Quickest to 150 wickets in ODIs

With cricket becoming more and more competitive every passing year, players hitting milestones, big or small, have become a cause for celebration.

Mohammed Shami recently celebrated one such milestone, becoming the fastest Indian bowler to take 150 wickets in ODI cricket during the first India vs England ODI at the Kennington Oval.

Shami took 80 matches to reach the mark, handily beating Ajit Agarkar’s previous record of 97 matches which stood strong since 2002.

The Indian pacer, however, isn’t the fastest bowler to 150 ODI wickets in international cricket. The record belongs to Australian speedster Mitchell Starc, who beat Shami to the 150-wicket milestone by three matches.

Here’s a list of bowlers, not just among the Men in Blue, who have raced to the 150-wicket milestone in record time.

Mitchell Starc - 77 matches

Mitchell Starc, one of Australia’s most effective and feared pacers, holds the record of being the fastest bowler to 150 wickets. The 6 foot 4 bowler touched the 150-wicket mark in the fifty over format of the game in just 77 matches.

Starc brought up this milestone in June 2019 during the ICC World Cup in a match against the West Indies. He took five crucial wickets, including Chris Gayle, Andre Russell, Craig Brathwaite, Jason Holder, and Sheldon Cottrell, and helped Australia to an impressive 15-run win in the match.

Saqlain Mushtaq - 78 matches

Pakistani spinner Saqlain Mushtaq took just 78 matches to reach 150 ODI wickets, and held this record from 1998 to 2019 before Starc overtook him.

Mushtaq breached the 150-wicket mark in the second final of the Silver Jubilee Independence Cup between India, Bangladesh and Pakistan at Dhaka. The match was played against India, and Mushtaq finished with a haul of 3/36 in 9.5 overs. He retired with 288 ODI wickets to his kitty.

Rashid Khan - 80 matches

Afghanistan spinner Rashid Khan took 80 matches to claim 150 One Day International wickets. He touched this mark in February 2022 in a match against Bangladesh at Chattogram.

Khan finished with impressive bowling figures of 10-0-37-3 in the game, claiming the wickets of Mushfiqur Rahim, Yasir Ali and Taskin Ahmed.

Mohammed Shami - 80 matches

Mohammed Shami made his way into the list in July 2022 during the first of the three ODIs of a India vs England bilateral series played in the UK.

In the game at The Oval, Shami finished with figures of 7-0-31-3, claiming the wickets of Ben Stokes, Jos Buttler and Craig Overton. India won the game by 10 wickets. With this, he became the fastest Indian to 150 ODI wickets.

The Indian, however, did take the most amount of time, in terms of number of years, to reach the milestone among the top five. Shami being in and out of the national team over the years due to various reasons is the underlying cause for the delay.

Trent Boult - 81 matches

Kiwi pacer Trent Boult comes next on this list, taking 81 matches to notch up 150 ODI wickets. Like Starc, he too etched his name among the fastest to 150 ODI wickets during the 2019 ICC Cricket World Cup.

Boult finished with numbers 2/44 in a game where New Zealand registered a two-wicket win against Bangladesh at The Oval during the group stage.