Bowlers going away for runs is quite a regular affair in T20I cricket. After all, the batters ride on favourable conditions, from flatter pitches to shorter boundaries.
But a few bowlers have changed the picture completely. They terrorised batters with their top-notch bowling skills to return with heaps of wickets in a bilateral series.
So here are the top 10 bowlers with the most wickets in a bilateral T20I series.
Most Wickets in a Bilateral T20I Series
| Player | Team | Wickets | Innings | Series |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jason Holder | West Indies | 15 | 5 | West Indies vs England, 2022 |
| Sami Sohail | Malawi | 14 | 7 | Malawi vs Mozambique, 2019 |
| Varun Chakravarthy | India | 14 | 5 | India vs England, 2025 |
| Ish Sodhi | New Zealand | 13 | 5 | New Zealand vs Australia, 2021 |
| Charles Hinze | Japan | 13 | 5 | Japan vs Mongolia, 2024 |
| Sham Murari | Costa Rica | 13 | 6 | Costa Rica vs Falkland Islands, 2025 |
| Jacob Duffy | New Zealand | 13 | 5 | New Zealand vs Pakistan, 2025 |
| Gulam Murtaza | Cambodia | 13 | 8 | Indonesia vs Cambodia, 2025 |
| Hayden Walsh | West Indies | 12 | 5 | West Indies vs Australia, 2021 |
| Samuel Conteh | Sierra Leone | 12 | 6 | Nigeria vs Sierra Leone, 2021 |
Explore “Bilateral Cricket Series” Records
Most Runs in a Bilateral Test Series
Most Runs in a 2-Match Test Series
Most Runs in a 3-Match Test Series
Most Runs in a 4-Match Test Series
Most Runs in a 5-Match Test Series
Most Runs in a Debut Test Series
Most Wickets in a Bilateral Test Series
Most Sixes in a Bilateral Test Series
Most Sixes by a Team in a Bilateral Test Series
Most 5-Wicket Hauls in a Bilateral Test Series
Indian Batters with Most Runs in a Bilateral Test Series
Most Runs in a Bilateral ODI Series
Key Insights on Top Wicket-Takers in Bilateral T20I Series
Record Holders for Most Wickets in a Bilateral T20I Series
West Indies’ Jason Holder has taken the most wickets in a bilateral T20I series. The tall Caribbean all-rounder returned with 15 wickets in the five-match series against England in early 2022.
Sierra Leone’s Samuel Conteh has picked up the most wickets in a bilateral T20I series defeat. He took 12 wickets in six T20Is against Nigeria in 2021. Sierra Leone started the series with a win but lost the next five games.
Japan’s Charles Hinze has returned with the best average and economy rate in a bilateral T20I series (minimum 10 wickets). He took 13 scalps at an average of 2.38 and an economy of 2.26 in five innings against Mongolia in 2024.
Hinze’s strike rate (6.3) is only bettered by Sweden’s Hassan Mehmood, who picked up 10 scalps at a strike rate of 6 in three games against Denmark in 2021.
Multiple 10+ Wicket Hauls and Consecutive T20I Series Feats
India’s Varun Chakravarthy and New Zealand’s Jacob Duffy are the two bowlers to take 10 or more wickets in two bilateral T20I series.
Chakravarthy is the only bowler to take 10-plus scalps in consecutive T20I series. And he did so in succession against South Africa (12 wickets in four matches, 2024) and England (14 wickets in five matches, 2025).
Unique Bowling Performances and Shared Success
There are seven instances of two bowlers from the same team taking 10 or more wickets in the same T20I series.
- Malawi’s Sami Sohail (11) and Moazzam Baig (14) against Mozambique in 2019.
- Nigeria’s Sylvester Okpe (11) and Peter Aho (10) against Sierra Leone in 2021.
- Mozambique’s Joao Huo (12) and Jose Bulele (11) against Eswatini in 2022.
- Japan’s Charles Hinze (13) and Kazuma Kato-Stafford (11) against Mongolia in 2024.
- Falkland Islands’ Cecil Alexander (11) and Jaco Alexander (10) against Costa Rica in 2025.
- Costa Rica’s Sham Murari (13) and Deepak Rawat (12) against the Falkland Islands in 2025.
- Cambodia’s Gulam Murtaza (13) and Sharwan Godara (11) against Indonesia in 2025.
There are more than 75 instances of bowlers taking a five-wicket haul in a bilateral T20I series.
Imran Tahir (South Africa), Rashid Khan (Afghanistan), Ashton Agar (Australia), Shakib Al Hasan (Bangladesh), Tim Southee (New Zealand), Kuldeep Yadav (India), and Chakravarthy have taken fifers in multiple T20I series.
Notably, Chakravarthy’s fifers against South Africa (5/17 in Gqeberha) and England (5/24 in Rajkot) ended up in losing causes.
As many as 11 bowlers have taken two hauls of four or more wickets in a two-team T20I series.
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