Most Wickets in ODI: Top 10 Highest Wicket-Takers of All Time (2026)

One Day International (ODI) cricket has produced some of the greatest bowlers in the history of the game. While batters often grab the headlines with centuries and big scores, bowlers are the ones who win matches by taking crucial wickets. Over the years, only a handful of legendary bowlers have crossed the 300 and 400-wicket marks in ODI cricket.

In this article, we look at the most wickets in ODI cricket, the top 10 highest wicket-takers of all time, their records, bowling averages, and achievements.

Most Wickets in ODI Cricket – Top 10 List 

Rank	Player	Country	Matches	Wickets	Best Bowling	Bowling Average
1	Muttiah Muralitharan	Sri Lanka	350	534	7/30	23.08
2	Wasim Akram	Pakistan	356	502	5/15	23.52
3	Waqar Younis	Pakistan	262	416	7/36	23.84
4	Chaminda Vaas	Sri Lanka	322	400	8/19	27.53
5	Shahid Afridi	Pakistan	398	395	7/12	34.51
6	Shaun Pollock	South Africa	303	393	6/35	24.5
7	Glenn McGrath	Australia	250	381	7/15	22.02
8	Brett Lee	Australia	221	380	5/22	23.36
9	Lasith Malinga	Sri Lanka	226	338	6/38	28.87
10	Anil Kumble	India	269	337	6/12	30.89

Who Has Taken the Most Wickets in ODI Cricket? 

All time leading wicket taker in ODI cricket is the spin magician Muttiah Muralitharan who took 534 wickets in 350 games. For near 20 years, the Sri Lankan off-spinner ruled world cricket and is also the only bowler,so far itself havin crossed 530 wickets in ODIs. Muttiah Muralitharan

His incredible length, accuracy and his signature Doosra made runs absolutely plentiful against him

Muralitharan’s ODI Career 

Category	Record
Matches	350
Innings	341
Wickets	534
Bowling Average	23.08
Economy Rate	3.93
Strike Rate	35.2
Best Figures	7/30
Four-Wicket Hauls	15
Five-Wicket Hauls	10

Top 5 Bowlers with Most ODI Wickets

Muttiah Muralitharan (Sri Lanka): Muralitharan revolutionized off-spin bowling. Sri Lanka won numerous matches purely on the back of his ability to turn the ball prodigiously on any surface. He said goodbye while being the leading wicket-taker in Test and ODI cricket.

Wasim Akram (Pakistan): Closely associated with Pakistan, Wasim Akram is arguably the best left-arm fast bowler to have played cricket. He ended with 502 ODI wickets, becoming the leading wicket-taking fast bowler in ODIs. With his inswing and reverse swing both were tested every batting indenture.

Waqar Younis (Pakistan): Waqar Younis bagged 416 wickets in merely 262 ODIs. His toe-crushing yorkers and economy helped further cement him as one of the most dangerous bowlers in history.

Chaminda Vaas (Sri Lanka): Chaminda Vaas became the fourth bowler to get 400 ODI wickets. He is known for having some of best bowling figures in ODI history, including 8 wickets for just 19 runs

5. Shahid Afridi (Pakistan): Although known as an explosive batter, Shahid Afridi finished his ODI career with 395 wickets, making him one of the greatest all-rounders in limited-overs cricket

Top ODI Wicket-Takers by Country 

Country	Leading Wicket-Taker	Wickets
Sri Lanka	Muttiah Muralitharan	534
Pakistan	Wasim Akram	502
Australia	Glenn McGrath	381
India	Anil Kumble	337
South Africa	Shaun Pollock	393
New Zealand	Daniel Vettori	305
England	James Anderson	269

Indian Bowlers with the Most Wickets in ODI 

Rank	Player	Wickets
1	Anil Kumble	337
2	Javagal Srinath	315
3	Ajit Agarkar	288
4	Zaheer Khan	269
5	Harbhajan Singh	265
6	Kapil Dev	253
7	Ravindra Jadeja	232
8	Mohammed Shami	206
9	Venkatesh Prasad	196
10	Kuldeep Yadav	194

Fastest Bowlers to Reach Major ODI Wicket Milestones 

Milestone	Player	Matches
100 Wickets	Saqlain Mushtaq	53
200 Wickets	Saqlain Mushtaq	104
300 Wickets	Brett Lee	171
400 Wickets	Muttiah Muralitharan	233
500 Wickets	Muttiah Muralitharan	327

Interesting Facts About ODI Wicket Records

• No bowler has taken 500+ ODI wickets except Muttiah Muralitharan.
• Wasim Akram is the all-time leading fast bowler in ODIs
• Best ODI Bowling Figures: 8/19 – Chaminda Vaas
• Top 3 All time wicket-taker- Waqar Younis most five wickets haul.
• Among the top eight wicket-takers, no bowler has a better bowling average than Glenn McGrath (22.02)
• Anil Kumble maintains India lead in career ODI wickets.

Will Anyone Break Muralitharan’s Record? 

534 ODI wickets, in today’s time, seems next to impossible. International teams barely played as many ODIs as they once did in the early 1990s and mid-2000s, with T20Is and franchise leagues taking precedence. Consequently, even the excellent bowlers get used to gathering lesser such staggering wicket totals.

Read More: South Africa National Cricket Team vs India National Cricket Team Match Scorecard

Conclusion 

With the greatest names who shaped generations of ODI cricket adorning the list of their favourite players over most wickets in ODI cricket. The other two players rounding out the top 5 are Muttiah Muralitharan in first place with 534 wickets, and Wasim Akram (502)and Waqar Younis (416). These bowlers are the very icons of the game, through their consistency, ability to last and execution under pressure.

As the modern ODI calendar has begun shrinking, Muralitharan’s record appears ever more likely to stand as one of the greats in cricket’s unbeaten records.

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