IPL 2024: Top 5 bowlers with most wickets in IPL history

We have all heard multiple times that T20 cricket is a batter’s game. However, one thing is to be noted that it is a bowler who turns the game for his team most times. The teams across the world have understood the fact that they need a good set of bowlers to win a tournament. This is true in the biggest T20 tournament IPL as well. Over the years, it has been seen that teams who possess quality bowlers perform quite well, while those who struggle in this department generally lag behind.

In this article, we are going to list out 5 bowlers who have taken the most wickets in IPL history. Among these 5 players, four are those who have been part of the league from the inaugural season. Three of the top 5 players are spin bowlers while the rest 2 are pacers.     

Top 5 bowlers with most wickets in IPL history

Former Royal Challengers Bangalore and current Rajasthan Royals leg spinner Yuzvendra Chahal equalled Piyush Chawla’s tally of 157 wickets in the 2022 edition and is currently the leading wicket-taker of the IPL. Over the years, Chahal was a crucial bowler for RCB whIch were always a batting-heavy unit. The leggie, now playing for the Rajasthan Royals, has accounted for 200 scalps in 153 IPL matches and is the leading wicket-taker of the 2024 season so far after 38 games.

Dwayne Bravo with 183 wickets surpassed Lasith Malinga in the list. He is the second-highest wicket-taker in the history of the tournament. Bravo has been a vital cog in Chennai’s bowling lineup particularly in the death overs. Two times winner of Purple Cap in 2013 and 2015, Bravo’s potential has been used very cleverly for the team’s benefit. The all-rounder has played 159 IPL games and averages 23.86 with the ball.

Piyush Chawla, who was bought by Mumbai Indians for IPL 2021 in the mini-auction is just below Bravo, being the third-highest wicket-taker in the league's history. He has picked 181 wickets in 185 matches with an average of 27.13 and an economy being 7.96. Piyush Chawla has earlier featured for Chennai, Punjab, and Kolkata in the cash-rich league.

The next bowler on the list is Indian leggie Amit Mishra who has picked 173 wickets in 161 games. The fourth-highest wicket-taker in the history of IPL, Mishra, went unsold in the mega auction of 2022. He has recorded an impressive economy of 7.35 in the league and has been crucial in taking wickets in middle overs. 

Lasith Malinga, who is undoubtedly the greatest pacer in the IPL history has taken record 170 wickets in 122 games he has played. Though 90 of these wickets have come in death overs where batters try to score at a faster pace and often get out in the process, still his overall numbers are too good to be questioned. Malinga started playing for Mumbai Indians in the 2009 season, and last appeared in the 2019 season. His final over in the 2019 final was enough to prove his greatness even at that stage of his career.

The next bowler on the list is Indian leggie Amit Mishra who has picked 166 wickets in 154 games. The third highest wicket-taker in the history of IPL, Mishra, went unsold in the mega auction of 2022, and is yet to play a match for the Lucknow Super Giants in IPL 2024. He has recorded an impressive economy of 7.36 in the league and has been crucial in taking wickets in middle overs. 

Bhuvneshwar Kumar is the only Indian pacer in the top 5 list for the highest wicket-takers in the history of the IPL. Bhuvnehwar is tied with Mishra in terms of wickets, but a negligibly inferior economy rate makes him rank below the leggie. The two-time Purple Cap winner has always been a reliable new-ball over, producing a plethora of breakthroughs during the powerplay over the years. He has had an uncharacteristic IPL so far, with the Meerut-born 34-year-old possessing an unually high economy rate of 10.45 after six games played.

Most wickets in IPL history

*Last updated on 22nd April, 2024.