While Sanath Jayasuriya scored the most runs in the Asia Cup, his former Sri Lankan teammate Muthiah Muralitharan is leading the race when it comes to the most wickets in Asia Cup. Muralitharan has 30 wickets in the tournament while India's Ravindra Jadeja and Bangladesh’s Shakib Al Hasan with 19 wickets are the joint-highest wicket-takers when it comes to active internationals.
Most Wickets in Asia Cup 2023
|
S. No |
Player |
Team |
MAT |
WKTS |
BBI |
AVE |
ECO |
SR |
4w |
5w |
|
1 |
Matheesha Pathirana |
SL |
5 |
11 |
4/32 |
22.63 |
6.41 |
21.18 |
1 |
- |
|
2 |
Mohammed Siraj |
IND |
5 |
10 |
6/21 |
12.20 |
4.63 |
15.80 |
- |
1 |
|
3 |
Dunith Wellalage |
SL |
5 |
10 |
5/40 |
17.20 |
4.30 |
24.00 |
- |
1 |
|
4 |
Shaheen Afridi |
PAK |
5 |
10 |
4/35 |
23.50 |
5.73 |
24.60 |
1 |
- |
|
5 |
Kuldeep Yadav |
IND |
4 |
9 |
5/25 |
11.33 |
3.70 |
18.33 |
1 |
1 |
| 6 | Haris Rauf |
PAK |
4 |
9 |
4/19 |
13.33 |
4.80 |
16.66 |
1 |
- |
|
7 |
Taskin Ahmed |
BAN |
4 |
9 |
4/44 |
19.11 |
5.13 |
22.33 |
1 |
- |
|
8 |
Maheesh Theekshana |
SL |
5 |
8 |
3/69 |
29.12 |
5.15 |
33.87 |
- |
- |
|
9 |
Shoriful Islam |
BAN |
4 |
7 |
3/36 |
18.71 |
4.51 |
24.85 |
- |
- |
|
10 |
Naseem Shah |
PAK |
4 |
7 |
3/34 |
20.00 |
4.85 |
24.71 |
- |
- |
*Last updated on 17th september 2023
Most Wickets in Asia Cup
| Player | Team | Period | Match | Overs | Wkts | Ave | Econ | SR | 4w | 5w |
| Muthiah Muralitharan | SL | 1995-2010 | 24 | 230.2 | 30 | 28.83 | 3.75 | 46.0 | 1 | 1 |
| Lasith Malinga | SL | 2004-2018 | 14 | 128.1 | 29 | 20.55 | 4.65 | 26.5 | 1 | 3 |
| Ajantha Mendis | SL | 2008-2014 | 8 | 68 | 26 | 10.42 | 3.98 | 15.6 | 2 | 2 |
| Ravindra Jadeja | IND | 2010-2023 | 19 | 151.1 | 25 | 26.28 | 4.34 | 36.2 | 2 | 0 |
| Saeed Ajmal | PAK | 2008-2014 | 12 | 115.0 | 25 | 19.40 | 4.21 | 27.6 | 0 | 0 |
| Chaminda Vaas | SL | 1995-2008 | 19 | 152.2 | 23 | 27.78 | 4.19 | 39.7 | 0 | 0 |
| Abdur Razzak | BAN | 2004-2014 | 18 | 170.2 | 22 | 36.18 | 4.67 | 46.4 | 0 | 0 |
| Sanath Jayasuriya | SL | 1990-2008 | 25 | 148.5 | 22 | 30.31 | 4.48 | 40.5 | 1 | 0 |
| Irfan Pathan | INDIA | 2004-2012 | 12 | 109.1 | 22 | 27.5 | 5.54 | 29.7 | 1 | 0 |
| Shakib Al Hasan | BAN | 2010-2023 | 18 | 171.1 | 22 | 36.95 | 4.74 | 46.6 | 1 | 0 |
The Asia Cup Trivia
- Ravi Shastri with four wickets was the leading wicket-taker in the inaugural edition of the Asia Cup.
- Lasith Malinga was the leading wicket-taker in 2010 and joint leading wicket-taker in 2014. That makes him the only bowler to feature twice in the list.
- Ajantha Mendis in 2008 picked 17 wickets – most in any edition of the competition.
List of Most Wickets in Asia Cup History (1984-2023)
While Muralithran is racing with 30 wickets from 24 matches, his former teammate and legend Lasith Malinga has 29 wickets to his name and is second in the list. Ravindra Jadeja and Irfan Pathan are the only Indian bowlers who feature in the list of top 10 of highest wicket-takers in Asia Cup history.
Along with Muralitharan, Saeed Ajmal (25 wickets), Sanath Jayasuriya (22 wickets), Shakib Al Hasan (19 wickets) and Ravindra Jadeja (19 wickets) are the spinners to feature in the top 10.
Rashid Khan, Kuldeep Yadav and Mustafizur Rahman were the leading wicket-takers of the edition in 2018. The trio picked up 10 wickets each to cement their legacy.
As per the Asia Cup schedule, the latest edition of the tournament, which will be played in the T20 format, will begin on 27th of August. Six teams are divided into two groups and the top two teams in the Asia Cup Points table will qualify for the Super Fours. The top two teams will then qualify for the finals of the competition.
| Edition | Player | Team | Year | Wkts |
| 16th | Matheesha Pathirana | SL | 2023 | 11 |
| 15th | Bhuvneshwar Kumar | IND | 2022 | 11 |
| 14th | Rashid Khan Mustafizur Rahman Kuldeep Yadav |
AFG BAN IND |
2018 | 10 |
| 13th | Al-Amin Hossain | BAN | 2016 | 11 |
| 12th | Lasith Malinga Saeed Ajmal |
SL PAK |
2014 | 11 |
| 11th | Umar Gul | PAK | 2012 | 9 |
| 10th | Lasith Malinga | SL | 2010 | 9 |
| 9th | Ajantha Mendis | SL | 2008 | 17 |
| 8th | Irfan Pathan | IND | 2004 | 14 |
| 7th | Abdul Razzaq | PAK | 2000 | 8 |
| 6th | Venkatesh Prasad | IND | 1997 | 7 |
| 5th | Anil Kumble | IND | 1995 | 7 |
| 4th | Kapil Dev | IND | 1990-91 | 9 |
| 3rd | Arshad Ayub | IND | 1988 | 9 |
| 2nd | Abdul Qadir | PAK | 1986 | 9 |
| 1st | Ravi Shastri | IND | 1984 | 4 |
*Last updated on 17th september 2023