Top 5 wicket-takers in T20I cricket in 2021
T20 has gained massive popularity over the years with the proceedings being crisp and full of momentum shifts. The nature of the format, however, tends to favour the batters. With an innings comprising of just 120 legal deliveries, batters have the liberty to play attacking shots without thinking much about prolonging their stay at the crease. Moreover, the boundary ropes are also on the shorter side nowadays.
Hence, thriving as a bowler can be pretty tough. Nonetheless, several bowlers have been embracing this challenge by foxing batters with their accurate bowling and variations. Notably, a lot of T20I cricket was been played in 2021 and fans don’t have much to complain about. Several bowlers also manage to make a mark in this period.
Meanwhile, let’s look at the highest wicket-takers in T20Is in 2021 (Full-Member Teams):
- Luke Jongwe – 26
Zimbabwe might not have been able to qualify for this year’s T20 World Cup. However, Luke Jongwe enjoyed an impressive time with the ball in hand. Be it taking wickets with the new ball or making the ball talk in death overs, the right-arm pacer embraced every challenge and took wickets for fun. Overall, he took 26 wickets in 14 T20Is this year.
- Ish Sodhi – 27
New Zealand’s bowling line-up might be studded with speedsters leg-spinners like Trent Boult, Tim Southee and Adam Milne. However, it was leg-spinner Ish Sodhi who emerged as the side’s highest wicket-taker in T20Is this year. He took a total of 27 wickets in 13 games this year.
- Mustafizur Rahman – 28
Nicknamed as the Fizz, Mustafizur Rahman has been spearheading Bangladesh’s bowling attack since the last few years. The left-arm speedster was on a roll in the year 2021 as well. He took 28 wickets in 20 T20Is as Bangladesh defeated big teams like Australia and New Zealand at home this year.
- Tabraiz Shamsi – 36
Tabraiz Shamsi made the ball talk this year and climbed atop the T20I rankings this year. The left-arm wrist-spinner just didn’t take regular wickets but also kept the scoring rate at bay. He scored 36 wickets in 22 T20Is this year, most for any bowler in a calendar year.
- Wanindu Hasaranga – 36
The rise of Wanindu Hasaranga couldn’t have come at a better time as Sri Lankan cricket has been reeling lately. While Hasaranga has topped the bowling charts this year, he is a three-dimensional player, who can contribute his multiple departments. As far as his numbers this year are concerned, he took 36 wickets in 20 T20Is and holds the pinnacle position on this list alongside Shamsi.
