India's 5 highest wicket-takers in Asia Cup history ft. Ravindra Jadeja
Team India are set to kickstart their Asia Cup 2023 campaign with a clash against Pakistan at the Pallekele International Cricket Stadium in Pallekele on Saturday, September 2.
Despite Pakistan's gigantic 238-run victory in their first game against Nepal, the Men in Blue will start as one of the favorites. The Rohit Sharma-led side has a great bunch of players with vast experience.
The record seven times Asia Cup champions have been a dominant force in the prestigious competition. While their batters have been extremely successful, the bowling unit has also dished out special performances time and again.
As the Men in Blue gear up for their high-octane clash against Pakistan, we take a look at the country's top-five highest wicket-takers in the history of the Asia Cup.
#5 Sachin Tendulkar - 17 wickets
![Sachin Tendulkar has done exceedingly well in the Asia Cup [Getty Images]](https://statico.sportskeeda.com/editor/2023/09/ac828-16935592697621-1920.jpg?w=500)
Perhaps the best part-time bowler of all time, Sachin Tendulkar is India's fifth-highest wicket-taker in the history of the Asia Cup.
Alongside his record-breaking run-scoring mastery, the 'Little Master' was also a wily spinner and always put up his hand whenever the team needed his services.
Tendulkar, who has over 200 international wickets to his name, also bagged 17 scalps across 15 Asia Cup innings. His bowling strike rate is a surprising 26.94. With a blend of leg and off-breaks, he boasted an average of 21.41 and the best figure of 3/21.
Tendulkar shone in the 2004 edition, picking up 12 wickets in six games at an extraordinary average of 12.25.
His marvellous batting always overshadowed his quality as a bowler. However, with 971 runs and 17 wickets, he is undoubtedly one of the best players in Asia Cup history.
#4 Ravichandran Ashwin - 20 wickets
![Ravichandran Ashwin is India's second-highest wicket-taker in international cricket [Getty Images]](https://statico.sportskeeda.com/editor/2023/09/51ca3-16935659907465-1920.jpg)
The sole off-spinner on the list, Ravichandran Ashwin was India's prime tweaker in all formats for the major part of the 2010s. Although his accolades in Test cricket are second to none, Ashwin also performed decently in the white-ball formats.
In the Asia Cup, the Tamil Nadu-born spinner has picked up a total of 20 wickets. In ODI Asia Cups, the Chennai-born bowler has 14 scalps under his belt at an average of 22.71.
Ashwin has also played six T20 Asia Cup games, in which he has bagged as many wickets at an economy rate of 6.50.
#3 Irfan Pathan - 22 wickets
![Irfan Pathan is India's highest wicket-taker in ODI Asia Cups [Getty Images]](https://statico.sportskeeda.com/editor/2023/09/6dce7-16935682392711-1920.jpg)
A young 19-year-old pacer named Irfan Pathan wreaked havoc when he was picked in the Indian team by skipper Sourav Ganguly in the 2004 Asia Cup. He took 14 wickets in the tournament and ended up as the highest wicket-taker.
Interestingly, the 2004 edition boosted Pathan's tally so much that he is India's highest wicket-taker in the Asia Cup as far as ODI editions are concerned.
Pathan accumulated 22 wickets in 12 games, falling just one short of Chaminda Vaas' 23 wickets to join the top five wicket-takers in the tournament's history. His finest outing was 4/32 against Sri Lanka in the 2012 Asia Cup, which also happened to be his last One-Day international.
#2 Bhuvneshwar Kumar - 22 wickets
![Bhuvneshwar Kumar is one of India's most underrated bowlers [Getty Images]](https://statico.sportskeeda.com/editor/2023/09/f42fb-16935696360663-1920.jpg)
Despite falling out of favor with the international setup of late, Bhuvneshwar Kumar remains India's joint-second-highest wicket-taker in the history of the Asian tournament.
It is interesting to note that most of Bhuvneshwar's wickets in the tournament have come in the T20 format. The right-arm pacer has played six T20 Asia Cup matches and has taken 13 wickets, with his best spell coming against Afghanistan, against whom he took 5/4 in 2022. No other bowler has taken more wickets in T20 Asia Cups than Bhuvneshwar.
As far as ODI matches in the Asia Cups are concerned, the 33-year-old has bagged nine wickets in as many games.
While he may not be in the Indian team currently, Bhuvneshwar Kumar has brought many accolades for the nation.
#1 Ravindra Jadeja - 23 wickets
![Ravindra Jadeja will play a crucial role for India in Asia Cup 2023 [Getty Images]](https://statico.sportskeeda.com/editor/2023/09/c6f0c-16935700347425-1920.jpg)
At No. 1 on the list and also the only player to be a part of India's Asia Cup 2023 squad is none other than Ravindra Jadeja. The left-arm spinner has picked up a total of 23 wickets in the Asia Cup.
Across 14 games in the 50-over format of the tournament, the premier all-rounder has bagged 19 wickets, the most by an Indian spinner. He also averages 26.57 with the ball, with his best performance coming against Bangladesh in Dubai, where he achieved figures of 4/29.
Jadeja has also taken four wickets across six appearances in the T20 Asia Cup, thus taking his overall tally to 23. Undoubtedly, the Saurashtra native will be crucial to India's success in the ongoing tournament and will look to add to his numbers.