Arshdeep Singh needs just two more scalps to pass Josh Little. He sits on 38 T20I wickets this year, one behind the Irishman’s 39, a tally that no other bowler from an ICC full member has matched in a single calendar year. India’s left-armer has already taken the national mark, and three matches in New Zealand remain to finish the job. Two wickets from three innings looks realistic, though nothing about it is certain, and the schedule leaves no room for a slow start.
Christchurch Night That Reset the Mark
India’s national mark fell at Hagley Oval on 24 October 2026. Facing New Zealand in the second T20I, Arshdeep removed Tim Seifert and Glenn Phillips while conceding 33, which took him to 38 wickets for the year from 26 innings. The visitors then reached a target of 181 with one delivery remaining and now lead the five-game series 2-0. No Indian bowler had ever reached that number in a calendar year, which made the night historic.
Earlier this year he claimed a maiden T20I five-for, 5/51 against the same opponents on 31 January, the priciest such return the format has seen. He also collected nine wickets at 28.22 during the World Cup staged in India.
Arshdeep Singh T20I wickets record 2026
Bhuvneshwar Kumar’s 37 in 2022 needed about 31 innings and came at 19.56 each. Arshdeep overtook it in only 26 innings, albeit at the pricier average of 24.78. Two more of the best Indian calendar-year totals are also his own: 33 in 2022 and 36 in 2024, so this surge is not a one-year spike.
Further down the Indian list sit Axar Patel, who has reached 32 this year, and Varun Chakravarthy, with 36 in 2025. Set against Little’s 39, those figures show why 40 is the number that matters. The table below lays out the leading totals side by side.
Bowler | Team | Year | Wickets |
|---|---|---|---|
Josh Little | Ireland | 2022 | 39 |
Arshdeep Singh | India | 2026 | 38 |
Bhuvneshwar Kumar | India | 2022 | 37 |
Arshdeep Singh | India | 2024 | 36 |
Varun Chakravarthy | India | 2025 | 36 |
Arshdeep Singh | India | 2022 | 33 |
Axar Patel | India | 2026 | 32 |
Season Numbers That Stand Out
Across 26 innings, he has averaged 1.46 wickets per outing, conceding 9.25 an over and striking once every 16 balls or so. His season contains a single five-wicket haul, and he has yet to claim four in an innings. What stands out is sheer volume, since Axar Patel, the next Indian on the list, has 32.
In Indore against West Indies, he returned 3/44 in the third T20I, with two of those wickets coming in the 18th over. Christchurch was different: he was India’s most effective bowler and went for 8.25 an over, under his season average. Even so, an economy rate above nine tells you he is paid to take wickets, not to hold an end.
Josh Little’s Mark in Context
Little’s 39 came in 2022 from 26 matches, and no bowler from a full-member country has gone past it in a single calendar year. Higher totals exist, but they come from associate-nation sides that play a lot more fixtures, like Bahrain’s Ali Dawood, who claimed 63 in 2025 and already has 35 this year.
So the target is exact. A 39th wicket draws him level with Little, and a 40th puts him ahead, which is why two more wickets is the whole equation. Reaching that figure would also leave him alone above 39 among full-member bowlers in any year.
Remaining Fixtures Decide the Finish
Three T20Is remain on this New Zealand leg, starting with Wellington on 27 October, then Auckland on 30 October and Hamilton on 1 November, with all three beginning at 12:30 pm IST. That gives him three clear chances in the space of six days. Neither the one-day matches nor the Tests after that add to his T20I total, and India’s published 2026 calendar shows no more T20Is.
At the pace of 1.46 an innings he has kept all year, he projects to take roughly four more wickets over three games, which would carry him past Little with room to spare. Fitness and rotation are the risks, though, because a quiet series or a rested match would leave the Arshdeep Singh T20I wickets record 2026 chase stranded just short.
Will Arshdeep pass Little before the New Zealand series ends, or does he fall one short? Tell us your prediction in the comments.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
Who has taken the most T20I wickets in a calendar year?
Bahrain’s Ali Dawood leads all bowlers with 63 wickets in 2025. Among full-member nations, the best is Ireland’s Josh Little, who took 39 in 2022.
What is Arshdeep’s wicket count in T20Is this year?
Arshdeep has 38 T20I wickets in 2026 from 26 innings. That tally was reached on 24 October, and it already tops every other Indian bowler’s single-year total.
Who held India’s record for most T20I wickets in a year before Arshdeep?
Bhuvneshwar Kumar held it with 37 wickets in 2022. Arshdeep passed that mark in Christchurch on 24 October 2026, in his 26th innings of the year.
What is Arshdeep Singh’s T20I economy rate?
His economy rate this year is 9.25 runs per over. He also carries a bowling average of 24.78 this year, helped by taking a wicket roughly every 16 balls.
What is Arshdeep’s career T20I wicket total?
Arshdeep has 148 career T20I wickets after the Christchurch match. He is two short of 150, which no Indian bowler has reached in the format, and three games remain in the New Zealand leg.