It is very important for bowlers to have a good wicket-taking ability in order to survive in T20 cricket. However, another ability that can make any bowler highly sought after in this format, even if he isn't a good wicket-taker, is a mean economy rate. Economical bowlers are as good as wicket-taking bowlers in this format. That said, we take a filter of a minimum of 500 deliveries to find out the five most economical bowlers in the history of T20 internationals.
Daniel Vettori (Eco: 5.70)
It has been six years since the Kiwi spinner retired from cricket but he still continues to be the most economical bowler in the history of T20 internationals. Vettori played 34 T20Is for New Zealand and picked up 38 wickets at a mean economy rate of 5.70. Not only that, the left-arm orthodox spinner had a good average and decent strike-rate of 19.68 and 20.7 respectively to go with his excellent economy rate as well.
Read | Spinners with most wickets in ODIs
Imad Wasim (Eco: 5.97)
The left-arm orthodox spinner from Pakistan has the second-best economy rate (5.97) in T20I history. Wasim is a vital cog of Pakistan's T20 setup and he has picked up 42 wickets in 43 matches so far at a decent average of 21.61 and an equally good strike-rate of 21.7. He has the best bowling figures of 5/14 in this format as well and that gives an idea about his match-winning ability.
Sunil Narine (Eco: 6.01)
The Caribbean magician is third in this list with a career economy rate of 6.01 in T20Is. Narine has a lot of variations up his sleeve which makes it hard for batsmen to pick him. Most batsmen resist themselves from attacking him as it might lead to their own downfall. Narine has picked up 52 wickets in this format so far at 21.25 runs apiece and he strikes at a good interval of every 21.1 deliveries as well.
Read | Five best boundary hitters in T20 Internationals
Adam Zampa (Eco: 6.12)
The leg-spinner has emerged as the leader of Australia's spin bowling unit in limited-overs cricket in the last few years. Zampa is not only economical but he is a pretty good wicket-taker too. He strikes at an interval of every 18.6 deliveries and has picked up 33 wickets at 19.03 runs apiece as well. He has grown up bowling on hard Australian decks which hardly assist spinners and that has helped him in mastering the art of bowling tight under pressure.
Rashid Khan (Eco: 6.14)
His name might appear at the last in this list, but he is the most potent weapon as a bowler among all these names. The Afghanistan leg-spinner has taken the world by storm ever since he made his international debut in 2015. Since then, he has gone on to pick up 89 wickets in just 48 T20Is at a sensational average and strike-rate of 12.62 and 12.3 respectively. He has three 4-wicket hauls and two 5-wicket hauls to his name as well and that sums up how big a threat he is with the ball.
