 "Not Bumrah or Jadeja: The highest Indian ODI wicket-taker since 2019 WC is?")
With the ODI World Cup approaching, India are searching for the right combination in both batting and bowling departments. However, it would be surprising to know that not Mohammed Siraj, Mohammed Shami, Ravindra Jadeja or Jasprit Bumrah, but Shardul Thakur is the leading wicket-taker in the fifty-over format for the men in blue since the 2019 ICC ODI World Cup.
Shardul took 52 wickets in 33 matches played since the completion of the 2019 ODI World Cup until India’s last series against West Indies concluded on Tuesday, August 01, 2023.
Will Shardul Thakur find a place in India's World Cup squad?
However, it might be difficult for India’s highest wicket-taker to find a place in India's World Cup squad first, then the playing 11 when India play the World Cup with a full-strength side.
With Siraj, Bumrah and Shami being the lead pacers and Hardik Pandya the fourth fast bowling option, there is only a place for Thakur in the bowling line-up if Hardik plays in the World Cup as a specialist batter. The two spinners in the side would be Kuldeep Yadav and Ravindra Jadeja.
India’s top five wicket-taker in ODIs since the 2019 World Cup
Apart from Thakur, no other Indian bowler has crossed the 50-wicket mark, although Kuldeep is very close to it. Siraj, Yuzvendra Chahal and Mohammed Shami complete the list of India’s top-five wicket-takers since the ODI World Cup 2019.
India's top-five wicket takers since ODI World Cup 2019
| Player | Matches | Wickets | Average | Best figures |
| Shardul Thakur | 33 | 52 | 28.34 | 4/37 |
| Kuldeep Yadav | 33 | 48 | 31.56 | 4/6 |
| Mohammed Siraj | 23 | 43 | 18.95 | 4/32 |
| Yuzvendra Chahal | 23 | 37 | 28.89 | 4/17 |
| Mohammed Shami | 23 | 35 | 30.5 | 4/63 |
* Source- ESPNCricinfo
Overall: Top five wicket-takers in ODIs since 2019 World Cup
The top five wicket-takers in the world are from associate nations as they have played the most amount of ODI. Nepal's Sandeep Lamichhane has taken nearly 100 wickets (96) since July 15, 2019. He has played 47 matches and has best figures of 6/11.
Among the players from the permanent members of the ICC, West Indies' AlzarrI Japseh leads the charts with 80 wickets from 47 matches. and is followed by Australia's Adam Zampa who has picked 66 wickets in only 31 matches in the fifty-over format with an amazing average of 20.66.
| Player | Span | Mat | Inns | Wkts | BBI | Econ | 4 wickets | 5 wickets |
| S Lamichhane (NEPAL) | 2020-2023 | 43 | 42 | 96 | 6/11 | 4.28 | 6 | 3 |
| Bilal Khan (OMA) | 2019-2023 | 44 | 44 | 95 | 5/31 | 5.06 | 4 | 4 |
| AS Joseph (WI) | 2019-2023 | 47 | 47 | 80 | 4/32 | 4.95 | 3 | 0 |
| SN Netravalkar (USA) | 2019-2023 | 47 | 46 | 72 | 5/32 | 3.98 | 1 | 2 |
| Karan KC (NEPAL) | 2020-2023 | 41 | 41 | 68 | 5/33 | 5.26 | 5 | 3 |
| MRJ Watt (SCOT) | 2019-2023 | 41 | 40 | 66 | 5/33 | 3.89 | 3 | 1 |
| A Zampa (AUS) | 2020-2023 | 31 | 31 | 66 | 5/35 | 4.99 | 6 | 1 |
| Zahoor Khan (UAE) | 2019-2023 | 44 | 44 | 61 | 4/39 | 4.83 | 2 | 0 |
| Junaid Siddique (UAE) | 2019-2023 | 43 | 42 | 60 | 4/23 | 5.01 | 1 | 0 |
| R Trumpelmann (NAM) | 2021-2023 | 34 | 34 | 60 | 5/30 | 4.73 | 2 | 2 |
| PWH de Silva (SL) | 2019-2023 | 39 | 38 | 58 | 6/24 | 4.84 | 1 | 3 |
| AJ Hosein (WI) | 2021-2023 | 38 | 38 | 57 | 4/39 | 4.84 | 1 | 0 |
| BM Scholtz (NAM) | 2019-2023 | 40 | 40 | 56 | 5/22 | 3.41 | 1 | 1 |
| Zeeshan Maqsood (OMA) | 2019-2023 | 41 | 41 | 54 | 4/15 | 4.29 | 4 | 0 |
| Mehidy Hasan Miraz (BAN) | 2019-2023 | 42 | 40 | 53 | 4/25 | 4.86 | 4 | 0 |
| SN Thakur (IND) | 2019-2023 | 33 | 33 | 52 | 4/37 | 6.18 | 2 | 0 |
Source: Espncricinfo