Despite the game’s most restricted structure, it has made a significant impact on the ability of the bowlers to produce hitherto undiscovered variations in their performance. The contemporary variants have undoubtedly aided the bowlers in their quest for more wicket takers in Twenty20 competitions.
The first-ever Twenty20 World Cup was held in 2007, and since then, a total of 5 World Cups have been held worldwide. Let’s take a look at the bowlers who took most of the wickets in the history of the Twenty20 World Cup.
Shahid Afridi
Shahid Afridi, a former Pakistani spinner, has taken the most wickets in the history of the Twenty20 International World Cup, with 39. During his career, Afridi represented Pakistan at six World Cups (2007-2016). He has collected 98 wickets in 99 outings in the Twenty20 format.
His economy rate of 6.71 indicates how difficult it was for the batsmen to make runs against him at the World Cups. Along with his wickets, he has scored 546 runs in 32 innings, putting him in third place overall. Afridi was instrumental in Pakistan’s victory in the 2009 T20 WorldCup, in which he struck a scorching 54 off 40 balls and claimed two wickets in the final.
Lasith Malinga
The former Sri Lankan bowler Lasith Malinga, well known by his nickname “Slinga Malinga,” is largely considered one of the finest limited overs bowlers in the sport’s history. He has bagged a total of 38 wickets in only 31 matches, which is a career high. Being the captain, the Sri Lankan team under the lead of Malinga, won the 2014 T20 World Cup.
Sri Lankan fast bowler Lasith Malinga is most known for his peculiar round-arm motion, which is also known as the “sling action,” which has earned him the moniker “Slinga Malinga.” He is usually deployed as a specialised death bowler. Earlier this year, Malinga announced that he would retire from all formats of cricket on September 14, 2021.
Saeed Ajmal
Saeed Ajmal is placed third on this ranking, having collected 36 wickets in only 23 matches, which puts him in third place overall. He is a former Pakistani cricketer and coach who has experience in all formats. He was born in Karachi. He bowls off-spin with his right arm.
Ajmal was considered as one of the finest spinners and of the most accurate fielders in the world during his era, and he was consistently rated as the best one-day international and Twenty20 international bowler in the world, as well as the second-best bowler in Tests, between 2011 and 2014.
Particularly notable was his acrobatic fielding, which included catching and ground fielding as well as throwing from his most usual position of backward point, among other things.
Ajantha Mendis
Ajantha Mendis is a former Sri Lankan cricketer who represented the country’s national team in all three formats. He is also renowned as the “mystery spinner” due to the unusual variations in his bowling action.
He is one of the best limited over bowlers in the world, having played for Sri Lanka in all three formats. In August of this year, he announced his retirement from all kinds of cricket. He has grabbed 35 wickets in only 21 matches throughout the World Cup, in which he has participated. You can check the Dream11 team today from the experts of the cricket industry.
Umar Gul
Umar Gul, Pakistani cricket coach, a former player who is now the bowling coach for the Quetta Gladiators, a professional cricket team in Pakistan. With a total of 35 wickets in 24 matches, he is ranked 5th in the world according to the ICC rankings.
The Pakistan cricket team used him as a right-arm fast medium bowler in all three forms of the game during his career. He came to recognition as one among the most successful bowlers in T20 cricket, finishing as the top wicket-taker and bowler in both 2007 and 2009 T20 World Cup competitions. He was named to the ICC Twenty20 World Cup team in 2007.
Umar Gul was the second-highest wicket-taker in Twenty20 International cricket, behind only Saeed Ajmal, with 74 dismissals in the competition. He was awarded the Twenty20 International Performance of the Year 2013 award for his efforts.
Conclusion
The above-mentioned players with their excellent skills on the battlefield are undoubtedly to take the Indian team to new boundaries.
They have already created remarkable history for the team but there is more to go and the Indian team has a very bright future with their limitless performance.
Apart from this, if you are interested to know more about ICC T20 World Cup Winners List (2007 – 2021) then visit our Sports category.
