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In 460 T20 matches played so far for more than a dozen teams in the last 10 years, 26-year-old Afghanistan spinner Rashid Khan has picked up 631 wickets.
Rashid Khan equals Dwayne Bravo’s record of most wickets in T20s. (Picture Credit: Sportzpics)
Star Afghanistani spinner Rashid Khan has equaled former West Indies all-rounder Dwayne Bravo’s world record of taking most wickets in T20s. The 26-year-old spinner achieved the feat on Friday (January 31) during MI Cape Town’s SA20 match played against Pretoria Capitals at SuperSport Park in Centurion. Rashid opened his wicket account by dismissing (clean bowled) Pretoria Capitals captain Kyle Verreynne on the third ball of the 11th over of the run chase and then equaled Bravo’s record by breaching Marques Ackerman’s defence and shattering his stumps on the second ball of the 15th over.
Bravo finished his 18-year-long T20 career last year with 631 wickets to his name in 582 matches, and Rashid has 631 wickets to credit in 460 matches. Rashid, who is the captain of Afghanistan’s T20I team, made his T20 debut on October 26, 2015, during a match played between Afghanistan and Zimbabwe in Bulawayo and picked up 1 wicket.
In the last 10 years, apart from featuring in 96 T20Is for Afghanistan, Rashid has played T20 matches for teams like Adelaide Strikers, Band-e-Amir Dragons, Barbados Tridents, Comilla Victorians, Durban Heat, Gujarat Titans, Guyana Amazon Warriors, ICC World XI, Kabul Zwanan, Lahore Qalandars, MI Cape Town, MI New York, Speen Ghar Tigers, St Kitts and Nevis Patriots, Sunrisers Hyderabad, Sussex, and Trent Rockets men’s team.
Most wickets in T20s
- Rashid Khan (Afghanistan) – 631
- Dwayne Bravo (West Indies) – 631
- Sunil Narine (West Indies) – 573
- Imran Tahir (South Africa) – 531
- Shakib Al Hasan (Bangladesh) – 492
Most wickets in T20Is
- Tim Southee (New Zealand) – 164
- Rashid Khan (Afghanistan) – 161
- Shakib Al Hasan (Bangladesh) – 149
- Ish Sodhi (New Zealand) – 138
- Mustafizur Rahman (Bangladesh) – 132
With 161 wickets, he is the second highest wicket-taker in the T20Is, and in the cash-rich league IPL, Rashid has accounted for the dismissal of 149 batters in 121 matches played so far for two teams. He has picked up 98 wickets in 69 Big Bash League matches for Adelaide Strikers and 18 wickets in 19 SA20 matches for MI Cape Town.
Rashid Khan’s bowling performance in T20s
| TOURNAMENT | TEAM(S) | MATCHES | WICKETS | BEST FIGURES |
| T20Is | Afghanistan, ICC World XI | 96 | 161 | 5/3 |
| SA20 | MI Cape Town | 19 | 18 | 3/16 |
| The Hundred | Trent Rockets | 16 | 24 | 4/24 |
| Indian Premier League (IPL) | Sunrisers Hyderabad, Gujarat Titans | 121 | 149 | 4/24 |
| Pakistan Super League (PSL) | Lahore Qalandars | 28 | 44 | 5/20 |
| ILT20 | MI Emirates | 2 | 4 | 2/20 |
| Big Bash League (BBL) | Adelaide Strikers | 69 | 98 | 6/17 |
| Caribbean Premier League (CPL) | Barbados Tridents, St Kitts and Nevis Patriots, Guyana Amazon Warriors | 27 | 29 | 3/15 |
| Vitality Blast | Sussex | 29 | 34 | 3/9 |
| Mzansi Super League | Durban Heat | 4 | 7 | 3/19 |
| Afghanistan Premier League (APL) | Kabul Zwanan | 9 | 10 | 4/20 |
| Bangladesh Premier League (BPL) | Comilla Victorians | 15 | 19 | 3/13 |
| Major League Cricket (MLC) | MI New York | 13 | 18 | 3/9 |
Rashid has also played 28 Pakistan Super League (PSL) matches for Lahore Qalandars and dismissed 44 batters. Rashid’s best bowling figures in T20s are 6 wickets for 17 runs in four overs for Adelaide Strikers in the BBL 2021-22 match played against Brisbane Heat at The Gabba on January 12, 2022.
Rashid, who was retained for Rs 18 crore by Gujarat Titans ahead of IPL 2025 mega auctions last year, will have a chance to break Bravo’s record and become the all-time highest wicket-taker in T20s during MI Cape Town’s next match against Pretoria Capitals on Sunday, February 2, at Newlands in Cape Town.
