994 |
| Glenn McGrath (AUS) | 54 | 119 | 1999 |
| Mitchell Johnson (AUS) | 57 | 113 | 2009 |
| Graeme Swann (ENG) | 49 | 111 | 2010 |
| Saeed Ajmal (PAK) | 56 | 111 | 2013 |
| Muthiah Muralidaran (SL) | 38 | 109 | 2000 |
| Allan Donald (SA) | 39 | 107 | 1998 |
| Dennis Lillee (AUS) | 40 | 105 | 1981 |
Key Insights
136: Muttiah Muralitharan holds the record for picking up the most wickets in a calendar year in all formats. The Sri Lankan legendary off-spinner grabbed a whopping 136 wickets in 2001, going past Shane Warne’s tally of 120 scalps in 1994.
4: You get an idea of Muralitharan’s sheer bowling excellence when you look at his yearly stats. He is the only bowler who has scalped 100 or more wickets in four calendar years. Apart from the three instances listed above, Muralitharan took 100 wickets in 1998.
69: Saqlain Mushtaq has bagged the most ODI wickets in a single year. The Pakistani off-spinner gobsmacked bowlers with his bowling variations, especially doosra, and claimed 69 wickets in 1997.
96: When it comes to Tests, Shane Warne sits atop with 96 wickets in a calendar year. The greatest Aussie spinner achieved this feat in 2005.
50: With the expansion of T20I cricket, many new faces are emerging among the wicket-takers year after year. Alpesh Ramjani, representing Uganda, picked up 55 wickets in 2023, the most in a single year in T20Is.
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