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If Varun Chakaravarthy, who has dismissed 10 English batters in three matches played so far, manages to take at least three wickets in the 4th T20I on Friday, then he will break his own record of taking most wickets in a bilateral T20I series for…Read More
Varun Chakravarthy needs 3 wickets to break his own record of taking most wickets in a bilateral T20I series for India. (Picture Credit: X/@BCCI)
Star Indian spinner Varun Chakaravarthy has picked up 10 wickets in three matches played so far against England in the ongoing five-match T20I series. The 33-year-old spinner from Tamil Nadu accounted for the dismissal of 3 batters for 23 runs in four overs during the series opener played in Kolkata on January 22, and in the second match at his home ground—MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai—he picked up two wickets for 38 runs. In the third T20I against England on Tuesday (January 28), Chakaravarthy finished with figures of 5 for 24 in four overs, but his effort went in vain as India went on to lose the match by 26 runs.
With 10 wickets to his name, Chakaravarthy is the leading wicket-taker in the series. If the star spinner, who made life difficult for English batters in the last three matches, manages to take at least three wickets in the fourth T20I on Friday at Maharashtra Cricket Association (MCA) Stadium in Pune, then he will break his own record of taking most wickets in a bilateral T20I series for India.
During the four-match India-South Africa T20I series in November 2024, Chakaravarthy dismissed 12 batters in four matches. He will have a chance to break his record and also take a shot at the all-time record of taking the most wickets in a bilateral T20I series.
Most wickets in a bilateral T20I series for India
- Varun Chakaravarthy: 12 (India vs South Africa T20Is, 2024)
- Varun Chakaravarthy: 10* (India vs England T20Is, 2025)
- Ravichandran Ashwin: 9 (India vs Sri Lanka, 2016)
- Ravi Bishnoi: 9 (India vs Australia, 2023)
- Deepak Chahar: 8 (India vs Bangladesh, 2019)
- Axar Patel: 8 (India vs Australia, 2022)
- Ravi Bishnoi: 8 (India vs West Indies, 2022)
- Yuzvendra Chahal: 8 (India vs Sri Lanka, 2017)
- Mukesh Kumar: 8 (India vs Zimbabwe, 2024)
- Yuzvendra Chahal: 8 (India vs England, 2017)
- Washington Sundar: 8 (India vs Zimbabwe, 2024)
- Arshdeep Singh: 8 (India vs South Africa, 2024)
- Shardul Thakur: 8 (India vs New Zealand, 2020)
- Shardul Thakur: 8 (India vs England, 2021)
Star West Indies all-rounder Jason Holder holds the record of dismissing most batters in a bilateral T20I series. During West Indies’ home series against England in January 2022, Holder accounted for the dismissal of 15 English batters in five matches.
Most wickets in a bilateral T20I series
- Jason Holder (West Indies): 15 vs England (2022)
- Sami Sohail (Malawi): 14 vs Mozambique (2019)
- Ish Sodhi (New Zealand): 13 vs Australia (2021)
- Charles Hinze (Japan): 13 vs Mongolia (2024)
- Varun Chakaravarthy (India): 12 vs South Africa (2024)
- Pratik Singh Bais (Mexico): 12 vs Costa Rica (2024)
- Sandeep Lamichhane (Nepal): 12 vs Kenya (2022)
- Hayden Walsh (West Indies): 12 vs Australia (2021)
The record of taking the most wickets in a T20I series for India (overall, including multination events) is in the name of left-arm fast bowler Arshdeep Singh. The 25-year-old fast bowler, who is India’s most successful bowler in the shortest format of the game, dismissed 17 batters in eight matches of the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2024.
Most wickets in a T20I series for India
- Arshdeep Singh – 17 (T20 World Cup 2024)
- Jasprit Bumrah – 15 (T20 World Cup 2024)
- Varun Chakaravarthy – 12 (India vs South Africa T20I series, 2024)
- RP Singh – 12 (T20 World Cup 2007)
- Bhuvneshwar Kumar – 11 (Asia Cup 2022)
- Ravichandran Ashwin – 11 (T20 World Cup 2014)
- Hardik Pandya – 11 (T20 World Cup 2024)
Arshdeep is followed by Jasprit Bumrah in the elite list. The 2024 ICC Cricketer of the Year played all eight matches for India in the T20 World Cup last year and picked up 15 wickets, which include two in the final match played against South Africa at Kensington Oval on June 29.
