Most Test Wickets Among Spinners 

There is no denying that spinners play an important part in a bowling unit in Test Cricket. In sub-continent conditions, spinners, in fact, rule the roost. The pitches in the sub-continent tend to help the spinners a lot more than the pacers, especially in Test Cricket.

The Asian teams, over the years, have produced some world-class spinners. They have been highly effective in those conditions and have helped their respective teams to dominate at home.

In overseas conditions, however, spinners play a supporting role. There isn’t much help for spinners on those tracks. It offers a lot more bounce, swing, and seam movement than the spin. So, it is quite true that pacers enjoy bowling more on those tracks than the spinners.

However, in spite of that, there have been some great spinners who have managed to pick wickets even on those tracks. The game has witnessed some world-class spinners from overseas as well as sub-continent conditions. On that, let’s take a look at 7 spinners who have picked the most wickets in Test Cricket.

Most Test Wickets Among Spinners 

7. Nathan Lyon

Australian off-spinner, Nathan Lyon recently picked his 400^th Test wicket during the first Ashes Test against England. He went wicketless in England’s first innings in the Test. However, Lyon returned with four wickets when England batted the second time.

The Australian spinner reached the 400-wicket landmark after picking the important wicket of Dawid Malan. He followed it with three more wickets and thereby helped Australia bundle England out for 297 runs.

Nathan Lyon now has 403 wickets in 101 Tests at an average of 32.07. He has picked 18 five-wicket hauls in his Test Cricket Career. He currently has the seventh most number of wickets in Test Cricket among spinners. Overall, he is the 17^th highest wicket-taker in Test Cricket.

6. Harbhajan Singh

The Indian veteran spinner, Harbhajan Singh finds himself at the sixth position in the elite list. Harbhajan Singh is widely regarded as one of the greatest off-spinners of all time. He formed a brilliant spin bowling pair with Anil Kumble across formats during the early 20s.

His historic performance in the 2001 Border-Gavaskar series remains as one of the biggest highlights of his Test Cricket career. He picked a record of 32 wickets in just 3 Tests against Australia to help India win the historic series. His performance in that series saw a turn in fortune in Harbhajan Singh’s Test Cricket.

The Indian off-spinner went on to create many records in Test Cricket. He finished his Test Cricket career with 417 wickets in 103 Tests at an average of 32.46. He is currently the sixth-highest wicket-taker in Tests among spinners.

5. Ravichandran Ashwin

Indian spinner, Ravichandran Ashwin is currently the best off-spinner in world cricket right now. Ashwin has performed remarkably well in the last few years in Test Cricket. He has been India’s wrecker in chief, especially in home conditions in Test Cricket.

No player has picked more wickets than Ravichandran Ashwin in Test Cricket in 2021. Ashwin has 52 wickets to his name in 8 Tests played this year at an average of 16.23. He was the highest wicket-taker in India’s home Test series against England and also in the recently concluded two-match Test series against New Zealand.

As of now, Ravichandran Ashwin has 427 wickets in just 81 Tests at an average of 24.12. He currently has the fifth-most number of wickets among spinners in Test Cricket.

4. Rangana Herath

The former Test captain of Sri Lanka, Rangana Herath finds himself at number fourth in the elite list. For those of you who don’t know, Rangana Herath is the most successful left-arm spinner in the history of Test Cricket. He finished his Test Cricket career with 433 wickets in 93 Tests at 28.07.

He is the first left-arm spinner to pick 400 wickets in Test Cricket. Rangana Herath is one of the most successful spinners in Test Cricket history. However, it won’t be wrong to say that he was unlucky to be playing at the same time as Muttiah Muralitharan. At the time of writing, Rangana Herath has the fourth-most number of wickets among spinners in Test Cricket.

3. Anil Kumble

India’s most successful bowler in the history of world cricket, Anil Kumble is also the third-highest wicket-taker among spinners in Test Cricket. Kumble is widely regarded as India’s greatest match-winner.

He wasn’t someone who used to spin the ball a lot but has great control, bounce, and pace. During his Test Cricket career, Kumble produced a plethora of match-winning performances in Test Cricket.

He is among the three bowlers in Test Cricket history who has managed to pick all 10 wickets in an innings in Test Cricket. He finished his Test Cricket career with 619 wickets in 132 Tests at 29.65.

2. Shane Warne

Shane Warne is widely regarded as one of the greatest spinners of all time. Despite playing the most number of matches on bouncy tracks of Australia, Warne finished his Test Cricket career with the second most number of wickets. Shane Warne was known as somebody who could turn the ball a lot. He outfoxed all the oppositions with his spin and guile during his peak years.

Warne ran through the opposition’s batting unit on a number of occasions in Test Cricket. The Australian spinner was unstoppable once he found his rhythm in the game. He called time on his Test Cricket career in January 2007. Shane Warne currently has the second-most number of wickets among spinners in Test Cricket. In 145 Tests, he managed to pick as many as 708 wickets at an average of 25.41.

1. Muttiah Muralitharan

The most successful spinner in the history of World Cricket, Muttiah Muralitharan has 800 wickets in 133 Tests at an outstanding average of 22.71. The Sri Lanka legendary spinner had an array of variations in his armory. He was a lethal weapon in the home conditions across formats.

Muralitharan was largely effective in home conditions, where he had picked 493 wickets out of 800. Having said that, the Sri Lankan spinner wasn’t that bad in away Test matches either. He, in fact, has picked the second-most number of wickets in away Tests after Shane Warne, with 307 wickets to his name in away Tests.