T20 World Cup 2021: Shakib Al Hasan becomes leading wicket-taker in T20Is

Bangladesh talisman all-rounder Shakib Al Hasan has become the leading wicket-taker in T20Is. The left-arm spinner leapfrogged former Sri Lankan ace paceman Lasith Malinga, who took 107 wickets in 83 innings.

Hasan now has 108 wickets in 89 T20I matches after bagging a brace against Scotland at the Al Amerat Cricket Ground on Sunday.

The left-arm experienced spinner bowled a fine spell as he returned with figures of 2-17 in his quota of four overs. Hasan was right on the money and helped his team restrict Scotland to 140-9 after Mahmudullah won the toss and decided to bowl first.

Hasan has bagged one five-wicket haul and four four-fers in T20Is as he has played an instrumental role in the success of his team over the years. The talisman has bowled with an impressive average of 20.45 and has a great economy rate of 6.7.

But the left-handed batter didn’t have a great day with the bat as he could not get going in the run-chase. The southpaw trudged to 20 runs off 28 balls with the help of a solitary boundary and scored his runs at a strike rate of 71.43. Thus, the asking rate kept climbing upwards because of Hasan’s slow innings.

Bangladesh was stunned by Scotland as they could not chase down 141 runs and lost by six runs to get off to a poor start.

Meanwhile, New Zealand’s fast bowler Tim Southee is third on the list of highest wicket-takers with 99 T20I wickets at an average of 25.17 and an economy rate of 8.39. He is followed by Pakistan’s Shahid Afridi (98 wickets in 97 innings) and Afghanistan’s linchpin Rashid Khan (95 wickets in 51 innings).

On the other hand, Yuzvendra Chahal is India’s leading wicket-taker in T20Is with 63 scalps in 49 matches. But the leg-spinner is surprisingly not included in the T20 World Cup squad.

Bangladesh will next take on Oman at the same venue on Tuesday.