Highest Wicket Taker in Test Cricket: Know the players with the most number of wickets in test cricket as of 2023
The test cricket is considered the purest form of cricket. It is often said that the true calibre and temperament of a player is judged only in Test cricket. You can not win a test match without taking 20 wickets of the opponent team. That’s why bowlers are an indispensable part of any good test match cricket team. Over the decades we have seen some great bowlers who have recorded their names in the game’s history. In today’s post, we are discussing the highest wicket-takers in Test cricket. We will let you know about the top bowlers in test cricket who dominated the game in this format.
Top 30 Highest Wicket Takers in Test Cricket
Let’s go through the list of top 30 bowlers with the most number of wickets in Test Cricket.
| Name | Matches | Innings | Wickets | Average | Best Bowling Figures |
| M Muralitharan – Sri Lanka | 133 | 230 | 800 | 22.72 | 9/51 |
| Shane Warne – Australia | 145 | 273 | 708 | 25.42 | 8/71 |
| James Anderson – England | 177 | 329 | 675 | 26.13 | 7/42 |
| Anil Kumble – India | 132 | 236 | 619 | 29.65 | 10/74 |
| Stuart Broad – England | 159 | 293 | 566 | 27.77 | 8/15 |
| Glenn McGrath – Australia | 124 | 243 | 563 | 21.64 | 8/24 |
| Courtney Walsh – West Indies | 132 | 242 | 519 | 24.44 | 7/37 |
| Nathan Lyon – Australia | 112 | 211 | 450 | 31.78 | 8/50 |
| Ravichandran Ashwin – India | 88 | 162 | 449 | 24.13 | 7/59 |
| Dale Steyn – South Africa | 93 | 171 | 439 | 22.95 | 7/51 |
| Kapil Dev – India | 131 | 227 | 434 | 29.64 | 9/83 |
| HMRKB Herath – Sri Lanka | 93 | 170 | 433 | 28.07 | 9/127 |
| Sir Richard Hadlee – New Zealand | 86 | 150 | 431 | 22.29 | 9/52 |
| Shaun Pollock – South Africa | 108 | 202 | 421 | 23.11 | 7/87 |
| Harbhajan Singh – India | 103 | 190 | 417 | 32.46 | 8/84 |
| Wasim Akram – Pakistan | 104 | 181 | 414 | 23.62 | 7/119 |
| C Ambrose – West Indies | 98 | 179 | 405 | 20.99 | 8/45 |
| Makhaya Ntini – South Africa | 101 | 190 | 390 | 28.82 | 7/37 |
| Ian Botham – England | 102 | 168 | 383 | 28.40 | 8/34 |
| Malcom Marshall – West Indies | 81 | 151 | 376 | 20.94 | 7/22 |
| Waqar Younis – Pakistan | 87 | 154 | 373 | 23.56 | 7/76 |
| Imran Khan – Pakistan | 88 | 142 | 362 | 22.81 | 8/58 |
| Daniel Vettori – New Zealand | 113 | 187 | 362 | 34.36 | 7/87 |
| Dennis Lillee – Australia | 70 | 132 | 355 | 23.92 | 7/83 |
| Chaminda Vaas – Sri Lanka | 111 | 194 | 355 | 29.58 | 7/71 |
| Tim Southee – New Zealand | 88 | 166 | 347 | 28.99 | 7/64 |
| Alan Donald – South Africa | 72 | 129 | 330 | 22.25 | 8/71 |
| RGD Willis – England | 90 | 165 | 325 | 25.20 | 8/43 |
| Trent Boult – New Zealand | 78 | 149 | 317 | 27.49 | 6/30 |
| Mitchell Johnson – Australia | 73 | 140 | 313 | 28.40 | 8/61 |
| Zahir Khan – India | 92 | 165 | 311 | 32.94 | 7/87 |
Check: Cricket GK Quiz
Details of Top 5 Cricketer with Most Wickets in Test Cricket
- Muttiah Muralitharan – Muttiah Muralitharan made his international debut against Australia in the year 1992. He is the only bowler in the world with 800 test wickets. He played his last match against India at Galle and took 8 wickets in his farewell match. The most amazing fact about Murli is that he has taken fifers (five wickets in an Inning) 67 times.
- Shane Warne – Shane Warne was the best leg spinner ever to play the game of Cricket. At times, we have seen him turn the ball by nearly 90 degrees. You will be surprised to know that he was unable to take a single wicket in his debut match. At that time, no one knew that this bowler from Australia will end up taking more than 700 test wickets.
- James Anderson – James Anderson is the 3rd highest wicket-taker in the history of test cricket. As per many experts, it is nearly impossible to bat against James Anderson in English conditions. He is currently 38 years old and still playing for his team as a regular member.
- Anil Kumble – Anil Kumble is the highest wicket-taker for India in Test Cricket. He made his test debut against England in 1990. He has a record of taking 10 wickets in an innings. Only 3 bowlers in the world have achieved this.
- Glenn McGrath – Glenn McGrath proved to the world that you don’t need to have the express pace to be a successful Fast bowler. He is known for his accurate line, length, and swing. In his career, he took 563 wickets while crossing five wickets in an innings 29 times.
Top 10 Highest Wicket Takers in Test Cricket for India
Let’s take a look at the highest wicket takers for India in Test Cricket as of 2023.
- Anil Kumble – 619 Wickets
- Ravichandran Ashwin – 449 Wickets
- Kapil Dev – 434 Wickets
- Harbhajan Singh – 417 Wickets
- Ishant Sharma – 311 Wickets
- Zaheer Khan – 311 Wickets
- Bishan Singh Bedi – 266 Wickets
- Ravindra Jadeja – 242 Wickets
- BS Chandrasekhar – 242 Wickets
- Javagal Srinath – 236 Wickets
Frequently Asked Questions
Question – 1: Who is the highest wicket taker in test cricket?
Answer: Muttiah Muralitharan is the highest wicket taker in test cricket.
Question – 2: Who is the highest wicket taker for India in test cricket?
Answer: Anil Kumble has taken the most number of wickets in test cricket for India.
Question – 3: Who is the fastest to take 600 wickets in test cricket?
Answer: Muttiah Muralitharan took the fastest 600 test wickets in just 101 matches.
Question – 4: How many Indians are there in the top 10 highest wicket-takers in test cricket?
Answer: There are 2 Indians in the top 10 highest wicket takers in Test cricket – Anil Kumble, and R. Ashwin.
