Most wickets in Cricket World Cup 2023: List of top bowlers from ODI tournament
India's Mohammed Shami, with 24 scalps from seven matches, was the top wicket-taker in Cricket World Cup 2023. Know the highest wicket-takers.
Cricket
The top 10 cricketing nations in the world battled for top honours at the ICC Men’s ODI Cricket World Cup 2023. The Cricket World Cup 2023 began on October 5 and eventually saw Australia beat India in the final at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad on November 19.
Started in 1975, the 2023 ODI Cricket World Cup was the 13th edition.
ODI Cricket World Cups are held quadrennially and consequently, achievements in the tournament hold great significance. Besides winning the trophy, being among the top run scorers or wicket takers in any of the editions is often an once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for many players.
Consequently, there was considerable interest in which bowler picked up the most wickets in Cricket World Cup 2023.
India's right-arm fast bowler Mohammed Shami ended the ICC Cricket World Cup 2023 as the leading wicket-taker with 24 scalps in seven matches.
Shami did not play the first four matches for India but was included in the side after Hardik Pandya suffered an injury. Shami ended the tournament with three five-wicket hauls and a four-fer. His career-best of 7/57 against New Zealand in the semi-finals was also the best bowling figures of the tournament.
Spinner Adam Zampa was the leading wicket-taker for champions Australia with 23 from 11 matches. In all, five bowlers took 20 or more wickets in India.
In the 13 Cricket World Cup editions so far, 16 bowlers have had the honour of being the highest wicket-takers in the prestigious tournament. In three editions, the honour has been shared by multiple players.
New Zealand’s Geoff Allott and Australia's Shane Warne picked up 20 wickets each in 1999 while India’s Zaheer Khan and Pakistan’s Shahid Afridi shared the top spot with 21 scalps apiece in 2011. Australia’s Trent Boult and Australia’s Mitchell Starc picked up 22 wickets in the 2015 edition.
Australia’s Gary Gilmour was the highest wicket-taker in the inaugural Cricket World Cup in 1975.
Starc is the only bowler who has twice been the leading wicket-taker at Cricket World Cups. After sharing the pedestal with Trent Boult in 2015, Mitchell Starc emerged as the lone man on top in 2019 with 27 wickets from 10 matches.
Mitchell Starc’s 27 wickets in 2019 is the most number of wickets any bowler has taken in any single ODI World Cup edition.
Interestingly, in the 13 ODI Cricket World Cups so far, seven of the highest wicket-takers have come from the teams who eventually became champions - India’s Roger Binny in 1983, Australia’s Craig McDermott in 1987, Pakistan’s Wasim Akram in 1992, Shane Warne in 1999, Glenn McGrath in 2007, Zaheer Khan in 2011 and Starc in 2015.
In comparison, only twice has the leading run scorer in any World Cup edition been from the champion team. West Indies’ Gordon Greenidge in 1979 and Australia’s Matthew Hayden in 2007.
The stat perfectly fits the popular saying, ‘In cricket, batsmen win you games, bowlers win you tournaments’.