After doing an article about the Top 5 pace bowlers with most wickets in international cricket it’s fine for the spinners to have their time in the spotlight as in this article we will talk about the Top 5 spinners who have taken the most Wickets in international cricket. This list, just like the fast bowlers, is a list full of the best players to ever play this sport and they have entertained the fans for more than a decade in international cricket. This is an article I am honored to write.
Before we get to the list I want to say that it makes me very happy that an Indian spinner has made it to the top 5 of this list and this shows that India has had great spinners but this one took so many more wickets than the other Indian spinners. So, with that being said let’s get to the list and talk about these all time greats.
Muttiah Muralitharan – 1347 International Wickets
Muttiah Muralitharan is not just the number 1 spinner to take most international Wickets but also the overall number 1 bowler to take most wickets in the history of international cricket. To take 1347 international Wickets which is almost 345 more than the second best shows the level of dominance that this great had over the game for 19 years. He has taken 800 Test Wickets in 133 Test Matches and I don’t think this record will be broken anytime soon as taking 800 Test Wickets is crazy. He has also taken 534 ODI wickets and this is also the most by any Bowler in ODIs and he did it in 350 ODIs. He has also taken 13 T20I wickets. He will be number 1 on this list for a long long time.
Also Read | Most wickets in a calendar year in ODI History
Shane Warne – 1001 International Wickets
At number 2 is the spinner who is regarded as the greatest of all time because he made leg spin bowling cool with all the skills he had and he took 1001 international wickets for his efforts which is absolutely amazing. Out of these 1001 wickets he took 708 international Wickets in 145 Test Matches for Australia and in the 194 ODIs that he played he took 293 ODI Wickets. Shane Warne is only 1 of 2 bowlers to have taken more than 1000 international Wickets and soon maybe Jimmy Anderson will join as the third. He played international cricket for 15 years at the top.
Anil Kumble – 996 International Wickets
At number 3 on this list is finally an Indian bowler and he is the biggest match winner in test cricket for India as he took 996 international Wickets for India in an 18 year career. He played 132 Test Matches for India and he took 616 Wickets in test cricket which is the highest ever for any Indian bowler in test cricket history. He has also taken 337 wickets in ODIs which is also the highest by any Indian bowler in ODIs history and it will take something special for him to be overtaken by any other Indian bowler. A true great of the game.
Also Read | Top 8 Bowlers With Most Wickets In Test Cricket
Harbhajan Singh – 711 International Wickets
After Anil Kumble there is a line of fast bowlers who are ahead of bhaji on this list and so at number 4 in this list is the bowling partner of Anil Kumble and that is Harbhajan Singh. Bhajji has played international cricket for 18 years and he has played 103 Test Matches and in those he has taken 417 Test Wickets and he has also played 236 ODIs for India and he has got 269 ODI Wickets in his career and also he has taken 25 T20I wickets. A true modern legend of cricket and it was a pleasure watching him bowl.
Daniel Vettori – 705 International Wickets
At number 5 in this list and rounding it off is the best spinner to play for New Zealand and this player played for 18 years for New Zealand and took 705 international Wickets in his career. Je has played 113 Test Matches for New Zealand and has taken 362 wickets in test cricket and in the 295 ODIs that he played for New Zealand he got 305 wickets and in the T20I format he has taken 38 Wickets so an format great he was.
