T20 is known as the slam-bang version of the game and when it first started out, it seemed like it was a batsman’s game altogether and it will be hard on the bowlers. There’s no doubt that it has been tough for the bowlers but they’ve had their moments too. They are the ones that are making the difference and a good bowling side is always in the hunt. The Indian Premier League (IPL) has been no different. Bowlers have found quite a bit of success over the years and hence, there are quite a lot of difference-makers who have defined the tournament. That said, here are the 10 leading wicket-takers in the history of the IPL.
#1 Lasith Malinga – 170 wickets
Ever since Lasith Malinga made his IPL debut, he has been the face of the Mumbai Indians (MI) bowling attack. There have been quite a few players who’ve come and gone and have been in the attack alongside him. But he has been one constant since the second season. It was in 2009 that Malinga made his IPL debut.
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Since then, he has played nine seasons for MI. He missed the 2016 season due to a knee injury while he wasn’t picked in the 2018 auction before returning in 2019. Barring the 2017 season where he returned with 11 wickets, the ace Sri Lankan fast bowler has picked up at least 15 wickets every season. Overall, Malinga has 170 wickets in the IPL and despite playing just 122 games (quite less when compared to others in the top five), he is at the top of the wicket charts.
#2 Amit Mishra – 157 wickets
Amit Mishra has played for just three franchises (Delhi Capitals, Deccan Chargers, Sunrisers Hyderabad) across 12 seasons and it is with Delhi where he’s played the most number of games. In fact, the Haryana leg-spinner has been with Delhi for as many as eight seasons, picking up 97 wickets in 92 games.
Mishra has been a pretty underrated bowler in the IPL. He is a wicket-taker and has time and again proved that as well. No other bowler has more hat-tricks in the IPL than him (three) – one each in 2008, 2011 and 2013 – one for each team that he played. Mishra has played 147 games and has picked up 157 wickets, which puts him second on the list of most wickets in the IPL.
#3 Harbhajan Singh – 150 wickets
No frontline bowler has played as many games as Harbhajan Singh. The Punjab off-spinner has featured 160 IPL games and has taken 150 wickets. His IPL career economy has been 7.05. He was a big part of the MI side for a decade. He even captained the side in a season and led them to the playoffs in 2012.
Harbhajan played just three games in the 2008 season as he was involved in the infamous slapping incident with Sreesanth and was subsequently banned. However, since then, every season, he’s played at least 10 games. If he’s not picking wickets, the turbanator has been pretty economical. He performed consistently for 10 years for MI and has been doing the same for Chennai Super Kings (CSK) for the last couple of years.
#4 Piyush Chawla – 150 wickets
Here is another bowler who has been pretty underrated throughout his IPL career. Piyush Chawla has been expensive but he also has a knack of picking wickets. He has an economy of 7.82 but the Uttar Pradesh leg-spinner has taken 150 wickets and occupies the fourth spot on the list of leading wicket-takers in the history of the IPL. He has played only for two franchises – Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) and Kings XI Punjab (KXIP) and CSK was going to be his third team.
Irrespective of which team he’s played for, Chawla has had similar returns. He picked up 84 wickets from 87 games for KXIP while he took 66 wickets from 70 games for KKR. Chawla may not have been among the highest wicket-takers any season but across 12 seasons, he’s taken 10 or more wickets in 11 of them.
#5 Dwayne Bravo – 147 wickets
Dwayne Bravo was hardly any force in the IPL until 2012. He played the first three seasons for MI where he took 26 wickets in 20 games and was quite expensive. Even in 2011 when he was bought by CSK, he played just six games and picked up as many wickets.
However, 2012 turned it around for him and he has been CSK’s premier death bowler. His economy has been on the higher side as he’s largely been used after the 10th or 12th over by MS Dhoni. In 2013 (32 wickets) and 2015 (26 wickets), Bravo won the Purple Cap and became the first bowler in the history of the league to win the Purple Cap twice. In 134 IPL games, Bravo has taken 147 wickets and he slots in at the fifth spot in the list of most IPL wickets.
#6 Bhuvneshwar Kumar – 133 wickets
Not many people remember but Bhuvneshwar Kumar was a part of the Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) in 2010. However, he didn’t play a single game that season and moved to Pune Warriors India (PWI) in 2011. He played just four games in 2011 but since 2012, he’s been a regular member of every team he’s played.
In 2014, there was a switch to SRH and that turned the tide for the Meerut lad. That saw him develop into a near complete bowler from a pure new-ball swing bowler. Bhuvneshwar took 23 and 26 wickets respectively in the 2016 and 2017 season, which saw him become the only player to win the Purple Cap in back to back seasons. Overall, Bhuvneshwar has picked up 133 wickets which is the most for an Indian fast bowler.
#7 Ravichandran Ashwin – 125 wickets
Ravichandran Ashwin’s numbers may have faded away in the last few years but it was in the early years of the IPL that he made an impact. He bowled in just one innings in the 2009 season but it was from the 2010 season that he became a crucial part of the CSK side. He has picked up at least 10 wickets in every season since 2010.
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The Tamil Nadu off-spinner has taken a total of 125 wickets in the IPL and he has an economy of 6.79 which is the best for any Indian bowler who has taken 50 or more wickets. In fact, only in one season (2018) Ashwin has gone at an economy of more than 7.5.
#8 Sunil Narine – 122 wickets
Ever since he arrived in the IPL, Sunil Narine has been KKR’s premier spinner and a go-to bowler for every captain. The West Indian mystery spinner has had quite a big impact on KKR. In fact, in his first three seasons in the IPL (2012, 2013 and 2014), Narine picked up more than 20 wickets in each of them and was KKR’s leading wicket-taker. His economy was brilliant as well and teams largely looked to play him out.
Narine seems to have tapered off a touch with his action remodelled. He may be the same force but he still threatens to picks wickets and has been picking wickets consistently. From 110 games, Narine has taken 122 wickets which puts him at the eight position in this leading wicket-takers list. His economy of 6.67 in the IPL is one of the best.
#9 Umesh Yadav – 119 wickets
This might be a slightly surprising name in the list. But Umesh Yadav has been a consistent wicket-taker in the IPL. It was only from 2012 that the Vidarbha fast bowler started becoming a regular in the IPL. He’s played for three teams and has been a regular wicket-taker for each of them. Though he’s been on the expensive side, he has been very good, especially with the new ball.
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Yadav tends to take a hit at the death and hence, he’s been used more at the top and in the middle than towards the back end. He’s taken 43 wickets with Delhi, 48 wickets with KKR and 28 with RCB. Overall, Yadav has taken 119 wickets from as many games and is at the ninth slot in the list of most wickets in the IPL history.
#10 Ravindra Jadeja – 108 wickets
In the inaugural edition of the IPL (2008), Shane Warne had spotted a spark in Ravindra Jadeja and had given him the name ‘rockstar’. The left-handed all-rounder was fresh off an Under-19 World Cup win under Virat Kohli and had played a big role in helping Rajasthan Royals go all the way to lift the IPL title. He was excellent with bat and barely bowled.
However, as his career has gone along, he has bowled a lot more and has sneaked into the top 10 leading wicket-takers list of the IPL. It was towards the end of the 2019 season that Jadeja just nudged ahead of Ashish Nehra who has taken 106 wickets. The Saurashtra all-rounder has taken 108 wickets and has been a big part of the CSK side since 2012. He’s played for four teams but it is with CSK where he’s had the best time with the ball.
