The year 2025 was exceptionally busy for the Indian team selectors, as varied player combinations were picked for each format. Consequently, the number of players who participated in all three formats was quite small. Intriguingly, one of these few multi-format players is Kuldeep Yadav, who currently seems to be topping the list as India’s leading wicket-taker for the year.
In this article, we will examine the leading wicket-takers for India across all three international cricket formats in 2025.
Most Wickets for India in All Formats in 2025
| Player | Matches | Innings | Wickets | Best Bowling (Innings) | Average | Economy | Strike Rate | 5W/10W |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kuldeep Yadav | 24 | 27 | 58 | 5/82 | 20.98 | 4.57 | 27.5 | 1/0 |
| Mohammed Siraj | 13 | 22 | 45 | 6/70 | 28.08 | 3.82 | 44.0 | 2/0 |
| Jasprit Bumrah | 18 | 22 | 41 | 5/27 | 21.97 | 3.29 | 40.0 | 3/0 |
| Ravindra Jadeja | 20 | 28 | 37 | 4/50 | 36.64 | 3.53 | 62.2 | 0/0 |
| Varun Chakravarthy | 20 | 18 | 36 | 5/24 | 15.36 | 6.01 | 15.3 | 2/0 |
| Prasidh Krishna | 8 | 12 | 28 | 4/62 | 31.32 | 5.33 | 35.2 | 0/0 |
| Axar Patel | 29 | 26 | 27 | 2/18 | 26.88 | 4.96 | 32.5 | 0/0 |
| Harshit Rana | 16 | 15 | 25 | 4/39 | 26.00 | 6.63 | 23.5 | 0/0 |
| Washington Sundar | 20 | 23 | 21 | 4/22 | 36.57 | 3.75 | 58.4 | 0/0 |
| Arshdeep Singh | 14 | 13 | 20 | 3/35 | 24.55 | 6.72 | 21.9 | 0/0 |
| Hardik Pandya | 19 | 19 | 16 | 2/31 | 31.62 | 7.17 | 26.4 | 0/0 |
| Mohammed Shami | 9 | 9 | 14 | 5/53 | 27.64 | 6.20 | 26.7 | 1/0 |
| Akash Deep | 3 | 6 | 13 | 6/99 | 36.46 | 4.34 | 50.3 | 1/1 |
| Shivam Dube | 13 | 8 | 10 | 3/4 | 17.50 | 8.75 | 12.0 | 0/0 |
| Nitish Kumar Reddy | 9 | 10 | 5 | 2/32 | 51.60 | 4.59 | 67.4 | 0/0 |
| Ravi Bishnoi | 5 | 5 | 5 | 3/28 | 26.40 | 7.76 | 20.4 | 0/0 |
| Abhishek Sharma | 17 | 6 | 3 | 2/3 | 16.33 | 8.16 | 12.0 | 0/0 |
| Shardul Thakur | 2 | 3 | 2 | 2/51 | 72.00 | 5.33 | 81.0 | 0/0 |
| Anshul Kamboj | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1/89 | 89.00 | 4.94 | 108.0 | 0/0 |
| Tilak Varma | 17 | 4 | 1 | 1/1 | 47.00 | 8.54 | 33.0 | 0/0 |
| Yashasvi Jaiswal | 13 | 2 | 0 | – | – | 6.00 | – | 0/0 |
Following the retirement of Ravichandran Ashwin, Kuldeep Yadav has effectively taken the pole position as India’s leading spinner across all formats. The rarity of his bowling style and his significantly improved accuracy have been crucial in solidifying this position. His dominance is clearly reflected in the numbers, as he is the only Indian player this year to achieve 50 or more wickets in international cricket across all formats.
Mohammed Siraj’s strong performances in Test matches have helped him secure the spot directly behind Kuldeep, while Jasprit Bumrah continues to demonstrate his class with an eye-catching economy rate. For a player who features across all formats, and primarily against top-tier nations, his economy rate of 3.29 underscores why he is considered one of the best bowlers for restricting the opposition. Bumrah also leads the list for five-wicket hauls, being the only bowler to register three this year.
Siraj’s exceptional spell of 6 wickets against England in Birmingham stands as the best bowling figure achieved by any Indian bowler across all three formats in 2025. Interestingly, Akash Deep is the only other bowler to have picked up a 6-wicket haul this year, and both spells occurred in the same Test match.
Varun Chakravarthy topping the strike rate and average columns highlights the immense value he adds to the T20 International side. He was also a part of the title-winning ODI Champions Trophy squad this year. However, his status as a single-format specialist likely contributes to his advantage in achieving the most favorable strike rate.
See the definitive overall ranking globally: Most Wickets Across All Formats in 2025 (All Teams)
Most ODI Wickets for India in 2025
| Player | Matches | Innings | Wickets | Best Bowling (Innings) | Average | Economy | Strike Rate | 4W/5W |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Harshit Rana | 11 | 11 | 20 | 4/39 | 25.55 | 6.01 | 25.5 | 1/0 |
| Kuldeep Yadav | 11 | 11 | 19 | 4/41 | 29.00 | 5.28 | 32.8 | 2/0 |
| Ravindra Jadeja | 10 | 10 | 12 | 3/26 | 33.41 | 4.66 | 43.0 | 0/0 |
| Mohammed Shami | 7 | 7 | 11 | 5/53 | 30.63 | 5.92 | 31.0 | 0/1 |
| Axar Patel | 11 | 11 | 11 | 2/22 | 34.27 | 4.47 | 46.0 | 0/0 |
| Arshdeep Singh | 6 | 6 | 10 | 2/33 | 25.90 | 5.58 | 27.8 | 0/0 |
| Varun Chakravarthy | 4 | 4 | 10 | 5/42 | 19.00 | 4.75 | 24.0 | 0/1 |
| Prasidh Krishna | 4 | 4 | 8 | 4/66 | 31.37 | 7.72 | 24.3 | 1/0 |
| Hardik Pandya | 8 | 8 | 7 | 2/31 | 38.71 | 6.22 | 37.2 | 0/0 |
| Washington Sundar | 6 | 6 | 6 | 2/37 | 30.66 | 5.93 | 31.0 | 0/0 |
| Mohammed Siraj | 3 | 3 | 2 | 1/24 | 47.00 | 4.94 | 57.0 | 0/0 |
| Nitish Kumar Reddy | 2 | 2 | 0 | – | – | 7.74 | – | 0/0 |
Harshit Rana has been the subject of much discussion in squad selections this year, attracting both praise and criticism. However, he fully repaid the team’s confidence by finishing the year as the leading ODI wicket-taker for India in 2025. Although his economy rate was slightly high, his effective strike rate and impressive bowling average stand out as superior among his peers.
The contribution of Varun Chakravarthy to India’s title-winning effort in the Champions Trophy this year was significant. it is highlighted by his superb average of 19 across the four matches he played in the tournament. He collected 10 wickets in those four games, solidifying his role.
Varun also holds the best strike rate for India in ODIs in 2025, taking a wicket every 24 deliveries, closely followed by Prasidh Krishna at 24.3. A three-wicket haul in the year’s final ODI game against South Africa was crucial to him securing this rank.
Finally, Axar Patel tops the chart as the most economical bowler for the Men in Blue in the 50-over format throughout 2025.
👉 See the definitive overall ODI ranking globally: Most ODI Wickets in 2025 (All Teams)
Most Test Wickets for India in 2025
| Player | Matches | Innings | Wickets | Best Bowling (Innings) | Best Bowling (Match) | Average | Economy | Strike Rate | 5W/10W |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mohammed Siraj | 10 | 19 | 43 | 6/70 | 9/190 | 27.20 | 3.75 | 43.4 | 2/0 |
| Jasprit Bumrah | 8 | 14 | 31 | 5/27 | 7/112 | 22.16 | 2.82 | 47.1 | 3/0 |
| Ravindra Jadeja | 10 | 18 | 25 | 4/50 | 6/156 | 38.20 | 3.20 | 71.4 | 0/0 |
| Kuldeep Yadav | 4 | 8 | 20 | 5/82 | 8/186 | 23.15 | 3.47 | 40.0 | 1/0 |
| Prasidh Krishna | 4 | 8 | 20 | 4/62 | 8/188 | 31.30 | 4.74 | 39.6 | 0/0 |
| Akash Deep | 3 | 6 | 13 | 6/99 | 10/187 | 36.46 | 4.34 | 50.3 | 1/1 |
| Washington Sundar | 9 | 14 | 11 | 4/22 | 4/43 | 50.63 | 3.27 | 92.8 | 0/0 |
| Nitish Kumar Reddy | 6 | 8 | 5 | 2/32 | 3/82 | 43.60 | 4.27 | 61.2 | 0/0 |
| Axar Patel | 1 | 2 | 2 | 1/21 | 2/57 | 28.50 | 2.85 | 60.0 | 0/0 |
| Shardul Thakur | 2 | 3 | 2 | 2/51 | 2/89 | 72.00 | 5.33 | 81.0 | 0/0 |
| Anshul Kamboj | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1/89 | 1/89 | 89.00 | 4.94 | 108.0 | 0/0 |
| Yashasvi Jaiswal | 10 | 2 | 0 | – | – | – | 6.00 | – | 0/0 |
The year 2025 was defined by the brilliance of India’s two leading pace bowlers in the long format: Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Siraj. Their impact was felt profoundly, with Bumrah delivering standout performances in Australia earlier in the year and Siraj dominating the series in England.
Siraj’s commitment was exceptional; he was the only bowler to participate in all five Test matches of the fiercely contested England tour. He concluded the year as India’s leading Test wicket-taker and topped the charts for that tournament. His match-winning figures of 9/190 at The Oval in the 5th Test were instrumental in sealing a series-saving draw (2-2) for India.
All three of Bumrah’s five-wicket hauls this year came in the Test format, making him the Indian bowler with the most Test fifers. While Bumrah leads the charts for the best average and economy rate, it is Prasidh Krishna who spearheads the team in the strike rate column.
👉 See the definitive overall Test ranking globally: Most Test Wickets in 2025 (All Teams)
Most T20I Wickets for India in 2025
| Player | Matches | Innings | Wickets | Best Bowling (Innings) | Average | Economy | Strike Rate | 4W/5W |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Varun Chakravarthy | 16 | 14 | 26 | 5/24 | 13.96 | 6.98 | 12.0 | 0/1 |
| Kuldeep Yadav | 9 | 8 | 19 | 4/7 | 10.68 | 7.12 | 9.0 | 2/0 |
| Axar Patel | 17 | 13 | 14 | 2/18 | 20.85 | 6.95 | 18.0 | 0/0 |
| Arshdeep Singh | 8 | 7 | 10 | 3/35 | 23.20 | 8.70 | 16.0 | 0/0 |
| Jasprit Bumrah | 10 | 8 | 10 | 2/18 | 21.40 | 7.09 | 18.1 | 0/0 |
| Shivam Dube | 13 | 8 | 10 | 3/4 | 17.50 | 8.75 | 12.0 | 0/0 |
| Hardik Pandya | 11 | 11 | 9 | 2/33 | 26.11 | 8.70 | 18.0 | 0/0 |
| Harshit Rana | 5 | 4 | 5 | 3/33 | 27.80 | 10.69 | 15.6 | 0/0 |
| Ravi Bishnoi | 5 | 5 | 5 | 3/28 | 26.40 | 7.76 | 20.4 | 0/0 |
| Washington Sundar | 5 | 3 | 4 | 3/3 | 6.75 | 8.10 | 5.0 | 0/0 |
| Abhishek Sharma | 17 | 6 | 3 | 2/3 | 16.33 | 8.16 | 12.0 | 0/0 |
| Mohammed Shami | 2 | 2 | 3 | 3/25 | 16.66 | 9.09 | 11.0 | 0/0 |
| Tilak Varma | 16 | 3 | 1 | 1/1 | 18.00 | 7.20 | 15.0 | 0/0 |
If the Test format belonged to the pacers, the shortest format was definitively the year of the spinners, with Varun Chakravarthy, Kuldeep Yadav, and Axar Patel leading India’s bowling charts.
While Axar was the most economical bowler for India in T20Is in 2025, it was Kuldeep who boasted an incredible strike rate, needing only 9 balls to pick a wicket. Kuldeep also maintained an impressive average of around 10, though Washington Sundar surprisingly topped that column, conceding only 7 runs for every wicket taken.
In terms of big hauls, Varun was the only Indian bowler to take a five-wicket haul in T20Is this year, while Kuldeep leads the list for four-wicket hauls with two such instances.
👉 See the definitive overall T20I ranking globally: Most T20I Wickets in 2025 (All Teams)
Final Thoughts and Outlook for 2026
The statistics clearly reveal that 2025 was a year of successful strategic rotation for the Indian team. The team relied on both multi-format stars and format specialists.
Kuldeep Yadav stands out as the undisputed leader, with his landmark 50+ international wickets crowning him as India’s most influential bowler following Ashwin’s departure. While the stellar partnership of Siraj and Bumrah dominated the long-format battles, ensuring India remained competitive against top-tier opposition, the emergence of specialists like Varun Chakravarthy and the reliability of Axar Patel in limited-overs cricket provided critical balance and depth.
Ultimately, India’s success in 2025 was built upon this dual strategy: consistent excellence from the pace battery in Tests and highly effective, specialized spin forces dictating terms in the white-ball formats.
You can check the same on India’s best batters in 2025 here.
