An important milestone for a bowler is taking a 5-wicket haul in an innings, irrespective of the format. However, a fifer in T20I cricket is a rarity since a bowler can bowl only 4 overs in the game, and picking 5 or more wickets in a spell is a tough ask. That is why a bowler picking 5 wickets or more in a T20I innings is a significant achievement and deserves a lot of adulation.
They not only have 24 balls to deliver but also have to overcome the ever-attacking batters in this format. So this article tells about the potent bowlers who have raised a 5-wicket most times in the shortest format of the game.
Most 5-Wicket Hauls in T20Is
| Player | Team | Innings | 5-Wicket Hauls | Total Wickets |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rizwan Butt | Bahrain | 75 | 4 | 122 |
| Moazzam Baig | Malawi | 43 | 3 | 68 |
| Aamir Kaleem | Oman | 43 | 2 | 48 |
| Ashton Agar | Australia | 49 | 2 | 49 |
| Hernan Fennell | Argentina | 28 | 2 | 50 |
| Imran Tahir | South Africa | 38 | 2 | 63 |
| Manmeet Koli | Romania | 31 | 2 | 42 |
| Kuldeep Yadav | India | 46 | 2 | 86 |
| Bhuvneshwar Kumar | India | 86 | 2 | 90 |
| Sandeep Lamichhane | Nepal | 66 | 2 | 127 |
Key Insights on Five-Wicket Hauls in Twenty20 Internationals
Bowlers with Multiple T20I Five-Wicket Hauls
There are more than 150 bowlers who have taken at least one 5-wicket haul in T20 international cricket.
Out of these, so far 24 of them have taken it multiple times.
Bahrain’s Muhammad Rizwan Butt picking 4 and Malawi’s Moazzam Ali Baig picking 3 are the only players to take more than two T20I fifers.
Among the full-member teams, Ashton Agar of Australia, India’s Kuldeep Yadav, Bhuvneshwar Kumar & Varun Chakravarthy, Sri Lanka’s Lasith Malinga & Ajantha Mendis, Bangladesh’s Mustafizur Rahman & Shakib Al Hasan, Rashid Khan of Afghanistan, Imran Tahir of South Africa, Pakistan’s Umar Gul and Timothy Southee of New Zealand have all picked two 5-wicket hauls in the T20I format.
Record-Breaking Five-Fers with Minimal and Maximum Runs Conceded
Yalinde Nkanya (TAN) holds the record for the lowest runs conceded in a T20I five-wicket haul: 5 runs against Cameroon in Kigali on December 9, 2022. Nkanya’s exceptional economy rate in that spell was 0.50.
Alzarri Joseph (WI) conceded the most runs in a five-wicket haul: 40 runs against South Africa in Johannesburg on March 28, 2023.
Joshua Rasu (VAN) recorded the worst economy rate in a five-wicket haul: 12.70 (conceding 36 runs in just 2.5 overs) against Papua New Guinea (PNG) on July 12, 2019.
Consistency Against a Single Opponent
The following players have picked two 5-wicket hauls against the same opponent:
| Player | Opponent | Best Figures |
| Manmeet Koli (ROM) | Hungary | 5/28 (Spinaceto, 2024) & 5/12 (Szodliget, 2025) |
| Rashid Khan (AFG) | Ireland | 5/3 (Greater Noida, 2017) & 5/27 (Dehradun, 2019) |
Consistency at a Single Ground
The following players have picked multiple 5-wicket hauls at the same ground:
| Player | Ground (Location) | Best Figures |
| Aamir Kaleem (OMA) | Al Amerat (Oman) | 5/15 |
| Lasith Malinga (SL) | Pallekele (Sri Lanka) | 5/6 |
| Dinesh Nakrani (UGA) | IPRC (Kigali, Rwanda) | 6/7 |
Milestones, Debut, and Age-Related Five-Wicket Haul Records
Umar Gul (PAK) was the first bowler to pick up a five-wicket haul in a T20I: 5/6 against New Zealand at The Oval on June 13, 2009.
Five players have picked a 5-fer in their T20I debut: Reo Sakurano-Thomas (JPN), Elias Sunny (BAN), Hassan Mehmood (SWE), Khizar Hayat (MAS), and Ankush Nanda (LUX).
Muhammad Rizwan Butt (BHR) holds the record for the most five-wicket hauls that resulted in a win: 4 five-wicket hauls between 2022 and 2025.
Varun Chakravarthy (IND) is the only player to pick a T20I five-wicket haul in a lost match twice.
The oldest player to take a T20I five-wicket haul is Tomakanute Ritawa (COK) at 46 years and 299 days, achieved against Fiji on September 14, 2022.
The youngest player to take a T20I five-wicket haul is Charlie Hinze (JPN) at 15 years and 224 days, achieved against Mongolia on May 11, 2024.
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