As things stand these days, we are seeing the rise of bowlers who specialise either in red-ball or white-ball cricket. Everyone is picking a format of their choice and making a career out of it.
Bowling in Tests is more about consistency, while limited-overs cricket prompts bowlers to add a few variations. But there are bowlers who have mastered bowling in both red-ball and white-ball cricket, showing their wicket-taking abilities in different conditions.
Despite that, we have seen only a handful of bowlers to cross the 100-wicket barrier in each of Test, ODI, and T20I cricket.
So here are the bowlers who have taken 100-plus wickets in each format of international cricket.
1. Lasith Malinga (Sri Lanka)
Lasith Malinga’s pin-point yorkers were enough to rattle the stumps of the batters. He did over and over against across three formats, breaching the 100-wicket landmark in all formats for the first time.
Malinga racked up his 100th Test wicket in his 30th match in Colombo on August 4, 2010. He got Sachin Tendulkar as his landmark victim, though this match turned out to be his last in the format.
Ten days later, the right-arm pacer clinched his 100th ODI scalp against New Zealand in Dambulla. He ended up with 338 wickets in 226 ODI matches for Sri Lanka.
Malinga picked up his 100th T20I wicket against the same opposition in Pallekele on September 6, 2019. He was in fact the first-ever bowler to take 100 wickets in the shortest format. Slinga Malinga bowed out with 107 scalps in 84 T20Is.
2. Shakib Al Hasan (Bangladesh)
Shakib Al Hasan was the second bowler to join Malinga in this elite list. The Bangladesh all-rounder has been a key cog for his team, contributing with the bat and ball.
Hasan first reached the 100th wicket milestone in ODIs during the 2010 Asia Cup game against Pakistan on June 21 in Dambulla. Two years later, he repeated the feat in Test cricket, taking his 100th scalp against the West Indies on November 24, 2012 in Khulna.
Hasan was also the second bowler to bag 100 T20I wickets, reaching the landmark against Australia on August 9, 2021, in Mirpur.
3. Tim Southee (New Zealand)
Tim Southee is the only bowler to take 100-plus wickets while featuring in 100-plus matches in each format. The Kiwi pacer has left a mark in international cricket while emerging as the leading wicket-taker for his country across formats.
Southee picked up his 100th Test wicket against the West Indies on December 21, 2013 in Hamilton. A month later, the right-arm pacer added his 100th ODI scalp at the same venue against India.
Southee was overall the third bowler to surpass 100 wickets in T20Is, achieving the feat against Pakistan on October 26, 2021, in Sharjah. You can check out some more notable records Southee has achieved in his career here!
4. Shaheen Shah Afridi (Pakistan)
Shaheen Shah Afridi is the latest entrant in this list. The Pakistan pacer is rising quickly through the ranks, having made his debut across formats in 2018.
Afridi has emerged as Pakistan’s lead bowler, picking up crucial wickets across formats. The left-arm pacer achieved the feat within one and a half years of taking his 100 scalps in Tests.
His 100th Test victim came in the first Test against Sri Lanka on July 16, 2023, in Galle. Three months later, Afridi took his 100th ODI wicket against Bangladesh in Kolkata on October 31, 2023, during the ODI World Cup. He also became the fastest Pakistani to 100 ODI wickets, taking 51 matches to reach the landmark.
Afridi’s 100th T20I wicket came on December 10, 2024, during the first T20I against South Africa in Durban. That made him only the fourth bowler to take 100 wickets in each of the international cricket formats.
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