Who has highest T20I wickets?
Pakistan’s t20 team captain Shahid Afridi, playing in his 86th t20 international match, became the highest wicket-taker in the format after capturing the wicket of England’s batsman James Vince in the 2nd t20 match between England and Pakistan at Dubai, thereby overtaking his team-mate Saeed Ajmal, who has taken 85 wickets for Pakistan in 64 t20 international matches.
Also read: Players with fastest hundreds in T20 international cricket
Shahid Afridi has played 9 t20 matches this year and taken only 5 wickets. In this current series, he has taken 3 wickets in two matches, and with one match remaining in the series, he can set an example for his players by giving a match winning performance.
He has taken 86 wickets in 86 t20 international matches so far and so here is a table which shows his year wise performances as a bowler in t20 internationals.
| Year | Matches | Wickets |
|---|---|---|
| 2015 | 9 | 5 |
| 2014 | 7 | 8 |
| 2013 | 12 | 10 |
| 2012 | 13 | 9 |
| 2011 | 3 | 1 |
| 2010 | 16 | 16 |
| 2009 | 11 | 18 |
| 2008 | 5 | 5 |
| 2007 | 9 | 14 |
| 2006 | 1 | 0 |
Here is a table that includes all other nine bowlers barring Afridi who have taken the most wickets in t20 internationals.
| Player name | Country | Matches | Wickets |
|---|---|---|---|
| Shahid Afridi | Pakistan | 86 | 86 |
| Saeed Ajmal | Pakistan | 64 | 85 |
| Umar Gul | Pakistan | 58 | 83 |
| Lasith Malinga | Sri Lanka | 61 | 74 |
| Ajantha Mendis | Sri Lanka | 39 | 66 |
| Stuart Broad | England | 56 | 65 |
| Dale Steyn | South Africa | 38 | 55 |
| Nathan McCullum | New Zealand | 61 | 55 |
| Graeme Swann | England | 39 | 51 |
| Nuwan Kulasekara | Sri Lanka | 43 | 46 |
Here is a table that shows top 5 wicket takers of Pakistan in t20 internationals.
| Player name | Matches | Wickets |
|---|---|---|
| Shahid Afridi | 86 | 86 |
| Saeed Ajmal | 64 | 85 |
| Umar Gul | 58 | 83 |
| M Hafeez | 67 | 46 |
| Sohail Tanvir | 49 | 45 |
Here is a table that shows how Afridi has taken wickets of batsmen so for in his t20 career of ten years.
| Mode of dismissal | Wickets |
|---|---|
| Bowled | 35 |
| Caught | 30 |
| Caught behind | 3 |
| LBW | 14 |
| Stumped | 4 |
| Hit wicket | 0 |
Here is an another table which shows how many times Afridi has taken wickets of top order batsmen, middle order batsmen and tailenders.
| Type of batsmen | Wickets |
|---|---|
| Top order (1-3) | 32 |
| Middle order (4-7) | 45 |
| Tail (8-11) | 9 |