Who reached 200 Test wickets in the quickest time?
Jasprit Burmah reached 200 Test wickets in late December 2024.
He collected the milestone in 44 Tests.
But Bumrah did not take 200 Test wickets in the quickest amount of time.
Here, we recall the players to achieve the feat in the fewest number of Tests.
5. Waqar Younis – 38 matches; 6 years, 23 days
The Pakistan fast bowler took 38 matches across just over six years to reach 200 Test wickets. The landmark came in 1995, as Pakistan beat New Zealand in Christchurch.
Tail-ender Dion Nash was Younis’ only wicket in the match, but he only needed the one for the momentous milestone. Of course, true to form, Younis didn’t need a fielder involved in the dismissal, as he simply bowled Nash with that express pace of his.
4. Dennis Lillee – 38 matches; 9 years, 3 days
Just over nine years into his Test career, back in the day when international cricketers were playing a lot less than they do these days, Lillee completed 200 wickets in the longest format for Australia.
He did it during the Ashes series, against the old enemy England, in Melbourne, in victory, to make the celebrations all the more sweeter.
Also read: The 25 bowlers who took a wicket with their first ball in Test cricket
3. Ravichandran Ashwin – 37 matches; 4 years, 321 days
One of two slow bowlers on this list and the only off-spinner, Ashwin reached 200 Test wickets just short of five years into his career.
The scene was Kanpur and the opposition New Zealand as Ashwin’s milestone arrived. He loved bowling in Kanpur and took 10 wickets in the match. Ashwin just recently retired from international cricket. India will miss the veteran spinner, who batted really well as well.
2. Clarrie Grimmett – 36 matches; 10 years, 353 days
Long before the days of Shane Warne, Grimmett was the number one leg-spinner in Australia.
He reached 200 Test wickets in 36 matches. The 200th came against South Africa in Johannesburg. It took him over a decade to reach the milestone. Like, Lillee, Grimmett was not playing as much international cricket as modern-day players do now.
1. Yasir Shah – 33 matches; 4 years, 42 days
The Pakistan leg-spinner is the bowler to achieve 200 wickets in Test cricket the fastest. It took him a mere 33 matches – that’s prolific, indeed.
The milestone came during a hugely successful series for Shah, when he took 29 wickets amid a three-match meeting against New Zealand in the United Arab Emirates.
It will likely be quite a while before anyone beats Shah’s record.
Read next: 2024’s cricket obituaries – remembering those who died this year
