ICC Champions Trophy: Top 5 wicket-takers in the history of the competition

#2 Muttiah Muralitharan

Muralitharan seen in an all-star game

Muttiah Muralitharan is regarded as one of the legends in the history of the modern era. The champion bowler bamboozled the opposition batting unit with his uncanny action and variations.

Muralitharan destroyed the batting line up of the opponents with crucial breakthroughs in the middle overs to dent their scoring rate. He bowled at his best in the Champions Trophy as he is placed in the second position for the all-time leading wicket-takers of the tournament.

In the 17 matches, he has picked up 24 wickets with an economy rate of just 3.6 runs per over. The off-spinner recorded his best ever figures of four wickets for 15 runs against Netherlands in the 2002 edition of the tournament.

His performance with the ball throughout the tournament resulted in the Sri Lankan team reaching the finals of the tournament. Unfortunately, a relentless downpour in Colombo meant the match had to be abandoned. India and Sri Lanka were declared as joint winners of the 2002 edition.

Muralitharan was at his very best in the 2002 season as he picked up 10 wickets in five matches and followed it up with nine wickets in the 2006 edition. He last appeared in the 2009 season of the competition and picked up one wicket in the two league matches.