T20 World Cup: 3 Indian bowlers with most wickets in the tournament

The 2021 T20 World Cup is around the corner, with the seminal tournament set to begin on October 17 in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Oman. India will be one of the favorites going into the tournament, with a star-studded squad in terms of both batting and bowling.

In the bowling department, India have picked Jasprit Bumrah, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Mohammed Shami, Rahul Chahar, Varun Chakravarthy and Ravichandran Ashwin, along with all-rounders Ravindra Jadeja, Axar Patel and Hardik Pandya.

India also have Shardul Thakur and Deepak Chahar named as reserves. There is a notable omission in the form of Yuzvendra Chahal, India's leading wicket-taker in the shortest format. But they have enough firepower with a blend of experience and youth.

Ravichandran Ashwin's inclusion came as a bit of a surprise, with the veteran spinner not having played a T20 International (T20I) since 2017. However, the spinner is India's most successful bowler in the T20 World Cup, and captain Virat Kohli can call upon his experience on pitches that assist spin bowling.

India have seen some glorious bowling performances since the inaugural T20 World Cup in 2007, which the Men in Blue won under the captaincy of MS Dhoni. We look back upon some of the most prolific Indian bowlers in the history of the tournament.

Here are India's 3 leading wicket-takers in the T20 World Cup:

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#1 Ravichandran Ashwin

Ravichandran Ashwin took 3 wickets against South Africa in the 2014 T20 World Cup semi-final

The wily spinner played the previous three editions of the T20 World Cup and is India's most successful wicket-taker in the tournament with 20 scalps in 15 matches.

In 2012, Ashwin claimed five wickets in four matches. However, his performance drastically improved in the 2014 edition as he picked up 11 wickets in six matches.

The 2016 World Cup, however, was one to forget for Ashwin, as he could only take four wickets in five matches.

His best performance in the tournament came in 2014, when he returned figures of 4/11 against Australia in the group stages, as India bowled them out for 86 defending their total of 159.

He also picked 3/22 in the semi-final that year against South Africa, before Kohli saw the team through with his unbeaten 72 off 44 deliveries.

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#2 Irfan Pathan

Irfan Pathan was named player of the match in the 2007 T20 World Cup final

Left-arm seamer Irfan Pathan is India's second-most successful bowler in the tournament, with 16 wickets in 15 matches across four editions of the T20 World Cup.

In India's successful campaign in 2007, Irfan Pathan claimed 10 wickets in seven matches. Only RP Singh (12 wickets) had more scalps for the Men in Blue that year.

Irfan Pathan put in a player of the match performance in the final against Pakistan, as he took 3/16 to help India defend 157. India eventually won the match by five runs. Pathan's 3/16 remains his best performance in the T20 World Cup.

He was picked for the 2009 T20 World Cup, but failed to deliver, picking up just a single wicket in a defeat to West Indies. He was left out of the squad for the 2010 edition, but came back in the 2012 edition, where he picked up five wickets in as many matches.

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#3 Harbhajan Singh

Harbhajan Singh with the 2007 T20 World Cup trophy

One of India's all-time greatest spinners features next on this list. Harbhajan Singh also picked up 16 wickets, but took 19 matches to do so. In 2007, Harbhajan took seven wickets in as many matches to help India bring home the trophy.

In 2009, he picked up five wickets in as many matches, with a best performance of 3/30 against England in a group stage defeat to England. 2010 was a tournament to forget for Harbhajan as he finished wicketless.

In 2012, he played two matches and took four wickets - all of them coming against England in a group stage match.