In cricket, the captain plays a very important role in the success of every team. Not just captaincy, their individual performance also matters a lot. There have been many captains in IPL history who not only made an impact with their bowling performance but also won the trophy. So let’s know the top 5 highest wicket takeing captains in IPL history.
Top 10 Highest wicket taking captain in IPL
| Player | Wickets | Teams | Role |
|---|---|---|---|
| Shane Warne | 57 | Rajasthan Royals | Leg-spinner |
| Anil Kumble | 30 | Royal Challengers Bengaluru | Leg-spinner |
| Ravichandran Ashwin | 25 | Punjab Kings | Off-spinner |
| Hardik Pandya | 24* | Gujarat Titans, Mumbai Indians | All-rounder (Seam) |
| Zaheer Khan | 20 | Delhi Daredevils, Mumbai Indians | Fast bowler |
| Pat Cummins | 20* | Kolkata Knight Riders, Sunrisers Hyderabad | Fast bowler |
| Yuvraj Singh | 18 | Punjab Kings, Delhi Daredevils | All-rounder (Off-spin) |
| Daniel Vettori | 17 | Royal Challengers Bengaluru | Left-arm spinner |
| Shane Watson | 13 | Rajasthan Royals | All-rounder (Seam) |
| Sam Curran | 13 | Punjab Kings | All-rounder (Seam) |
| Harbhajan Singh | 11 | Mumbai Indians | Off-spinner |
1. Shane Warne
Late veteran leg spinner Shane Warne holds the record for most wickets as a captain in ipl history. He led Rajasthan Royals in four IPL seasons 2008 to 2011 taking 57 wickets. He also hold the record of taking most no. of wicket in a single season (19 wickets) in the 2008 edition, helping them to lift the inaugural season of IPL.
2. Anil Kumble
Former Indian spinner Anil Kumble is the second highest wicket taker in IPL as captain with 30 wickets. He led Royal Challengers Banglore in 2009- 2010. As a player, Kumble had a good run, ending the 2009 season as highest wicket taker for Rcb and overall second highest wicket taker with 21 wickets at an economy rate of 5.86 . He also took his team to the finals in 2009.
3. Ravichandran Ashwin
Ravichandran Ashwin led Kings XI Punjab in the Indian Premier League (IPL) for two seasons in 2018 and 2019. As a captain he has taken 25 wickets and grabs the third position in the list of highest wickets taken by a captain. In 2019 R Ashwin took 15 wickets for kings 11 punjab with an economy rate of 7.27.
4. Hardik Pandya
Hardik Pandya ranks fourth in the elite list of captains with the most wickets in IPL. Till now, as a captain Hardik has taken 24 wickets in IPL. Hardik Pandya has led Gujrat Titans in 2022- 2023 season and out of that in 2022, under Hardik’s captaincy, Gujarat won the trophy in its first season and was runner up in 2023. Since 2024 , Hardik has been captaining Mumbai Indians.
5. Pat Cummins
Australia’s captain and SRH skipper Cummins has taken 20 wickets as a captain in IPL. Pat Cummins comes at fifth position in this list. Pat Cummins is the second highest wicket-taker as a captain in a single season, taking 18 wickets, just behind Shane Warne, who took 19 wickets in the 2008 season. With the help of this brilliant performance by Pat Cummins, SRH also reached the 2024 IPL final.
6. Zaheer Khan
Indian pace legend Zaheer Khan has captained Delhi Daredevils (now Delhi Capitals) in 2016 and 2017. He is placed sixth in the list of highest wicket taking captains in ipl with 20 wickets. In 2017, Zaheer Khan was overall 10th or 9th Indian bowler to take 100 wickets in the IPL. After 2017, Zaheer Khan took retirement from all formats of cricket.
7. Yuvraj Singh
Yuvraj Singh has taken 18 wickets as a captain in IPL and placed at no. 7 in this list. He captained Kings 11 Punjab in the 2008-2009 season and Pune Warriors in 2011. He also has two hat-tricks to his name in IPL, which he took against RCB and Deccan Charges in the 2009 season. He is only the second bowler in IPL history to take multi hat-tricks in IPL, after Amit Mishra, who has taken 3 hat-tricks in IPL.
8. Daniel Vettori
Former New Zealand allrounder Daniel Vettori comes at 8th position in this list. He led Royal Challengers Banglore in 2011 and 2012 IPL. As a captain he has taken 17 wickets for RCB. Under his captaincy, Rcb also reached the final of 2011 IPL season but lost to csk.
9. Shane Watson
Shane Watson is placed at no. 9 with 13 wickets to his name. Watson led the Rajasthan Royals in the 2014 and 2015 ipl seasons. Under his captaincy in 2015 Rajasthan also qualifies for the playoffs. He also led Royal Challengers Bangalore in 2017 for some matches as interim captain.
10. Sam Curran
English all rounder Sam Curran comes in with 13 wickets. Sam Curran led Punjab Kings in 11 matches of the IPL 2024 as Shikhar Dhawan was injured. That year, Sam Curran showed his brilliant all round game by clinching 16 wickets and scoring 270 runs in 13 matches ,but punjab couldn’t do well finishing at 9th position just above Mumbai Indians.
