Most Test Wickets for India

Over the years, Indian cricket has witnessed so many bowlers rising to glory with consistently great performances. They have worked hard since the beginning of their career and bagged the spotlight for the country's victories. Be it any format of the game, they have always played an impeccable role in picking up wickets and giving the team a great pace. Their dominance in limited and unlimited formats is evident clearly. There are a few bowlers who are absolutely top-notch and phenomenal especially in test cricket. In this article, SportzPoint will look at the top 5 bowlers with the most test wickets for India.

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#5. Ishant Sharma | 311 Wickets

Current Indian pace battery Ishant Sharma comes at 5th position in this list of most test wickets for India. Ishant has been phenomenal throughout his 15 years long career. His away average is as good as his home's. His performance in England is the best among all the active pacers of India.

Meanwhile, Ishant is the 5th most wicket taker for India in test cricket. Ishant Sharma has took 311 wickets in 106 tests at an average of 32.41. Therefore he makes his place in the top 5 of the list of most wicket takers for India.

#4. Harbhajan Singh | 417 Wickets

Former Indian spinner, Harbhajan Singh is one of the best spinners India has ever produced. Popularly known as the Turbanator, Harbhajan Singh is fondly remembered for his sensational display of bowling in the historic 2001 Border-Gavaskar series against Australia. He picked a record of 32 wickets in 3 matches to revive his cricketing career. Harbhajan Singh never looked back from thereon.

In his illustrious international cricket career, Harbhajan Singh picked 417 wickets in 103 Tests. However, Ashwin overtook Harbhajan in terms of wickets against New Zealand, when he picks up his 418th scalp on day 5. The former Indian spinner hasn't yet officially announced his retirement from international cricket, however, his last international appearance came back in 2016 in a T20 international.

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#3. Ravichandran Ashwin | 419 Wickets

India's current spinning giant Ravichandran Ashwin overtook Harbhajan Singh in the ongoing test series against New Zealand. Ashwin scalps his 418th wicket in Test cricket. However, Ashwin is now the third bowler in this list with the most wickets in test cricket for India. Meanwhile, he can also surpass the legend Kapil Dev, who scalps 434 wickets in his test career.

Ashwin has a total of 630 scalps in international cricket for India, the fourth most after legend Kumble, Kapil Dev and Harbhajan. Meanwhile, Ravichandran Ashwin has took 419 wickets in 81 tests at an average of 24.49.

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#2. Kapil Dev | 434 Wickets

It's been close to 30 years since Kapil Dev's retirement and Indian Cricket is yet to produce another such all-rounder. The legendary Indian Cricketer is counted amongst the most successful captains India have ever produced. Kapil Dev was one of the biggest assets for the Indian Cricket Team during his era. He led India to win its first-ever World Cup title in 1983.

Kapil Dev was India's premier fast bowler during the late 90s. He held the record for the most number of wickets in Test Cricket upon his retirement in 1994. Courtney Walsh, though, broke his record six years later. For those of you who don't know, Kapil Dev is the first player to pick 200 wickets in ODI cricket.

Currently, he has the second-most number of wickets to his name by an Indian bowler in Test Cricket. The former Indian captain has 434 wickets in 131 Tests at an average of 29.65.

Also Read: Most test wickets in England by Indian bowlers

#1. Anil Kumble | 619 Wickets

India's legendary spinner, Anil Kumble tops the list with the most number of wickets by an Indian bowler in Test Cricket. One of the biggest match-winners for India, Anil Kumble served the Indian Cricket for 18 years as a player. He picked all ten wickets in a Test match innings in 1999 against Pakistan is one of the highlights of his career.

Anil Kumble wasn't the greatest turners of the cricket ball but his accuracy, pace, and bounce helped him pick a plethora of wickets in International cricket. In his illustrious cricketing career, Anil Kumble played 132 Tests and 271 ODIs. Kumble holds the record for the most test wickets by an Indian bowler. He has 619 wickets to his name in 132 Tests at an average of 29.65.

N.B: The stats are accurate as of 30/11/2021.