Leading from the front with the ball is a rare feat in the IPL. The following captains have the highest total wickets while specifically holding the captaincy mantle.
Full List: Most Wickets Taken by Captains in IPL
| Player | Innings | Wickets | Best Bowling (Innings) | Average | Economy | Strike Rate | 4W/5W |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Shane Warne | 54 | 57 | 4/21 | 25.38 | 7.27 | 20.9 | 1/0 |
| Hardik Pandya | 50 | 38 | 5/36 | 33.52 | 9.4 | 21.3 | 0/1 |
| Pat Cummins | 30 | 34 | 3/19 | 29.88 | 9.18 | 19.5 | 0/0 |
| Anil Kumble | 26 | 30 | 4/16 | 20.9 | 6.31 | 19.8 | 2/0 |
| Ravichandran Ashwin | 28 | 25 | 3/23 | 32.4 | 7.66 | 25.3 | 0/0 |
| Zaheer Khan | 23 | 20 | 3/20 | 32.5 | 7.75 | 25.1 | 0/0 |
| Yuvraj Singh | 28 | 18 | 4/29 | 23.16 | 7.18 | 19.3 | 1/0 |
| Daniel Vettori | 22 | 17 | 3/19 | 32.17 | 6.31 | 30.5 | 0/0 |
| Sam Curran | 11 | 13 | 3/31 | 29.84 | 10.21 | 17.5 | 0/0 |
| Shane Watson | 20 | 13 | 3/13 | 36.53 | 8.96 | 24.4 | 0/0 |
| Harbhajan Singh | 19 | 11 | 3/32 | 42.36 | 7.28 | 34.9 | 0/0 |
Analysis: Evolution of the Bowling Captain in T20
Shane Warne has claimed the most wickets as a captain in the IPL. He took 57 scalps while leading Rajasthan Royals in 54 innings.
Hardik Pandya is the only captain to take a five-wicket haul in the IPL. He returned 5 for 36 for Mumbai Indians against Lucknow Super Giants in a 2025 game.
Anil Kumble is the only skipper with two four-wicket hauls in the IPL. Notably, he delivered identical figures of 4 for 16 for Royal Challengers Bangalore against Deccan Chargers in Johannesburg (2009) and Navi Mumbai (2010).
Warne picked up three or more wickets in five innings, the most by a skipper in the IPL.
Warne fetched 19 of his 57 wickets in the Royals’ title-winning campaign in 2008. This is the most wickets by a captain in an IPL season.
Pat Cummins is the only captain to take 15 or more wickets in two IPL seasons, having done so in 2024 and 2025 for Sunrisers Hyderabad.
Warne picked up 20 of his wickets at RR’s home ground, Sawai Mansingh Stadium in Jaipur. This is the most wickets by a skipper at a single ground in the league.
Warne and Kumble took 12 wickets each against Deccan Chargers as captains in the league.
Kumble has the best bowling average among captains in the IPL (minimum 200 balls bowled). He averaged 20.9 while taking 30 wickets in 26 outings.
Kumble also has the joint lowest economy rate, along with Daniel Vettori, with both going at 6.31 runs per over while leading RCB.
Sam Curran has the lowest bowling strike rate as a captain, taking 17.5 balls to get a wicket.
Hardik Pandya is the only bowler to take 10 or more wickets each for two different teams as a captain in the IPL.
Yuvraj Singh, Shane Watson and Rashid Khan are the three captains to take hat-tricks in the IPL. Yuvraj has, in fact, two hat-tricks as a skipper, with both coming for Kings XI Punjab in 2009.