Which bowler has the most wickets in ODI cricket? In the record book’s data, Lasith Malinga of Sri Lanka leads with 322 in 208 matches. No one else is within 50 of him across 2,576 men’s ODIs from Jun 2002 to Sep 2026.
Shakib Al Hasan of Bangladesh (258) and Brett Lee of Australia (257) chase him. For India, Ravindra Jadeja leads on 225. The page also covers 611 women’s ODIs. Afghan bowlers are absent from every list, because their games are outside the open data.
Highest Wicket Taker in ODI: A Clear Gap at the Top
Malinga is the only bowler past 300 in the ODIs covered here. Behind him the list bunches up: places two to eight sit between 258 and 226. Shakib, Lee, James Anderson of England (250), Shahid Afridi of Pakistan (240), Mitchell Starc of Australia (239) and Adil Rashid of England (234) are all within a few good series of each other.
The matches column changes the picture. Starc reached 239 in 126 ODIs, while Afridi needed 198 for one more wicket. Starc’s 9 five-wicket hauls are also the best tally in the top 25. Trent Boult of New Zealand (206 in 110) and Mohammed Shami of India (200 in 105) took their wickets at a similar pace.
No Associate bowler makes the top 25, so the overall leader and the leader among Test-playing nations are the same man: Malinga.
Most Wickets in ODI Cricket (Men)
| Bowler | M | Inns | Wkts | Best | Avg | Econ | 5w |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SL Malinga Sri Lanka | 208 | 208 | 322 | 6/38 | 28.73 | 5.37 | 7 |
| Shakib Al Hasan Bangladesh | 205 | 205 | 258 | 5/30 | 31.55 | 4.59 | 3 |
| B Lee Australia | 151 | 151 | 257 | 5/22 | 23.89 | 4.77 | 7 |
| JM Anderson England | 177 | 177 | 250 | 5/23 | 29.28 | 4.97 | 2 |
| Shahid Afridi Pakistan | 198 | 198 | 240 | 7/12 | 33.05 | 4.67 | 7 |
| MA Starc Australia | 126 | 126 | 239 | 6/28 | 23.69 | 5.26 | 9 |
| AU Rashid England | 154 | 154 | 234 | 5/27 | 31.89 | 5.63 | 2 |
| MG Johnson Australia | 144 | 144 | 226 | 6/31 | 25.62 | 4.83 | 3 |
| RA Jadeja India | 199 | 199 | 225 | 5/33 | 37.17 | 4.90 | 2 |
| TG Southee New Zealand | 150 | 150 | 215 | 7/33 | 33.24 | 5.58 | 3 |
| Mashrafe Mortaza Bangladesh | 173 | 173 | 208 | 6/26 | 34.25 | 5.06 | 1 |
| TA Boult New Zealand | 110 | 110 | 206 | 7/34 | 24.56 | 5.04 | 6 |
| Mohammed Shami India | 105 | 105 | 200 | 7/57 | 24.32 | 5.59 | 6 |
| A Zampa Australia | 119 | 119 | 193 | 5/35 | 29.53 | 5.50 | 1 |
| KMDN Kulasekara Sri Lanka | 176 | 176 | 192 | 5/22 | 34.45 | 4.94 | 1 |
| DW Steyn South Africa | 121 | 121 | 191 | 6/39 | 26.16 | 4.89 | 3 |
| KD Mills New Zealand | 130 | 130 | 191 | 5/25 | 26.32 | 4.72 | 1 |
| Kuldeep Yadav India | 114 | 114 | 191 | 6/25 | 26.64 | 5.12 | 2 |
| M Muralitharan Sri Lanka | 120 | 120 | 185 | 5/29 | 24.13 | 4.11 | 2 |
| DL Vettori New Zealand | 151 | 151 | 183 | 5/7 | 28.23 | 3.97 | 2 |
| M Morkel South Africa | 110 | 110 | 179 | 5/21 | 25.33 | 4.93 | 2 |
| DJ Bravo West Indies | 134 | 134 | 177 | 4/19 | 29.45 | 5.37 | 0 |
| Saeed Ajmal Pakistan | 107 | 107 | 175 | 5/24 | 23.13 | 4.23 | 2 |
| Mustafizur Rahman Bangladesh | 110 | 110 | 174 | 6/43 | 26.48 | 5.18 | 6 |
| CR Woakes England | 116 | 116 | 173 | 6/45 | 29.54 | 5.42 | 3 |
Most ODI Wickets by Test-Playing Nations
The main list includes players from every team, including Associate nations. This list keeps only players from full ICC members.
| Bowler | M | Inns | Wkts | Best | Avg | Econ | 5w |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SL Malinga Sri Lanka | 208 | 208 | 322 | 6/38 | 28.73 | 5.37 | 7 |
| Shakib Al Hasan Bangladesh | 205 | 205 | 258 | 5/30 | 31.55 | 4.59 | 3 |
| B Lee Australia | 151 | 151 | 257 | 5/22 | 23.89 | 4.77 | 7 |
| JM Anderson England | 177 | 177 | 250 | 5/23 | 29.28 | 4.97 | 2 |
| Shahid Afridi Pakistan | 198 | 198 | 240 | 7/12 | 33.05 | 4.67 | 7 |
| MA Starc Australia | 126 | 126 | 239 | 6/28 | 23.69 | 5.26 | 9 |
| AU Rashid England | 154 | 154 | 234 | 5/27 | 31.89 | 5.63 | 2 |
| MG Johnson Australia | 144 | 144 | 226 | 6/31 | 25.62 | 4.83 | 3 |
| RA Jadeja India | 199 | 199 | 225 | 5/33 | 37.17 | 4.90 | 2 |
| TG Southee New Zealand | 150 | 150 | 215 | 7/33 | 33.24 | 5.58 | 3 |
| Mashrafe Mortaza Bangladesh | 173 | 173 | 208 | 6/26 | 34.25 | 5.06 | 1 |
| TA Boult New Zealand | 110 | 110 | 206 | 7/34 | 24.56 | 5.04 | 6 |
| Mohammed Shami India | 105 | 105 | 200 | 7/57 | 24.32 | 5.59 | 6 |
| A Zampa Australia | 119 | 119 | 193 | 5/35 | 29.53 | 5.50 | 1 |
| KMDN Kulasekara Sri Lanka | 176 | 176 | 192 | 5/22 | 34.45 | 4.94 | 1 |
Most Wickets for India in ODI Cricket
| Bowler | M | Inns | Wkts | Best | Avg | Econ | 5w |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| RA Jadeja India | 199 | 199 | 225 | 5/33 | 37.17 | 4.90 | 2 |
| Mohammed Shami India | 105 | 105 | 200 | 7/57 | 24.32 | 5.59 | 6 |
| Kuldeep Yadav India | 114 | 114 | 191 | 6/25 | 26.64 | 5.12 | 2 |
| Z Khan India | 125 | 125 | 172 | 5/42 | 31.34 | 5.05 | 1 |
| Harbhajan Singh India | 143 | 143 | 162 | 5/31 | 35.39 | 4.39 | 2 |
| R Ashwin India | 113 | 113 | 153 | 4/25 | 33.65 | 4.95 | 0 |
| JJ Bumrah India | 88 | 88 | 145 | 6/19 | 24.19 | 4.60 | 2 |
| IK Pathan India | 98 | 98 | 144 | 5/27 | 29.87 | 5.33 | 2 |
| B Kumar India | 119 | 119 | 141 | 5/42 | 34.94 | 5.10 | 1 |
| YS Chahal India | 68 | 68 | 119 | 6/42 | 27.29 | 5.30 | 2 |
Highest Wicket Taker in ODI for Each Team
| Team | Leader | Total | Matches |
|---|---|---|---|
| India | RA Jadeja | 225 wickets | 199 |
| Australia | B Lee | 257 wickets | 151 |
| England | JM Anderson | 250 wickets | 177 |
| South Africa | DW Steyn | 191 wickets | 121 |
| New Zealand | TG Southee | 215 wickets | 150 |
| Pakistan | Shahid Afridi | 240 wickets | 198 |
| Sri Lanka | SL Malinga | 322 wickets | 208 |
| West Indies | DJ Bravo | 177 wickets | 134 |
| Bangladesh | Shakib Al Hasan | 258 wickets | 205 |
| Zimbabwe | TL Chatara | 93 wickets | 70 |
| Ireland | CA Young | 73 wickets | 39 |
Most Wickets in Women's ODIs
| Bowler | M | Inns | Wkts | Best | Avg | Econ | 5w |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| DB Sharma India | 111 | 111 | 146 | 6/31 | 29.27 | 4.60 | 3 |
| M Kapp South Africa | 109 | 109 | 141 | 5/20 | 24.17 | 4.03 | 2 |
| A Khaka South Africa | 104 | 104 | 137 | 6/56 | 25.56 | 4.36 | 2 |
| S Ecclestone England | 78 | 78 | 133 | 6/36 | 19.62 | 3.71 | 2 |
| S Ismail South Africa | 84 | 84 | 128 | 5/8 | 21.15 | 3.94 | 1 |
| ML Schutt Australia | 95 | 95 | 125 | 5/19 | 24.39 | 4.30 | 1 |
| JL Jonassen Australia | 74 | 74 | 119 | 5/27 | 19.59 | 4.01 | 2 |
| A Gardner Australia | 86 | 86 | 119 | 5/30 | 22.45 | 4.29 | 1 |
| AC Kerr New Zealand | 87 | 87 | 118 | 7/34 | 29.34 | 4.69 | 2 |
| HK Matthews West Indies | 83 | 83 | 116 | 4/15 | 24.95 | 4.33 | 0 |
Most ODI Wickets for India
Jadeja leads India with 225 wickets, but he has played 199 ODIs to get there, and his average of 37.17 is the highest in the overall top 25. Shami is second for India with 200 in only 105 matches at 24.32, and his 7/57 is India’s best return in the table.
Kuldeep Yadav has 191, then Zaheer Khan on 172 and Harbhajan Singh on 162. Jasprit Bumrah has 145 in 88 matches, with an average of 24.19 and best figures of 6/19. He has the best average of anyone in India’s top 10. Yuzvendra Chahal rounds out the list with 119.
For India’s batting and team results, see the India cricket team records.
Team Leaders, Best Averages and Economy
The team table shows each side’s top ODI wicket taker in the data. Lee leads Australia, Anderson leads England, Afridi leads Pakistan and Shakib leads Bangladesh. Tim Southee tops New Zealand with 215, Dale Steyn tops South Africa with 191 and Dwayne Bravo leads West Indies with 177. TL Chatara leads Zimbabwe on 93 and CA Young leads Ireland on 73 from just 39 matches.
For cheap wickets, Saeed Ajmal of Pakistan has the lowest average in the top 25 at 23.13. Daniel Vettori of New Zealand has the best economy at 3.97, with M Muralitharan of Sri Lanka next on 4.11. Afridi’s 7/12 is the best single return in the list. Anyone already playing before Jun 2002 has only his later wickets included.
Women's ODI Wicket Leaders and How the Lists Work
Deepti Sharma of India leads women’s ODIs with 146 wickets in 111 matches. Marizanne Kapp of South Africa is second on 141, and A Khaka of South Africa is third on 137. Sophie Ecclestone of England stands out for value: 133 wickets from 78 games, averaging 19.62. Only JL Jonassen of Australia, at 19.59, has a lower average in the top 10.
Wickets are counted from ball-by-ball records. Best figures rank by wickets and then fewest runs. Click a column heading to sort, for example by Econ or 5w. Compare with the Test wickets list, the T20I wickets list and the ODI run scorers, or browse the ODI records hub.
Questions about Most ODI wickets
Who is the highest wicket taker in ODI cricket?
Sri Lanka’s Lasith Malinga has the most ODI wickets in the data, with 322 in 208 matches. Next come Shakib Al Hasan (258) and Brett Lee (257). These counts run from Jun 2002 through Sep 2026.
Who has the most ODI wickets for India?
Ravindra Jadeja leads India with 225 ODI wickets in 199 matches. Mohammed Shami is next on 200 and Kuldeep Yadav has 191. Zaheer Khan (172) and Harbhajan Singh (162) follow.
Who has the most ODI wickets for Australia and England?
Brett Lee leads Australia with 257 wickets in 151 ODIs. James Anderson leads England with 250 in 177. Mitchell Starc (239) and Adil Rashid (234) are the next best for those two sides.
What are the best figures in a single ODI in this list?
Among the top 25 wicket takers, Shahid Afridi’s 7/12 is the best return. Tim Southee (7/33), Trent Boult (7/34) and Mohammed Shami (7/57) also took seven in an innings. The full ranking of single-match figures is on the best bowling figures page.
Who has the most wickets in women's ODIs?
Deepti Sharma of India leads with 146 wickets in 111 women’s ODIs. Marizanne Kapp of South Africa has 141 and A Khaka has 137. The data covers 611 women’s ODIs.
Source: ball-by-ball match data from Cricsheet.org (ODC-BY). See how we compile these records.