Top 5 fastest bowlers to 200 ODI wickets by balls bowled ft. Mohammed Shami

Mohammed Shami returned to international cricket after a long injury gap. He played the limited-overs series against England at home but did not appear to be at his best. However, Shami has made a roaring comeback at the 2025 Champions Trophy.

He is leading India's attack in the absence of Jasprit Bumrah and has shown his brilliance in India's very first match against Bangladesh. In the first innings, Shami picked up five wickets to contain the Bangla Tigers to 228 runs.

He became the fastest Indian bowler to pick up 200 ODI wickets and the second-fastest overall. The 34-year-old also achieved another record as he got to this feat. The pacer is the fastest bowler to get to 200 ODI wickets in terms of balls bowled as well.

Here are the top five bowlers in this list.

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#5 Trent Boult

New Zealand pacer Trent Boult finds himself among the greats in this list. Boult took 5783 deliveries to get to the milestone of 200 ODI wickets - the fifth fastest to the feat.

He has established himself among the best bowlers in the world at the moment. Overall, he has played 114 ODIs and has bagged 211 wickets at an average of 24.38 and an economy rate of 4.99, having bowled a total of 6180 balls in the format in his career so far.

Boult is not a part of New Zealand's squad for the 2025 Champions Trophy.

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#4 Brett Lee

Former Australian pacer Brett Lee is fourth on this list. Lee took 5640 deliveries to get to 200 ODI wickets in his career.

He was a lethal weapon for Australia with the ball in his playing days. Lee played 221 ODIs and picked up 380 wickets at an average of 23.36 and an economy rate of 4.76. Overall, he bowled 11,185 deliveries for Australia in his one-day international career.

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#3 Saqlain Mushtaq

Former Pakistan spinner Saqlain Mushtaq played 169 ODIs and picked up 288 wickets at an average of 21.78 and an economy rate of 4.29. He bowled a total of 8770 balls in his ODI career.

Saqlain took as many as 5451 deliveries to reach the landmark of 200 ODI wickets in his career and is the third-fastest bowler to do so on this list. He retired as not only Pakistan's but among the greatest spinners in the world to have played the game.

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#2 Mitchell Starc

Australian pacer and modern-day great Mitchell Starc features at the second position on this list. The left-arm pacer has played 127 ODIs so far and has bagged 244 wickets at an average of 23.40 and an economy rate of 5.26. Starc has bowled 6512 balls in the format till date.

Out of these, the pacer took 5240 balls to claim 200 ODI wickets in his career. Unfortunately, Starc is not a part of Australia's squad for the ongoing 2025 Champions Trophy and will be missed in action.

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#1 Mohammed Shami

As mentioned above, Indian pacer Mohammed Shami is at the top of the list and is the fastest bowler to 200 ODI wickets in terms of balls taken to get there. Shami took 5126 balls, which is the fewest, to get to the landmark during his brilliant display against Bangladesh.

Mohammed Shami also became India's leading wicket-taker in ICC ODI tournaments (World Cup plus Champions Trophy) with 60 scalps to his name, overtaking former pacer Zaheer Khan, who has 59 wickets.