Varun Chakaravarthy, a premier Indian spinner, has already picked up 10 wickets in three matches he played against England in a five-match T20I series currently ongoing. The 33-year-old spinner from Tamil Nadu has great credit for dismissing three batters for 23 runs in 4 overs during the series opener played in Kolkata Jan 22, and also had two wickets for 38 runs in the second match, played at his home ground, the MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai. In the third T20I against England on Tuesday (Jan. 28), Chakaravarthy finished with figures of 5 for 24 in four overs but had to see it go to waste as India lost the game by26 runs.
Chakaravarthy, with 10 wickets to his name, is the leading wicket-taker of the series. Given the fact that the star spinner made life difficult for English batters in the previous three matches, it would not surprise many if he were to take three or more wickets in the fourth T20I on Friday at the Maharashtra Cricket Association (MCA) Stadium in Pune since he’s preparing to break his own record of taking the most wickets in a bilateral T20I series for India.
Read Also:- Where to Watch India vs England T20I 2025
During the four-match India-South Africa T20I series held during November 2024, Chakaravarthy took the wickets of 12 batters. He will further have a chance to walk past this number he made with an attempt at the all-time record for the most wickets in a bilateral T20I series.
Most wickets in a bilateral T20I series for India
Varun Chakravarthy: 12 vs South Africa ,2024
Varun Chakravarthy: 10* Vs England ,2025
R Ashwin: 9 vs Sri Lanka,2016
Ravi Bishnoi : 9 vs Australia 2023
Deepak Chahar :8 vs Bangladesh 2019
The leading West Indies all-rounder, Jason Holder, is known for dismissing the highest number of batters in a bilateral T20I series. In the West Indies’ home series against England in January 2022, Holder sent 15 English batters back to the hut in five matches.
Most wickets in a bilateral T20I series
Jason Holder (West Indies): 15 vs England (2022)
Sami Sohail (Malawi): 14 vs Mozambique (2019)
Ish Sodhi (New Zealand): 13 vs Australia (2021)
Charles Hinze (Japan): 13 vs Mongolia (2024)
Varun Chakaravarthy (India): 12 vs South Africa (2024)
Pratik Singh Bais (Mexico): 12 vs Costa Rica (2024)
Sandeep Lamichhane (Nepal): 12 vs Kenya (2022)
Hayden Walsh (West Indies): 12 vs Australia (2021)
The record for the most wickets taken in a T20I series for India (inclusive of multinational events) is attributed to left-arm fast bowler Arshdeep Singh. India’s 25-year-old most successful bowler in the shortest format of the game got 17 batters out of action in eight matches of the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2024.
Most wickets in a T20I series for India
Arshdeep Singh – 17 (T20 World Cup 2024)
Jasprit Bumrah – 15 (T20 World Cup 2024)
Varun Chakaravarthy – 12 (India vs South Africa T20I series, 2024)
RP Singh – 12 (T20 World Cup 2007)
Bhuvneshwar Kumar – 11 (Asia Cup 2022)
Ravichandran Ashwin – 11 (T20 World Cup 2014)
Hardik Pandya – 11 (T20 World Cup 2024)
