Afghanistan's ace spinner and one of the greatest T20I bowlers in the world, Rashid Khan, has reached yet another milestone as he became the leading wicket-taker in the history of T20I cricket.
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Rashid breached the milestone in Afghanistan's tri-series game against the UAE on Monday, where he clinched 3 wickets and led his side to a comfortable victory.
In this article, The Sporting News takes a look at the leading wicket-takers in the history of T20I cricket.
Rashid becomes the highest wicket-taker in T20I cricket
The Afghan great surpassed the New Zealand fast bowler Tim Southee to become the highest wicket taker in the history of T20I cricket with a total of 165 wickets to his name.
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Rashid's dominance in the shortest format is not a surprise to anyone. He has been one of the most consistent and successful shorter-format bowlers over the years and across leagues and places.
Last month, he also became the first bowler in the history of the game to cross 650 T20 wickets, a feat that he achieved during the Men's Hundred competition.
The spinner has played a key role in Afghanistan's growth as a T20I team. For the first time in their cricketing history, the Asian side qualified for the semi-finals of the T20 World Cup in 2024.
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Top 5 leading wicket-takers in T20I cricket
| Bowler | Matches | Innings | Balls | Wickets | Average | Economy | SR | BBI | 4-haul | 5-haul |
| Rashid Khan (Afg) | 98 | 98 | 2240 | 165 | 13.75 | 6.07 | 13.57 | 5/3 | 8 | 2 |
| Tim Southee (NZ) | 126 | 123 | 2753 | 164 | 22.38 | 8.00 | 16.78 | 5/18 | 2 | 2 |
| Ish Sodhi (NZ) | 126 | 121 | 2549 | 150 | 22.52 | 7.95 | 16.99 | 4/12 | 4 | - |
| Shakib Al Hasan (Ban) | 129 | 126 | 2745 | 149 | 20.91 | 6.81 | 18.42 | 5/20 | 6 | 2 |
| Mustafizur Rahman (Ban) | 113 | 112 | 2430 | 142 | 20.84 | 7.30 | 17.11 | 6/10 | 3 | 2 |
Rashid Khan has breached the milestone in less than 100 T20Is and with a staggering bowling average of just 13, which is a testimony to his greatness in this format. An economy of just around 6 over nearly a hundred games is another indication of how difficult it is to play a world-class bowler.