Ever since the inception of the tournament in the first half of 2008, the Indian Premier League (IPL) has come a very long way. From players to stadiums to kits and sponsorships, everything has kept getting better year on year. However, when it comes to players, there’s one thing that has become a worry and that’s the fact that the game has slowly evolved into being a batsman’s game!
We’re used to crash-boom-bang in IPL T20 cricket and most of the records to fall on a daily basis are all batting records. If you want to see the top run scorers in IPL history, see here. However, today we’re going to recognize the best of the bowlers in this prestigious tournament, those who have been consistent year after year in terms of wicket-taking in the IPL.
For many years, Sri Lanka’s Lasith Malinga topped the IPL wicket-takers list, having played between 2009-2019 for Mumbai Indians. He was overtaken only in IPL 2022 by Dwayne Bravo and then finally, it was an Indian bowler in Yuzvendra Chahal who crossed them all and currently leads the IPL most wickets list; we think he’s going to keep the top spot for at least a few seasons to come.
Malinga, Bravo, and Sunil Narine are three overseas players who are in the top 10 highest wicket-takers in IPL history, and it’s great to see that considering the Indian players have played the most number of games here. Check out our complete top 10 IPL wicket-takers list of all-time, updated as of 6th April 2025, during the starting days of the IPL 2025 season:
| Bowler | Wickets | Matches | Teams | Best spell |
| Yuzvendra Chahal 🇮🇳 | 206 | 163 | Mumbai Indians, Royal Challengers Bangalore, Rajasthan Royals, Punjab Kings | 5/40 |
| Piyush Chawla 🇮🇳 | 192 | 192 | Chennai Super Kings, Kings XI Punjab, Kolkata Knight Riders, Mumbai Indians | 4/17 |
Dwayne Bravo  |
183 | 161 | Chennai Super Kings, Gujarat Lions, Mumbai Indians | 4/22 |
| Bhuvneshwar Kumar 🇮🇳 | 183 | 178 | Pune Warriors, Sunrisers Hyderabad, Royal Challengers Bangalore | 5/19 |
| Ravichandran Ashwin 🇮🇳 | 183 | 216 | Chennai Super Kings, Delhi Capitals, Kings XI Punjab, Rajasthan Royals, Rising Pune Supergiants | 4/34 |
| Sunil Narine |
182 | 180 | Kolkata Knight Riders | 5/19 |
| Amit Mishra 🇮🇳 | 174 | 162 | Deccan Chargers, Delhi Capitals / Daredevils, Sunrisers Hyderabad, Lucknow Super Giants | 5/17 |
| Lasith Malinga 🇱🇰 | 170 | 122 | Mumbai Indians | 5/13 |
| Jasprit Bumrah 🇮🇳 | 165 | 133 | Mumbai Indians | 5/10 |
| Ravindra Jadeja 🇮🇳 | 162 | 244 | Chennai Super Kings, Gujarat Lions, Kochi Tuskers Kerala, Rajasthan Royals | 5/16 |
5) Ravichandran Ashwin
He’s played the second most number of matches from players on this IPL wicket-takers list. Ravichandran Ashwin has 183 wickets in 216 IPL matches, and he’s likely to go ahead and surpass a few more players as Piyush Chawla and Dwayne Bravo don’t play IPL anymore. Ashwin has played for as many as five IPL franchises and hasn’t got a 5-fer yet, and is also the only one on this list with only one 4-fer.
4) Bhuvneshwar Kumar
One of the most under-rated cricketers in the Indian Premier League, Bhuvneshwar Kumar has also been one of the most consistent players. He has 183 wickets in 178 games and is one of only 3 players in IPL history to have won the Purple Cap Award on two different occasions, along with Dwayne Bravo and Harshal Patel. Currently as of IPL 2025, he plays for Royal Challengers Bangalore.
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3) Dwayne Bravo
DJ Bravo started his IPL career with Mumbai Indians and then became famous as one of the most vital players for Chennai Super Kings, while also briefly representing Gujarat Lions for a couple of seasons when CSK was banned from the IPL. One of the most travelled and experienced T20 franchise players in the world, Bravo bagged 183 wickets in only 161 games, with best figures of 4/22 to his name.
2) Piyush Chawla
This leg-spinner went unsold in the IPL 2025 Auction, which means his IPL career is likely over now and it’s unfortunate that he won’t be able to reach the magical number of 200 IPL wickets. He has been a vital part of each of the four franchises he’s played for and ended his IPL career with 192 wickets from 192 games, with a career IPL economy rate of slightly below 8 runs per over.
1) Yuzvendra Chahal
A leading wicket-taker who rose to fame for the Royal Challengers Bangalore, Yuzvendra Chahal has been an attacking option for this captains in the Indian Premier League, where he’s picked 206 wickets in 163 games, last updated during IPL 2025. He and Jasprit Bumrah are the only two players on this list to have joined the competition as late as 2013, and they’ve still managed to feature on the IPL most wickets list.
Congrats @yuzi_chahal bro for becoming the Sultan of Wickets in IPL with 200 wickets! Keep spinning those magic balls and making us proud! 💪 #YuziChahal #IPLRecords pic.twitter.com/DFpbpF0J2D
— Shikhar Dhawan (@SDhawan25) April 22, 2024
FAQs on IPL top bowlers
Q. Who is the highest wicket taker in IPL history?
Ans. Indian leg-spinner Yuzvendra Chahal is the highest wicket-taker in IPL history, also becoming the first bowler in the competition to cross 200 career wickets. He’s played most of his career for RCB, but now represents Punjab Kings.
Q. Who is Purple Cap in IPL 2025?
Ans. The answer to this question will keep changing through the IPL 2025 season. As of 6th April 2025 after 18 matches, Afghanistan’s Noor Ahmad leads the Purple Cap list for IPL 2025.
Q. Who is the best bowler in IPL?
Ans. While this is debatable, Yuzvendra Chahal is the leading wicket-taker in the IPL but some of the names we can put up in the best IPL bowlers list could include Lasith Malinga, Dwayne Bravo, Jasprit Bumrah, and Bhuvneshwar Kumar.
Narrowly missing out on the top 10 IPL wicket-takers list were Rashid Khan, Harbhajan Singh, Umesh Yadav, Sandeep Sharma, and Harshal, but most of these have a few years left in their IPL careers and will likely feature in the top ten sometime soon. For more updates on the best bowlers in IPL 2025, stay tuned to ReadScoops.com…
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