Premier Australia fast bowler Mitchell Starc surpassed Sri Lanka legend Lasith Malinga to record the most wickets in World Cup history.
Starc achieved the feat in the T20 World Cup 2024 Super 8 Group 1 clash against Bangladesh when he dismissed Tanzid Hasan for a three-ball duck at the Sir Vivian Richards Stadium, North Sound, Antigua. The dismissal meant that Starc accumulated 95 wickets in World Cup history, surpassing Malinga’s previous record of 94.
The 2015 Cricket World Cup Player of the Tournament has scalped 65 wickets in the 50-over World Cup while he has picked up 30 in the T20 World Cup. He was the top wicket-taker in the 2015 and 2019 Cricket World Cups picking up 22 and 27 wickets respectively. In the 2023 World Cup, he scalped 16 wickets in 10 matches.
| MOST WICKETS WORLD CUPS | |||||
| Player | Matches | Wickets | Avg | T20/ODI | |
| 1 | Mitchell Starc (AUS) | 52 | 95 | 21.11 | 30/65 |
| 2 | Lasith Malinga (SL) | 60 | 94 | 21.74 | 38/56 |
| 3 | Shakib Al Hasan (BAN) | 77 | 92 | 26.96 | 49/43 |
| 4 | Trent Boult (NZ) | 47 | 87 | 20.44 | 34/53 |
| 5 | Muttiah Muralidharan (SL) | 49 | 79 | 19.54 | 11/68 |
The 34-year-old’s tally of 65 wickets in the 50-over World Cups is only behind Muttiah Muralidharan (68) and Glenn McGrath (71). In the T20 World Cups, the Australian is placed at the 16th spot in the most wicket takers list.
Starc, a part of the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) squad that won the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024, has scalped three wickets in four appearances of the T20 World Cup 2024. He recorded the highest auction fee at the lucrative tournament after earning a reputation as a match-winner and big-match player besides being a World Cup winner.
