Top 10 Bowlers to Take Fastest 100 ODI Wickets

Here is the list of the top 10 bowlers who reached the fastest 100 wickets in One Day International history, exploring their backgrounds, playing styles, and the remarkable feats.

Fastest to 100 Wickets in ODI History: Top 10 Bowlers

Two of the top three bowlers on this list play for nations most casual cricket fans couldn’t place on a map. The fastest 100 wickets in ODI history no longer belongs to the traditional cricketing powers — it belongs to Nepal, Afghanistan, and, as of 2024, Oman.

1) Sandeep Lamichhane — 42 Matches

Nepal

The outright record holder, and proof that world-class spin talent isn’t confined to the traditional Test-playing nations. Lamichhane reached his 100th ODI wicket against Oman in April 2023, using crafty leg-spin and sharp variations to bamboozle far more experienced batting line-ups. His rise has become a genuine symbol for the growth of associate-nation cricket over the past decade.

2) Rashid Khan — 44 Matches

Afghanistan

For years the outright record holder before Lamichhane surpassed him, Rashid reached his 100th wicket during the 2018 World Cup Qualifier final against West Indies, dismissing Shai Hope. His leg-spin — quicker through the air and harder to read than most bowlers of his type — made him a generational talent almost from his international debut, and a fixture at the top of franchise-league bowling attacks worldwide ever since.

3) Bilal Khan — 49 Matches

Oman

The most significant recent addition to this list. Bilal Khan reached his 100th ODI wicket during Oman’s ICC Cricket World Cup League 2 fixture against Namibia in July 2024, becoming the fastest pace bowler in history to the milestone — two matches quicker than Shaheen Afridi’s previous record. He’s built his career largely away from the spotlight of full-member cricket, but with four five-wicket hauls and a strong T20I record for Oman as well, his numbers hold up against anyone above him on this list.

4) Shaheen Shah Afridi — 51 Matches

Pakistan

Afridi reached the milestone during Pakistan’s 2023 World Cup match against Bangladesh in Kolkata, dismissing Tanzid Hasan with the fifth ball of his opening over — at the time making him the fastest pace bowler ever to 100 ODI wickets, before Bilal Khan surpassed him just under a year later. His left-arm pace and prodigious swing both ways have made him Pakistan’s frontline strike bowler across formats since.

5) Mitchell Starc — 52 Matches

Australia

Starc held the fastest-pace-bowler record from August 2016 until Afridi broke it in 2023. His combination of raw pace, swing, and searing yorkers was the standout weapon in Australia’s 2015 World Cup win, and he’s since gone on to set the record for fastest to both 150 and 200 ODI wickets as well.

6) Saqlain Mushtaq — 53 Matches

Pakistan

The pioneer of the “doosra” — the off-spinner’s delivery that turns the opposite way to a stock off-break — Saqlain reached his 100th wicket in 1997 against Sri Lanka at the Independence Cup in Gwalior, less than two years into his career. His innovation fundamentally changed how off-spin bowling was taught and played, and his influence is still visible in spinners across the world today.

7) Shane Bond — 54 Matches (tied)

New Zealand

Bond briefly held the fastest-to-100 record outright before Lee and later Bond’s own successors surpassed the overall mark. Injuries repeatedly interrupted his career, but at his best, Bond generated genuine express pace with bounce and seam movement few contemporaries could match.

7) Mustafizur Rahman — 54 Matches (tied)

Bangladesh

Bangladesh’s most celebrated pace bowling export, Mustafizur built his reputation on an unorthodox mix of cutters and pace variation rather than express speed alone. He remains the only Bangladeshi bowler to feature near the top of this all-time list.

9) Brett Lee — 55 Matches

Australia

Lee reached his 100th wicket in January 2003 against England, briefly holding the outright fastest-to-100 record before Shane Bond surpassed him. His raw pace and fearsome bouncer made him a genuine strike threat throughout a career that also produced the second-fastest delivery ever recorded.

10) Trent Boult — 56 Matches (tied)

New Zealand

Boult reached the milestone in December 2017 against West Indies in Christchurch, and spent the years that followed as one of the most consistently dangerous new-ball bowlers in world cricket, particularly with the white ball swinging under lights.

10) Mohammed Shami — 56 Matches (tied)

India

Shami reached his 100th wicket against New Zealand in Napier in January 2019, dismissing Martin Guptill in his very first over of the match, and breaking Irfan Pathan’s previous Indian record of 59 matches. He went on to become the fastest Indian, and second-fastest bowler overall, to 200 ODI wickets, doing so during the 2025 Champions Trophy.

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