Top 5 fastest to reach 250 Test wickets
Ishant Sharma is the latest to reach 250 Test wickets. He reached the landmark by dismissing Joe Root in the first innings of the fourth Test at Southampton. He is the 3rd Indian pacer, after Kapil Dev and Zaheer Khan, to take 250 test wickets.
So let's have a look at the top 5 bowlers who took minimum innings from their debut to achieve the 250 wickets tally in Test cricket.
#5 Waqar Younis (51 innings)
'The Burewala Express' aka Waqar Younis was one of the greatest bowlers of Pakistan. He took 51 innings to reach 250 Test wickets. He reached the landmark on 6 March 1998 vs South Africa at St George's Park, Port Elizabeth.
He is the 2nd highest wicket-taker for Pakistan with 373 wickets. Currently, he is the head coach of Sylhet Sixers. He was inducted into ICC Cricket Hall of Fame in 2013.
#4 Allan Donald (50 innings)
'White Lightning' was one of the greatest fast bowlers South Africa ever produced. Allan Donald got to 250 career wickets in his 50th Test innings in the match played at Kingsmead between 26-29 December 1998 against Windies.
He took 330 wickets in his entire Test career with 20 five-wicket hauls registered to his name. Currently, he is the assistant coach of Kent Cricket Club.
#3 Dale Steyn (49 innings)
'Steyn Gun' is regarded as the greatest fast bowler of the century. He took 49 innings to reach 250 Test wickets. Dale Steyn achieved the feat on 15 December 2011 vs Sri Lanka at SuperSport Park, Centurion.
He is the joint highest wicket-taker alongside Shaun Pollock with 421 test wickets. He used to be No. 1 Test bowler between 2008 and 2014 during the peak of his career.
#2 Dennis Lillee (48 innings)
'FOT' was one of the most feared bowlers of his generation. Dennis Keith Lillee got to 250 career wickets in his 48th Test innings in the match played at Melbourne between 7-11 February 1981 against India.
He is the 3rd highest wicket-taker for Australia with 355 wickets. He was inducted into ICC Cricket Hall of Fame in 2009.
#1 Ravichandran Ashwin (45 innings)
'Ash' holds the record for minimum innings taken to reach 250 Test wickets mark. Ravichandran Ashwin got to 250 wickets mark on 9 February 2017 vs Bangladesh at Rajiv Gandhi International Cricket Stadium. He is the only spinner to reach that mark.
He won the ICC Cricketer of the year 2016 and the ICC Test Cricketer of the year 2016.