Left-arm fast-bowler Arshdeep Singh has now become India's highest wicket-taker in men's T20Is, a landmark he achieved during the ongoing T20I series opener against England at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata on Wednesday.
Arshdeep achieved this feat in his 61st T20I match by dismissing openers Phil Salt and Ben Duckett.
While Salt was undone by a short ball from Arshdeep and leading edge was caught by Sanju Samson in the opening over, Duckett looked to flick it over midwicket, but the leading edge was caught by cover in the pacer's second over.
With this, Arshdeep has overtaken leg-spinner Yuzvendra Chahal's record of 96 wickets to become India's most successful men's bowler in the shortest format. Arshdeep, 25, made his T20I debut against England in July 2022 and has since established himself as one of India's most reliable fast bowlers in the format.
Arshdeep Singh, who came into the India men's T20I setup as a death-over specialist with spot-on yorkers and 140kph-plus deliveries and possessing a deadly bouncer besides bowling well in power-plays on the back of his great performances for Punjab Kings in the Indian Premier League (IPL), was an integral part of the Indian team that won the 2018 U19 World Cup in New Zealand.
He was India's leading wicket-taker in the 2022 Men's T20 World Cup with 10 wickets, and went on to be the joint leading wicket-taker with 17 scalps in the side's victorious campaign in 2024 edition of the tournament. Arshdeep is now just three wickets away from picking 100 wickets in men's T20Is, and would become the first bowler from India to reach the milestone.
Most wickets by Indian bowlers in men's T20Is
Arshdeep Singh - 97 wickets in 61 matches
Yuzvendra Chahal - 96 wickets in 80 matches
Bhuvneshwar Kumar - 90 wickets in 87 matches
Jasprit Bumrah - 89 wickets in 70 matches
Hardik Pandya - 89 wickets in 109 matches
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