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Anrich Nortje (L) and Rashid Khan (R) (Source: AFP)
It has been a challenge for the bowlers to make themselves highlighted in the T20 World Cup history amidst the batters’ dominance on most occasions. However, one can not deny the fact that bowling becomes quintessential for the teams if they are defending a low or moderate total in a must-win World Cup game.
Meanwhile, there have been the bowlers who left an impressive mark on a couple of occasions. They have won a couple of matches for their teams courtesy of their ability to restrict the runs or take the wickets to break the opponent’s momentum.
Therefore, here’s a look at the five bowlers with the most four-wicket hauls in the T20 World Cup history.
5 Bowlers with most 4-wicket hauls in T20 World Cup history
Anrich Nortje (South Africa) - 3
The star South African speedster, Anrich Nortje, made his T20 World Cup debut in the 2021 edition and has played 19 games since then. In these appearances, Nortje has claimed 35 wickets in 19 innings, with an impressive economy rate of just 5.55 and a bowling strike rate of 12.31.
Besides that, Nortje has claimed three-wicket hauls in these 19 innings he has bowled. He is placed at the top of the list of the bowlers with the most four-wicket hauls in the tournament’s history.
Rashid Khan (Afghanistan) - 3
The Afghanistan skipper and star spinner, Rashid Khan, has emerged as one of the most successful bowlers in the entire history of the tournament. He is one of the top five leading wicket-takers in the T20 World Cup history.
Notably, Rashid has claimed 37 wickets in 23 innings, with an economy rate of 6.30 and a bowling strike rate of 14.16. It also includes his best bowling figures of ‘four wickets for just nine runs in a match’.
The 27-year-old has also bagged three four-wicket hauls in his World T20 career, which makes him the second bowler with the most three-wicket hauls, following Anrich Nortje, due to the strike-rate difference.
Saeed Ajmal (Pakistan) - 3
Pakistan’s former World T20 champion spinner, Saeed Ajmal, had a brilliant journey in the T20 World Cup in his four-edition career over five years from 2009 to 2014. Ajmal played 23 World T20 games for Pakistan and picked 36 wickets in 23 innings, with an economy rate of 6.79 and a strike rate of 14.88.
Ajmal registered his World T20 career’s best bowling figures in a game against Ireland in the 2009 edition. He claimed four wickets for just 19 runs in his four overs to help Pakistan win the game by 39 runs. Apart from that, he has three four-wicket hauls to his name, being third in this list.
Shakib Al Hasan (Bangladesh) - 3
The veteran Bangladesh all-rounder Shakib Al Hasan is the most successful bowler in the T20 World Cup since the tournament's inaugural edition in 2007. He picked up 50 wickets in 41 innings across 43 games he played till the World T20 2024, with an economy rate of 6.86 and a bowling strike rate of 17.58.
Shakib registered his best bowling performance against Papua New Guinea in the 2021 edition, picking four wickets for just nine runs, helping his side win the game by a huge margin of 84 runs. He has also bagged three four-wicket hauls in his World T20 career.
Alzarri Joseph (West Indies) - 2
The West Indies pacer Alzarri Joseph played only in two World T20 editions for his side in 2022 and 2024. Still, he became one of the 'top performers with the ball' for the West Indies in the T20 World Cup. Joseph played 10 matches for his side across two editions.
In these appearances, he took 19 wickets in 10 innings, with an economy rate of 7.12 and a brilliant bowling strike rate of 11.52. The Antigua-born pacer also snared two four-wicket hauls, being fifth in the list of bowlers with the most four-wicket hauls in the tournament’s history.
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