Road Safety World Series - Top 5 Wicket-Takers

A very unique cricket initiative involving retired international cricketers began a couple of years ago called the Road Safety World Series (RSWS). The first edition was interrupted with the first wave of the Covid-19 pandemic but it was completed the following year, and future editions were also planned by the organisers, bigger and obviously better than the past editions.

RSWS is played in the T20 format considering fitness levels of retired cricketers and while this format often favours the batsmen, the bowlers have also a big role to play in these events. We also have a list of the top batsmen in the Road Safety World Series and here, we’re listing down the top five bowlers in Road Safety World Series history. Keep reading to see the names featuring in this list…

Road Safety World Series – top 5 wicket-takers

This list was last updated as of 10th Sep 2022, before the start of Road Safety World Series Season 2 where a total of eight nations are participating and battling it out for the top spot and the title. Interestingly, four of the five top bowlers are spinners and those who narrowly missed featuring here include Suleiman Benn (8 wickets) and Nuwan Kulsekara (7 wickets). See the full list below:

5) Rangana Herath

It’s no surprise that this left-arm slow bowler is on this list as he was among the last to retire from international cricket. Now 44 yeas old, Rangana Herath has 433 Test wickets to his name and apart from breaking records at the international level, he’s here too with 8 wickets in 7 games and a best bowling innings of 2/5, going at an economy rate of a miserly 5.52 runs per over so far.

4) Monty Panesar

Yet another left-arm spinner to add to Benn and Herath is this former English international cricketer Monty Panesar who had good times in India when he played for England, and that continued in his retirement too. Panesar bagged 8 wickets in 5 games only at RSWS T20, picking up a best of 4/26 and having the best economy rate from bowlers on this list – 5.15 runs per over only!

3) Munaf Patel

Munaf is the only pacer on this list and one of two Indian Legends on it. Always known for this brilliant line and length bowling, he troubled quite a few batsmen in RSWS 2020, getting 9 wickets in 7 games and this includes a best bowling performance of 4/19. He however, was hit for a few runs in this tournament and has the highest economy rate among bowlers on this list, going at 8.56 runs per over.

2) Yusuf Pathan

Mostly known for his batting prowess, Yusuf Pathan was always a useful spin bowling option during his playing days. However, it’s not too often that he ends up on the top bowlers list as he’s done here. He bagged as many as 9 wickets in 5 games including a best spell of 3/28 and he’ll be looking to stay on this list after RSWS 2022, because there are many more quality bowlers added to the tournament this time around.

1) Tillakaratne Dilshan

Here’s someone who is easily the best player of this legends tournament, ending the first season as not only the top bowler but also the top batsman. With the ball, he was a part-timer during his international days but here, he was the main strike bowler with 12 wickets in 8 games including a best bowling innings of 4/6. He went at a strike rate of 6.39 runs per over in the 25.3 overs he’s bowled in this league.