India played their first-ever Test match against an experienced England team in 1932. The rookie Indian team has now become a force to be reckoned with in the red-ball format.
Over the years, the Men in Blue have faced off in intense Test matches against the Three Lions, riding on the backs of skilled bowlers. India’s spinners reign supreme at home, while pacers exploit the favourable English conditions to a great extent.
In the yesteryears, the likes of Kapil Dev, Bishan Bedi, and Bhagwath Chandrasekhar dominated over English batters. Now, in the current era, Ravi Ashwin leads the pack along with Jasprit Bumrah and Ravindra Jadeja.
In this article, we’ll look at the top 10 Indian bowlers with the most wickets against England in Test cricket.
Indian Bowlers with Most Test Wickets against England
| Player | Innings | Wickets | BBI | Average |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ravi Ashwin | 39 | 97 | 6/55 | 29.30 |
| Bhagwath Chandrasekhar | 38 | 95 | 8/79 | 27.27 |
| Anil Kumble | 36 | 92 | 7/115 | 30.59 |
| Bishan Singh Bedi | 36 | 85 | 6/71 | 29.87 |
| Kapil Dev | 48 | 85 | 6/91 | 37.34 |
| Ishant Sharma | 37 | 67 | 7/74 | 32.40 |
| Jasprit Bumrah | 22 | 56 | 6/45 | 20.87 |
| Ravindra Jadeja | 31 | 56 | 7/48 | 36.12 |
| Vinoo Mankad | 19 | 54 | 8/55 | 23.12 |
| Harbhajan Singh | 27 | 45 | 5/51 | 39.20 |
Key Insights
1: Ravichandran Ashwin is the leading wicket-taker for India against England in Test cricket. The ace spinner surpassed Bhagwath Chandrasekhar’s tally of 95 wickets in February 2024 to claim the top spot.
27: Axar Patel made his Test debut against England in 2021 and had a thunderous start to his career. Patel picked up 27 wickets in 3 matches at an average of 10.59, including 4 five-wicket hauls.
With that, he equalled Dilip Doshi’s 1979 record of taking the most wickets for India in a debut Test series. Doshi also plucked 27 wickets against Australia, although he took 6 matches.
21: Jasprit Bumrah’s bowling average, which is hovering around 21, is the best versus England among the bowlers with 50+ wickets.
Also Read | Jasprit Bumrah – Test Performance Year by Year
15: On the other hand, Axar Patel’s average of close to 15.37 is the best among the Indian bowlers with 10+ wickets.
35: Out of his 95 wickets, former legspinner Chandrasekhar grabbed a whopping 35 scalps in the 1972-73 series at home against the visitors. This is the most number of wickets picked up by an Indian bowler in a Test series against England.
8/55 & 12/108: Vinoo Mankad boasts the record for picking up the best bowling figures in an innings as well as a match against England. Interestingly, Mankad achieved both figures in the same match, which coincided with India’s first-ever Test match win.
In the first innings, he rattled 8 English batters for 55 runs, while in the second innings, he returned with 4 scalps for 53 runs.
