Top 10 Players With Most Wickets in ODI

One Day International (ODI) is a series of cricket matches where each team gets 50 overs to bat. The first ODI was played in January 1971 between Australia and England in Melbourne. Since then ODI cricket has expanded to become one of the most popular formats of the game.

While batsmen are an important part of every cricket match, bowlers are known to turn matches upside down. If the bowlers bowl well, the game can go in their favour. Over the decades, plenty of bowlers have demonstrated their ability to take hundreds of wickets in this format, with accuracy and being consistent. 

These bowlers are from various countries and carry different bowling styles, whether it be fast or spin, but all of them have one thing in common that they are able to take wickets regularly.

Becoming a top wicket-taker in ODIs requires playing a long career, staying fit, and performing in big matches. Only a few players in cricket history have been able to do this at such a high level that their names now sit at the very top of the all-time list.

Top 10 Players With Most Wickets in ODI Cricket (All-Time List)

1. Muttiah Muralitharan (Sri Lanka) 

Muttiah Muralitharan is the highest wicket-taker in ODI cricket history with 534 wickets in 350 matches. He was an off-spinner from Sri Lanka known for his unique bowling action and the ability to turn the ball sharply. He troubled batsmen on all kinds of pitches and played a key role in Sri Lanka's bowling attack for over a decade.

Only two bowlers in history have crossed the 500-wicket mark in ODI cricket. Muralitharan is the first of them. 

2. Wasim Akram (Pakistan)

Wasim Akram played 356 ODIs for Pakistan and took 502 wickets across 351 innings. He was a left-arm fast bowler who could swing the ball both ways. He took 17 four-wicket hauls in his career.

He helped Pakistan win their first World Cup in 1992, where he was the highest wicket-taker for his team. 

3. Waqar Younis 

Waqar Younis was a fast bowler famous for his yorkers and pace. His ability to generate reverse swing at high speed made him one of the most feared bowlers in ODI cricket. He took 416 wickets in only 262 matches.

In 262 matches, Waqar grabbed 416 wickets. He averaged 23.94 with the ball and crossed the five-wicket mark 13 times. 

4. Chaminda Vaas 

The former Sri Lankan pacer Chaminda Vaas served for 14 years from 1994 to 2008. He bowled in 320 innings of the 322 ODIs he played and took 400 wickets. 

Vaas holds the record for the best bowling figures in ODI history, having taken 8 wickets for just 19 runs against Zimbabwe in 2001.

5. Shahid Afridi 

Shahid Afridi is the highest wicket-taking spinner from Pakistan with 395 wickets in ODI cricket. He was primarily a leg-spinner but also bowled off-breaks and medium pace at times. Afridi has nine five-wicket hauls in ODIs. 

His best bowling figures are 7/12 against West Indies in 2013, which is the second-best bowling figures in all of ODI cricket history. 

The list of top 10 ODI wicket-takers in cricket history shows how bowlers have shaped the game over the years. These players came from different backgrounds, used different styles, and played in different eras. But they all showed one thing clearly which is that taking wickets consistently at the international level over a long career is one of the hardest things to do in cricket.