Having world-class bowlers in the lineup is a boost for any team in a game dominated by batters. Over the years, batters have become beasts, but some bowlers have dealt significant damage to the best of the best batting lineups.
Year after year, such bowlers have picked up many wickets, ending up as the highest wicket-taker in a specific calendar year. So, in this article, we will look at the top 10 instances of bowlers with the most wickets in a calendar year in all formats.
Most Wickets in a Calendar Year in All Formats
| Player | Innings | Wickets | Year |
|---|---|---|---|
| Muthiah Muralidaran (SL) | 56 | 136 | 2001 |
| Muthiah Muralidaran (SL) | 49 | 128 | 2006 |
| Shane Warne (AUS) | 48 | 120 | 1994 |
| Glenn McGrath (AUS) | 54 | 119 | 1999 |
| Mitchell Johnson (AUS) | 57 | 113 | 2009 |
| Graeme Swann (ENG) | 49 | 111 | 2010 |
| Saeed Ajmal (PAK) | 56 | 111 | 2013 |
| Muthiah Muralidaran (SL) | 38 | 109 | 2000 |
| Allan Donald (SA) | 39 | 107 | 1998 |
| Dennis Lillee (AUS) | 40 | 105 | 1981 |
Key Insights
136: Muthiah Muralidaran holds the record for picking up the most wickets in a calendar year in all formats. The Sri Lankan legendary off spinner grabbed a whopping 136 wickets in 2001, going past Shane Warne’s tally of 120 scalps in 1994.
4: You get an idea of Muralidaran’s sheer bowling excellence when you look at his yearly stats. He is the only bowler who has scalped 100 or more wickets in 4 calendar years. Apart from the 3 instances listed above, Muralidaran took 100 wickets in 1998.
