Top 5 highest wicket-takers in T20 World Cups ft. Shahid Afridi and Lasith Malinga

Bowlers win you the tournaments is slowly becoming a popular saying in T20 cricket. Even Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR)'s IPL 2024 win came on the back of picking the most wickets in the tournament, with the most bowl-outs of opponents.

That would likely be the mantra of the teams at the 2024 edition in the USA and the West Indies, which starts Sunday. It would come up with new sorts of challenges for players, similar to new market opportunities for the stakeholders.

The bowlers, especially, can look at the names that have been successful in the tournament's eight editions so far. Below, we have listed five of the top wicket-takers in this period. Read along and think which of your favorite team's bowlers can emulate their performances in the coming weeks.

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#5 Ajantha Mendis

The fact that a bowler of Ajantha Mendis' quality is fifth on this list tells you a lot about the legendary names that have graced the T20 World Cup. A right-arm spinner, Mendis picked up 35 wickets in only 21 appearances between 2009-14.

His bowling average of 15.02 is the best among the top five and the mind-blowing 6/8 he took against Zimbabwe in 2012 remains the best figure for any bowler in the tournament's history. He had an excellent time in the 2009 and 2010 editions too but Sri Lanka's title-winning 2014 campaign saw him take just four wickets.

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#4 Saeed Ajmal

Until he was banned for his illegal bowling action in 2014, Saeed Ajmal was a rockstar in T20 cricket. In just 23 matches at the T20 World Cup between 2009 and 2014, he picked up a stunning 36 wickets at an average of 16.86.

The Pakistani off-spinner was considered one of the hardest to read of hands. He was running through batting lineups at a time, picking 12, 11, and nine wickets, respectively in his first three seasons. His best spell in the tournament, also the personal T20 best for him -- 4/19 -- came against Ireland in 2009.

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#3 Lasith Malinga

Sri Lankan great Lasith Malinga takes the bronze in this ranking. But with 38 wickets in 31 matches (a lot fewer than the ones ahead of him) at an average of 20.07, he's the highest wicket-taking fast-bowler in the tournament's history.

Malinga made a good impression right from 2007, picking 3/43 against eventual runners-up Pakistan to eventually end up with seven wickets at 14.29. He got better in 2009, with 12 wickets in seven.

Then, a few decent editions without team success followed a famous captaincy switch in the middle of the 2014 edition. He led Sri Lanka with aplomb, picking 2/5 in the semi-final against West Indies and then lifting the country's beloved title.

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#2 Shahid Afridi

Pakistan legend and the Player of the Tournament of the inaugural 2007 T20 World Cup, Shahid Afridi is second on the list. He picked up 39 wickets in 34 innings till the 2016 edition, at an average of 23.25.

In 2007, he had a prolific group stage but failed in the semi-final and the final against India. He corrected that in 2009, picking at least a wicket each in every game to help Pakistan lift the cup by defeating Sri Lanka in the final. This is also where he took his career-best T20 World Cup spell of 4/11 against Netherlands.

The next four editions were almost identically underwhelming for him with the ball as he picked up exactly four wickets in each of them.

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#1 Shakib Al Hasan

Bangladesh's legendary all-rounder Shakib Al Hasan is one of the only two players to have featured in every T20 World Cup from 2007 to 2022 so far. That's not just because of his fitness but also because he has never really been unsuccessful.

In 35 innings, he has a whopping 47 wickets at an average of 18.63, giving him such a margin at the top, which might not be breached even in the next 20 years.

His journey in the competition started with a four-wicket haul against West Indies in 2007. He didn't play a lot in the next few seasons because of Bangaldesh's struggles. Wickets came fast in 2014 and 2016 followed by his best-ever year in 2021 -- 11 wickets in six games, including a record 4/9 versus Papua New Guinea.