Milestone within reach
Arshdeep Singh is one ball away from a piece of Indian cricket history. The left-arm quick enters the Asia Cup 2025 on 99 T20 International wickets from 63 matches, needing a single strike to become the first Indian bowler to touch the 100 mark in men’s T20Is. No one from India—spinner or pacer—has crossed it yet.
The numbers underline why he is there. He has a T20I bowling average of 18.30, an economy of 8.29, and a strike rate of 13.2. That is a rare blend for a bowler who operates in the hardest overs: new-ball swings in the powerplay and yorkers at the death. When India won the T20 World Cup in 2024, he led their wicket charts with 17 in eight games at 7.16 runs per over, finishing second overall at the tournament. That run didn’t just add wickets—it cemented his spot as India’s go-to option when games get tight.
For context at home, he already sits atop India’s T20I wicket list. Here’s how the top five stack up before the Asia Cup gets going:
- Arshdeep Singh – 99 wickets
- Yuzvendra Chahal – 96 wickets
- Hardik Pandya – 94 wickets
- Bhuvneshwar Kumar – 90 wickets
- Jasprit Bumrah – 89 wickets
That lead matters because it tells a story about role and availability. Chahal’s appearances dipped across cycles, Bhuvneshwar moved in and out of the XI, and Bumrah has been managed carefully between World Cups. Arshdeep, meanwhile, has become the constant—especially whenever India need a left-arm angle and a cool head in overs 16 to 20.
If he ticks off the 100th, he will also take a spot on a global list for speed to the milestone. Based on matches played, only three bowlers have reached 100 T20I wickets faster:
- Rashid Khan – 53 matches
- Sandeep Lamichhane – 54 matches
- Wanindu Hasaranga – 63 matches
Arshdeep’s next wicket would arrive in his 64th match, putting him fourth on that list and, by available records, the fastest pacer to the landmark. Remember, Rashid and Hasaranga are spinners; for fast bowlers, this pace of accumulation is rare.
The charm here isn’t just the number. It’s how he’s done it. He bowls like a metronome at the death, hitting the blockhole with repeatable mechanics. He skids the short ball into the ribs, then knocks back a length for the edge. The left-arm angle drags right-handers across the crease, and a late tail into the pads brings LBW into play. It’s not flashy. It’s efficient and, more often than not, ruthless under pressure.
Think back to December 2023 in Bengaluru, the fifth T20I vs Australia. India had nine runs to defend in the final over. He took the ball, forced Matthew Wade into a mistake, and closed it out to seal a 4-1 series win. That night suggested he could handle chaos. The World Cup run in 2024 proved it wasn’t a one-off.
What got him here and what comes next
His rise has been steady since his T20I debut in 2022. Early on, he found a niche in the powerplay, swinging it from over the wicket to left-handers and angling it into right-handers. The death overs came next. The yorker, once a tool, became a habit. He started cramming batters for room and pace while keeping the stumps in play. Once the economy dipped and the wickets climbed, selection gaps closed. Coaches trusted him to start and finish innings.
The T20 World Cup 2024 offered the clearest snapshot of his impact. His wickets weren’t padding from weaker teams; they came in crunch moments: a burst with the new ball, a blast at the end, or a split over when the chase tightened. The 4 for 9 in New York against USA turned a tricky night into a routine win. In the knockout rounds, he kept the lid on scoring while India rotated seamers around Jasprit Bumrah’s match-shaping spells.
Look beyond internationals and the trend holds. Across 173 T20 matches in his wider career, he has 228 wickets at an economy of 8.50. That consistency across leagues and conditions is what teams bank on when formats get chaotic. It’s also what lets him keep his role when squads reshuffle between World Cups and bilateral series.
So what does 100 mean in practice? It’s a badge, sure, but it’s also leverage for India’s attack at the Asia Cup. A left-arm seamer who can swing new and close old lets India mix and match their other quicks. With Hardik Pandya’s overs as support and Bumrah’s precision choking one end, Arshdeep can attack for wickets without bleeding runs. If conditions grip, the spinners can hold lines while he hunts edges.
The tournament itself is set to feature eight teams, a wider field than usual. That means more match-ups, more new batters to map, and more chances to land the milestone early. If India start fast in the group stage, he could get that 100th within his first spell. If it drags, that chase for one wicket becomes its own subplot—every ball tightened by the weight of a round number we all know is coming.
There’s also the layer of legacy. India’s T20I wickets chart is top-heavy with legends from other formats, but white-ball longevity is hard to maintain here. Rotations, injuries, and shifting priorities around ICC events mean bowlers rarely get to run long in T20Is. Crossing 100 suggests not just skill but availability, fitness, and trust. It says the team kept calling your number, and you kept answering.
What could trip him? The Asia Cup’s early games can be scrappy. Toss can dictate swing time. If surfaces are slow, powerplay wickets might be rare and death overs can be a slog of low risk, low reward. He may have to manufacture chances with cross-seam hits into the pitch or bait batters wider with the angle before spearing a yorker under the bat. He’s done that before; the trick is doing it when everyone expects a celebration ball.
For India’s broader campaign, hitting the landmark early would be tidy. It clears the talking point and lets them focus on rhythm: who bowls the sixth over, who owns the 17th, how they pair Bumrah and Arshdeep around spin, and how Hardik slots his two-over bursts. The bonus is psychological. Batters know they can’t just sit on him; he’s striking roughly once every two overs in T20Is. That shapes shot selection in the middle overs, even when he isn’t bowling.
There’s a human side to it, too. He’s 26, a window where fast bowlers often find their best balance of speed and control. He’s been through the IPL pressure cooker, defended thin totals, and worn the blame on days the yorker misses. The 100th wicket won’t change his routine, but it might change how opponents plan for him. Expect more paddles and laps to take away the yorker, and more advance down the track to disrupt his length. Expect him to counter with the surprise bouncer and the fuller, slower ball.
India’s dressing room has options no matter what. If the new ball swings, he can attack with a slip. If it doesn’t, he can hold back one powerplay over and keep three for the death. If batters line him up at the end, Bumrah can swap ends to flip match-ups. The point: the 100th wicket is a headline, but the deeper story is role clarity and a settled plan for overs 16 to 20.
As for the global picture, joining the 100-wicket club puts him alongside the format’s most reliable operators. The fastest there are dominated by spinners, who get more straight-line match-ups at the end and often bowl to fields set for mishits. A pacer breaking in on pace with them is rare, and it tells you how often he’s been on the ball when it matters. If he reaches it at the Asia Cup, it will land not as a surprise, but as the natural next step of a career that has stacked evidence for three straight seasons.
And the very next ball after the 100th? That might be the most interesting one he bowls all tournament. Milestones can loosen shoulders—or make a bowler chase magic. If he does what he’s done since 2022—hit the top of off, squeeze at the death, and take the emotion out of the equation—India won’t just have a record to celebrate. They’ll have the same reliable weapon that got them there.