DP World ILT20 Season 5 — 2026

ILT20 2026 Highest Wicket Takers

Bowling leaders, wicket tables and match-winning spells across all ILT20 seasons including Season 5 starting 22 November 2026.

ILT20 Highest Wicket Takers: All Time Bowling Leaders

Fazalhaq Farooqi of MI Emirates is the all time leading wicket taker in ILT20 history. The Afghanistan left arm seamer is the only bowler to reach 50 wickets in the tournament, a milestone he became the first to achieve in Season 3. His 5 for 16 against Dubai Capitals in Season 3 remains the best bowling figures in ILT20 history. Wanindu Hasaranga of Sri Lanka sits second with 39 wickets at an economy rate of 6.38 across multiple seasons.

Bowling records in ILT20 tell a different story from batting records. While run scoring is visible and celebrated, the bowlers who consistently take wickets across three very different UAE venues are doing something genuinely difficult. Here is why wicket taking in ILT20 matters beyond the numbers:

Farooqi reaching 50 wickets in a tournament where batters score at 140 plus strike rates on short Sharjah boundaries demonstrates a level of skill that very few T20 bowlers in the world can replicate. He had to take wickets at all three venues against the best franchise batters available
Hasaranga’s economy rate of 6.38 across 39 wickets means he was both taking wickets and restricting scoring simultaneously, which is the most valuable bowling combination in short format cricket and explains why he remained a consistent Purple Cap contender across seasons
The best bowling figures in ILT20 history came from Farooqi’s 5 for 16, which was bowled in a tournament where scoring 180 plus is routine at two of the three venues. Taking five wickets while giving away only 16 runs in that environment is genuinely extraordinary
David Wiese’s 5 for 20 in Season 1 and Naveen ul Haq’s 5 for 38 as the first five-wicket haul in tournament history show that match-winning bowling performances have been part of ILT20 from the beginning, not just in later seasons when the competition intensified

ILT20 All Time Bowling Records: Confirmed Figures from Seasons 1 to 4

These are the confirmed bowling milestones from ILT20 history heading into Season 5:

Fazalhaq Farooqi (MI Emirates) leads all time with 50 plus wickets, the only bowler to reach that milestone in ILT20 history. His bowling across multiple seasons at all three UAE venues defines what sustained wicket-taking excellence looks like in this tournament
Wanindu Hasaranga sits second all time with 39 wickets at an economy rate of 6.38, which is the best economy among the top wicket takers in the tournament. His leg spin has been consistently effective across all three UAE venues including Abu Dhabi where the surface suits him most
Fazalhaq Farooqi’s 5 for 16 against Dubai Capitals in Season 3 is the best bowling performance in ILT20 history. It remains one of the finest spells ever bowled in UAE franchise cricket and set the benchmark for what match-winning bowling looks like in the tournament
David Wiese took 5 for 20 for Gulf Giants in Season 1, the second best bowling figures in tournament history. His performance came in the inaugural season and established from the start that ILT20 would produce memorable bowling spells alongside its explosive batting
Naveen ul Haq’s 5 for 38 was the first ever five-wicket haul in ILT20 history, making it a landmark performance even though the figures were not as dominant as later spells. Being first to take five wickets in a new tournament is a permanent record
Season 4 Purple Cap winner Waqar Salamkheil led the bowling charts with 18 wickets in the 2025-26 season. His consistent performances for Dubai Capitals throughout the league stage were a key factor in his team reaching the playoffs

Why Death Bowling Decides ILT20 Matches More Than Wickets in Middle Overs

The highest wicket takers in ILT20 are not always the bowlers who matter most in close matches. Death over execution, overs 17 to 20, is where franchise cricket seasons are won and lost. Farooqi’s dominance comes from his ability to bowl yorkers and variations at the death consistently, not just from taking wickets in comfortable middle over situations.

A bowler who takes two wickets in overs 18 and 19 while giving away only 14 runs has done more damage than one who takes three wickets in overs 7 to 12 while conceding 30. Death bowling economy is as important as wicket count in determining which bowlers genuinely influence ILT20 results
Close chases in ILT20 are regularly decided in the final over. Teams needing 15 from the last six balls rely entirely on their death bowler executing under maximum pressure. This is the skill that separates Farooqi and specialists like him from average T20 bowlers who take wickets in easier phases
Playoff matches amplify death bowling value even further. In Qualifier 1 and the final, a bowler who can be trusted to defend any total in overs 18 to 20 becomes the most important player on the field. Desert Vipers winning Season 4 was built significantly on their death bowling execution in the final against MI Emirates

Spin vs Pace Across the Three ILT20 Venues

The wicket-taking breakdown across venues is one of the most interesting analytical aspects of ILT20 bowling records. Pace bowlers dominate at Sharjah and Dubai for different reasons. Spinners have a clear advantage at Abu Dhabi. Understanding this split helps explain why no single bowling type consistently leads the wicket chart across a full season:

At Abu Dhabi, spinners like Hasaranga consistently take wickets in the middle overs because the slower surface gives the ball grip and turn that is simply not available at the other two venues. Teams that face a quality spinner at Abu Dhabi without good foot movement or sweep shots are significantly more vulnerable than they would be in the same situation at Sharjah
At Sharjah, pace bowlers who bowl full and straight are most effective because the short boundaries punish width severely. Yorker bowlers who can bowl at the stumps consistently are harder to hit at Sharjah than anywhere else in the tournament because even well-timed shots need to travel further over the wicket to clear the infield
At Dubai, the balance between pace and spin shifts across innings. Pace bowlers are more effective in the first innings before dew settles. By overs 15 to 20 of the second innings, dew makes the ball harder to grip for pace bowlers while spin can still be effective because slower revolutions are less affected by a wet ball surface

FAQs

Who is the all time leading wicket taker in ILT20 history?

Fazalhaq Farooqi of MI Emirates is the all time leading wicket taker in ILT20 history with 50 plus wickets across Seasons 1 to 3. He is the only bowler to reach 50 wickets in the tournament. His best figures of 5 for 16 against Dubai Capitals in Season 3 are the best bowling performance in ILT20 history.

What are the best bowling figures in ILT20 history?

Fazalhaq Farooqi’s 5 for 16 against Dubai Capitals in Season 3 is the best bowling performance in ILT20 history. David Wiese took 5 for 20 for Gulf Giants in Season 1, the second best figures. Naveen ul Haq’s 5 for 38 was the first ever five-wicket haul in tournament history.

Who has the best economy rate among top wicket takers in ILT20?

Wanindu Hasaranga has the best economy rate among the top wicket takers in ILT20 with 6.38 across 39 wickets. Combining 39 wickets with that economy rate across multiple seasons and three different UAE venues makes him the most complete bowling performer in the tournament’s history alongside Farooqi.

Why is death bowling more important than middle over bowling in ILT20?

ILT20 matches are regularly decided in overs 17 to 20 when chasing teams need 15 plus runs per over and defending teams need wickets and dot balls simultaneously. A bowler who takes two wickets in overs 18 and 19 while conceding 14 runs has more impact than three wickets in the 8th to 12th overs at a cost of 30 runs. Farooqi’s dominance is built on his ability to execute yorkers and slower balls at the death across all three UAE venues.

Which ILT20 venue is best for spin bowlers?

Sheikh Zayed Stadium in Abu Dhabi gives spinners the most assistance in ILT20. The slower surface provides turn and grip that is not available at Dubai or Sharjah. Hasaranga’s consistent performances across ILT20 seasons have been strongest at Abu Dhabi where his leg spin gets the most from the surface.

When will Season 5 wicket taker standings start updating?

ILT20 Season 5 starts on 22 November 2026. The Purple Cap race and highest wicket takers table will begin updating from the first match and continue through all 34 fixtures including playoffs to the final on 20 December 2026.