The Asia Cup has attracted much interest and excitement over the years. India was crowned champion of the first Asia Cup in Sharjah, Dubai 1984.
With six championships ever since India has had the most success. Let’s find out which players took the most wickets in the Asia Cup from 1988 to the present.
Most Wickets in Asia Cup History
| Span | Player | Mat | Wkts | Ave | Eco |
| 2004-2018 | Lasith Malinga | 15 | 33 | 18.84 | 4.7 |
| 1995-2010 | Muthiah Muralidaran | 24 | 30 | 28.83 | 3.75 |
| 2008-2014 | Ajantha Mendis | 8 | 26 | 10.42 | 3.98 |
| 2008-2014 | Saeed Ajmal | 12 | 25 | 19.4 | 4.21 |
| 2010-2018 | Shakib Al Hasan | 18 | 24 | 30.41 | 5.05 |
| 1995-2008 | Chaminda Vaas | 19 | 23 | 27.78 | 4.19 |
| 2008-2018 | Mashrafe Mortaza | 24 | 23 | 42.69 | 5.82 |
| 2010-2018 | Ravindra Jadeja | 18 | 22 | 26.59 | 4.56 |
| 2004-2012 | Irfan Pathan | 12 | 22 | 27.5 | 5.54 |
| 1990-2008 | Sanath Jayasuriya | 25 | 22 | 30.31 | 4.48 |
Lasith Malinga
The right-arm bowler, whose career lasted from 2004 to 2018, took 33 wickets at an average of 18.84 while playing for his team in 15 Asia Cup matches.
His 5/34 bowling average was among his finest. He helped Sri Lanka win the Asia Cup twice while maintaining a phenomenal economy of only 4.70 and picking up two 5-wicket and three 4-wicket hauls.
Muttiah Muralitharan
Muttiah Muralitharan, a spinner from Sri Lanka, is the next name on the list. The famous spinner, whose career peaked between 1995 and 2011, participated in 24 Asia Cup games. He recorded a total of 30 wickets throughout that time for his team.
The economy was only 3.75, and the bowling average was 28.83. In the Asia Cup matches he participated in for Sri Lanka, Murali had the best bowling statistics of 5/31. In addition, he earned 5- and 4-wicket hauls during his Asia Cup career.
Ajantha Mendis
Ajantha Mendis Mendis is the third player who takes the most wickets in Asia Cup history. He pulled up a remarkable 26 wickets in 8 games from 2008 to 2014. The economy was 3.98, and the average was slightly over 10.
Most Wicket Takers in Asia Cup 2023
Player | Mat | Wkts | Ave | Econ |
| 1 | 4 | 6.75 | 4.05 | |
| 1 | 2 | 8.00 | 3.20 | |
| 1 | 2 | 13.50 | 5.40 | |
Sompal Kami | 1 | 2 | 42.50 | 8.50 |
| 1 | 1 | 13.00 | 6.50 | |
| 1 | 1 | 17.00 | 3.40 | |
Karan KC | 1 | 1 | 54.00 | 6.00 |
S Lamichhane | 1 | 1 | 69.00 | 6.90 |
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Most Wickets in Asia Cup 2022
In Asia Cup 2022, Bhuvneshwar Kumar is the highest wicket-taker. He took 11 wickets in 5 matches with an average of 10.45, and the economy rate is 6.05.
| Player | Mat | Wkts | Avg | Eco |
Bhuvneshwar Kumar | 5 | 11 | 10.45 | 6.05 |
| Wanindu Hasaranga | 6 | 9 | 18.89 | 7.39 |
| Mohammad Nawaz | 6 | 8 | 13.75 | 5.89 |
| Shadab Khan | 5 | 8 | 14.13 | 6.05 |
| Haris Rauf | 6 | 8 | 19.13 | 7.65 |
| Mujeeb Ur Rahman | 5 | 7 | 15.86 | 5.55 |
| Naseem Shah | 5 | 7 | 19.71 | 7.67 |
| Chamika Karunaratne | 6 | 7 | 20.71 | 9.06 |
| Pramod Madushan | 2 | 6 | 9.17 | 8.92 |
| Rashid Khan | 5 | 6 | 10.7 | 6.55 |
Most Wickets in Asia Cup 2018
Rashid Khan was the player who took the highest wickets in the Asia Cup 2018. He took ten wickets in five matches with an average rate of 17.2.
| Player | Mat | Wkts | Ave |
| Rashid Khan | 5 | 10 | 17.2 |
| Mustafizur Rahman | 5 | 10 | 18.5 |
| Kuldeep Yadav | 6 | 10 | 23.7 |
| Jasprit Bumrah | 4 | 8 | 16 |
| Ravindra Jadeja | 4 | 7 | 22.28 |
| Mujeeb Ur Rahman | 5 | 7 | 23.57 |
| Shakib Al Hasan | 4 | 7 | 24.57 |
| Thisara Perera | 2 | 6 | 17.66 |
| Rubel Hossain | 5 | 6 | 22.5 |
| Kedar Jadhav | 6 | 6 | 23.16 |
2016 Highest Wickets in Asia Cup
| Player | Mat | Wkts | Ave |
| Amjad Javed | 7 | 12 | 14.08 |
| Al-Amin Hossain | 5 | 11 | 12.18 |
| Mohammad Naveed | 7 | 11 | 13.18 |
| Mohammad Amir | 4 | 7 | 11.57 |
| Nuwan Kulasekara | 4 | 7 | 13.57 |
| Hardik Pandya | 5 | 7 | 14.71 |
| Jasprit Bumrah | 5 | 6 | 15.66 |
| Ashish Nehra | 4 | 6 | 16.5 |
| Rohan Mustafa | 7 | 6 | 24.33 |
| Rashid Khan | 3 | 5 | 14.2 |
Highest Wickets in Asia Cup 2014
| Player | Mat | Wkts | Ave |
| Lasith Malinga | 4 | 11 | 17.2 |
| Saeed Ajmal | 5 | 11 | 18.5 |
| Ajantha Mendis | 3 | 9 | 23.7 |
Ravichandran Ashwin | 4 | 9 | 16 |
| Mohammad Shami | 4 | 9 | 22.28 |
| Ravindra Jadeja | 4 | 7 | 23.57 |
| Mirwais Ashraf | 4 | 6 | 24.57 |
| Suranga Lakmal | 4 | 6 | 17.66 |
| Chaturanga de Silva | 5 | 5 | 22.5 |
| Mohammad Hafeez | 5 | 5 | 23.16 |
Most Wicket Taker in Asia Cup 2012
| Player | Mat | Wkts | Ave |
| Umar Gul | 4 | 9 | 23.11 |
| Saeed Ajmal | 4 | 8 | 20.12 |
| Aizaz Cheema | 4 | 8 | 24.5 |
| Abdur Razzak | 4 | 6 | 25.66 |
| Mashrafe Mortaza | 4 | 6 | 29.5 |
| Shakib Al Hasan | 4 | 6 | 33.16 |
| Ravichandran Ashwin | 3 | 5 | 30.2 |
| Irfan Pathan | 3 | 5 | 32.4 |
| Praveen Kumar | 3 | 5 | 36 |
| Nazmul Hossain | 2 | 4 | 17 |
Most Wicket Takers in Asia Cup 2010
| Player | Mat | Wkts | Ave |
| Lasith Malinga | 5 | 9 | 14 |
| Ashish Nehra | 5 | 6 | 21 |
| Zaheer Khan | 5 | 6 | 24.66 |
| Praveen Kumar | 5 | 6 | 25 |
| Farveez Maharoof | 5 | 5 | 27.2 |
| Shakib Al Hasan | 5 | 5 | 34.2 |
| Shafiul Islam | 2 | 5 | 36 |
| Virender Sehwag | 3 | 4 | 6.25 |
| Shoaib Akhtar | 5 | 4 | 30 |
| Ravindra Jadeja | 5 | 4 | 32 |
Highest Wickets in Asia Cup 2008
| Player | Mat | Wkts | Ave |
| Ajantha Mendis | 5 | 17 | 8.52 |
Muttiah Muralitharan | 5 | 11 | 16.72 |
| Sohail Tanvir | 5 | 10 | 24.1 |
| Iftikhar Anjum | 5 | 9 | 23.33 |
| RP Singh | 5 | 7 | 34.14 |
| Abdur Razzak | 5 | 7 | 35.28 |
| Zahid Shah | 2 | 6 | 16.33 |
| Piyush Chawla | 3 | 6 | 21.33 |
| Shahadat Hossain | 5 | 6 | 38.66 |
| Ishant Sharma | 5 | 6 | 47.83 |
Most Wicket Takers in Asia Cup 2004
| Players | Mat | Wkts | Ave |
| Irfan Pathan | 6 | 14 | 16.28 |
| Sachin Tendulkar | 5 | 12 | 12.25 |
| Nuwan Zoysa | 5 | 10 | 15.6 |
| Shoaib Malik | 5 | 9 | 14.55 |
| Mohammad Sami | 5 | 8 | 21.87 |
| Upul Chandana | 6 | 7 | 29 |
| Chaminda Vaas | 4 | 6 | 19.83 |
| Shoaib Akhtar | 4 | 6 | 23.83 |
| Muttiah Muralitharan | 5 | 6 | 25.5 |
| Abdul Razzaq | 5 | 6 | 26.16 |
Most Wicket Takers in Asia Cup 2000
In the 2000 Asia Cup, Abdul Razzaq became the most wicket-taker, taking eight wickets in 3 matches. His bowling average was 9.25, and his strike rate was 14.5. The best performance of Razzaq is on 4/29.
| Players | Mat | Wkts | Ave |
| Abdul Razzaq | 3 | 8 | 9.25 |
| Azhar Mahmood | 4 | 5 | 21.2 |
| Arshad Khan | 4 | 5 | 28 |
| Wasim Akram | 3 | 4 | 20.25 |
| Mohammad Akram | 4 | 3 | 51 |
| Imran Nazir | 4 | 1 | 3 |
| Shabbir Ahmed | 1 | 1 | 40 |
| Shahid Afridi | 4 | 1 | 92 |
| Shoaib Malik | 1 | 0 |
Most Wickets in Asia Cup 1997
Bapu Krishnarao Venkatesh Prasad picked up seven wickets in four matches with an average of 17.
| Players | Mat | Wkts | Ave |
| Venkatesh Prasad | 4 | 7 | 17 |
| Saqlain Mushtaq | 3 | 6 | 12.66 |
| Sanath Jayasuriya | 4 | 6 | 24.5 |
| Robin Singh | 4 | 5 | 13.6 |
| Chaminda Vaas | 3 | 5 | 19.4 |
| Sajeewa de Silva | 4 | 5 | 23.4 |
| Kabir Khan | 3 | 4 | 18 |
| Kumar Dharmasena | 3 | 4 | 34.75 |
| Aaqib Javed | 3 | 3 | 18.33 |
| Minhajul Abedin | 3 | 3 | 35.66 |
Most Wickets in Asia Cup 1994/95
In the 1995 Asia Cup, Anil Kumble took seven wickets in 4 matches with an average of 19.85. His best performance came on April 5 against Bangladesh in the opening tournament game.
| Players | Mat | Wkts | Ave |
| Anil Kumble | 4 | 7 | 19.88 |
| Venkatesh Prasad | 3 | 6 | 18.66 |
| Aaqib Javed | 2 | 5 | 9.6 |
| Saiful Islam | 3 | 6 | 20 |
| Muttiah Muralitharan | 4 | 5 | 22.20 |
Aamer Sohail | 3 | 4 | 15 |
Wasim Akram | 3 | 4 | 21.25 |
Champaka Ramanayake | 3 | 4 | 28.75 |
Sanath Jayasuriya | 4 | 4 | 32.5 |
Javagal Srinath | 4 | 4 | 38.5 |
Most Wickets in Asia Cup 1990-91
In the 1991 Aisa Cup, Kapil Dev took nine wickets in the three games with an average of 10.66 and a strike rate of 17.5 per over. In the championship match v Sri Lanka, he had a best of 4/31. India won the game by seven wickets to win the Asia Cup for the third time.
| Players | Mat | Wkts | Ave |
| Kapil Dev | 3 | 9 | 26.2 |
| Atul Wassan | 3 | 5 | 27 |
| Rumesh Ratnayake | 2 | 4 | 14.5 |
| Sanath Jayasuriya | 3 | 3 | 20 |
| Arjuna Ranatunga | 3 | 2 | 12 |
| Don Anurasiri | 2 | 2 | 19 |
| Saradindu Mukherjee | 3 | 2 | 29 |
| Manoj Prabhakar | 3 | 2 | 29 |
Venkatapathy Raju | 3 | 2 | 28 |
| Pramodya Wickramasinghe | 1 | 1 | 23 |
Most Wickets in Asia Cup 1988/89
In the Asia Cup 1988, the Indian off-break bowler Arshad Ayub took the highest wickets. He took nine wickets with an average of 13.33. His finest performance was a 5/21 against Pakistan in a match in which India easily defeated their arch-rivals.
| Player | Mat | Wkts | Ave |
| Arshad Ayub | 7 | 9 | 13.33 |
| Kapila Wijegunawardene | 4 | 8 | 16.50 |
| Ravindran Ratnayake | 4 | 7 | 18.85 |
| Kapil Dev | 4 | 6 | 16.50 |
| Abdul Qadir | 3 | 6 | 17.0 |
| Krishnamachari Srikkanth | 4 | 4 | 11.75 |
| Wasim Akram | 3 | 4 | 18.25 |
| Maninder Singh | 4 | 4 | 23.75 |
| Iqbal Qasim | 1 | 3 | 4.33 |
| Graeme Labrooy | 2 | 3 | 22 |
Most Wickets in Asia Cup 1985/86
Player | Mat | Wkts | Ave |
Wasim Akram | 3 | 7 | 12.85 |
Abdul Qadir | 3 | 6 | 14 |
Chetan Sharma | 2 | 6 | 14.33 |
Maninder Singh | 3 | 5 | 15.6 |
Madan Lal | 3 | 4 | 26.25 |
Ewen Chatfield | 2 | 3 | 5.66 |
Don Anurasiri | 1 | 3 | 13.33 |
Ashantha de Mel | 1 | 3 | 13.33 |
Imran Khan | 2 | 3 | 17 |
Kirti Azad | 3 | 2 | 30 |
Most Wickets in Asia Cup 1983/84
Player | Mat | Wkts | Ave |
Ravi Shastri | 2 | 4 | 13.25 |
Madan Lal | 2 | 3 | 10.66 |
Arjuna Ranatunga | 2 | 3 | 12.66 |
Chetan Sharma | 2 | 3 | 13.33 |
Roger Binny | 2 | 3 | 19.32 |
Manoj Prabhakar | 2 | 2 | 16.5 |
Mudassar Nazar | 2 | 2 | 29.5 |
Somachandra de Silva | 2 | 2 | 35.5 |
Sarfraz Nawaz | 2 | 2 | 36.5 |
Abdul Qadir | 2 | 2 | 39 |
