Deepti Sharma Joins Jhulan Goswami At The Top: Most Wickets In Women's Cricket

Deepti Sharma [Source: AFP]

The race to become the highest wicket-taker in women’s international cricket has a new joint leader. 

India’s Deepti Sharma reached 355 wickets during the 2026 T20 World Cup, pulling level with legendary Indian fast bowler Jhulan Goswami. 

They sit at the summit of an elite list that includes some of the finest bowlers the game has seen. 

England, Australia and South Africa stars complete the top five. As the star-studded list has been hailed by Deepti Sharma, here’s the list of the five highest wicket-takers in women’s international cricket.

Bowlers with most wickets in women's international cricket

5. Shabnim Ismail (South Africa) – 318 wickets

Shabnim Ismail is the fastest bowler in the history of women’s cricket. Known as the “Demon Bowler,” she regularly pushed speeds beyond 125 km/h and shattered the speed record with a delivery clocked at 132.1 km/h. Her raw pace and aggressive short-pitched bowling made her a nightmare for batters across all formats. 

Ismail retired from international cricket in 2023 as South Africa’s all-time leading wicket-taker in both ODIs and T20Is. She collected 191 ODI wickets and 125 T20I scalps, leaving a legacy as her country’s greatest fast bowler. 

Her stingy economy rate of just 3.71 in ODIs over a long career highlights her control despite bowling with extreme pace. Ismail was a constant presence in T20 World Cups, making the joint-most appearances in tournament history and repeatedly bowling South Africa into knockout stages. 

4. Sophie Ecclestone (England) – 327 wickets

Sophie Ecclestone is a tall left-arm spinner who has made the ball do things most bowlers only dream of. Standing six feet tall, she uses a massive trajectory and also became the fastest bowler ever to reach 100 ODI wickets, achieving the milestone in just 63 innings. 

During the 2022 ODI World Cup, she finished as the tournament’s leading wicket-taker with 21 scalps. 

In the 2023 Ashes Test, she produced a memorable 10-wicket match haul with figures of 5 for 129 and 5 for 63 against Australia. Ecclestone spent multiple years as the world number one bowler in short formats, and her wicket-taking rate is extraordinary. 

She debuted at 17 and has already crossed 300 international wickets well before turning 26. 

3. Ellyse Perry (Australia) – 332 wickets

Ellyse Perry is one of the greatest all-round cricketers of any era. She began her international career as a genuine fast bowler, using power and bounce to destroy top orders. 

Her finest bowling moment came in 2019 when she recorded 7 for 22 against England, the best ODI figures by any Australian woman. 

Perry also became the first Australian, male or female, to take 100 T20I wickets and produced a Test best of 6 for 32. 

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Perry has won six T20 World Cups and two ODI World Cups with Australia, a level of dominance unmatched in the sport. The ICC named her Female Cricketer of the Decade for 2011–2020. 

Even as her batting took centre stage in recent years, she continued to contribute vital spells for the most successful team in history. Her longevity and all-round brilliance place her among the true legends of the game.

2. Katherine Sciver-Brunt (England) – 335 wickets

Katherine Sciver-Brunt was the fierce heart of England’s bowling attack for nearly two decades. Her aggressive seam bowling, sharp bouncers and relentless intensity made her a leader of the golden generation of English cricket. 

She played a central role in three World Cup triumphs, winning the ODI World Cup in 2009 and 2017, and the T20 World Cup in 2009. In the 2009 T20 World Cup final, she produced a legendary spell of 3 for 6 against New Zealand to win the Player of the Match award. 

Sciver-Brunt retired in 2023 as England’s all-time leading wicket-taker in both ODI and T20I cricket. She was honoured with an OBE for her services to the game and won the England Women’s Cricketer of the Year award four times. 

1. Jhulan Goswami and Deepti Sharma (India) – 355 wickets

Jhulan Goswami

Jhulan Goswami, the “Chakda Express,” set the standard for fast bowling in women’s cricket for over 20 years. 

Her height, high arm action and ability to extract bounce made her a pioneer. She retired in 2022 as the highest wicket-taker in Women’s ODIs with 255 scalps, a record that remains untouched. 

Goswami also holds the record for the most wickets in Women’s Cricket World Cup history with 43. In 2007, she became the first Indian woman to win the ICC Women’s Player of the Year award. 

The Indian government recognised her contributions with the Arjuna Award in 2010 and the Padma Shri in 2012. 

Goswami’s 355 international wickets across formats placed her at the pinnacle of the sport. Her legacy as one of the greatest fast bowlers the women’s game has ever seen is secure.

Deepti Sharma

Matching Jhulan now, Deepti Sharma is the premier spin-bowling all-rounder in the modern game. She possesses remarkable accuracy and a calm tactical brain, allowing her to bowl in the powerplay and at the death with equal success. Deepti is the all-time leading wicket-taker in Women’s T20 Internationals with 167 wickets. 

She became the first spin bowler in history to cross the 350-wicket mark in international cricket. Her 5 for 10 against Pakistan in a T20 World Cup match remains the best bowling figures by an Indian woman in the tournament’s history. 

Deepti was also the first Indian cricketer, across genders, to achieve the double of 1,000 runs and 150 wickets in T20Is. She reached 355 international wickets during the 2026 T20 World Cup in the match against the Netherlands, joining Jhulan Goswami at the very top of the all-time list.

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