India’s Mohammed Shami Just Five Wickets Away from a World Record

India, having secured a 4-1 victory in the recently concluded five-match T20I series against England, now shifts its focus to the upcoming three-match ODI series. The first match is set to take place at the Vidarbha Cricket Association (VCA) Stadium in Nagpur on Thursday. With star pacer Jasprit Bumrah absent from the squad, senior fast bowler Mohammed Shami will lead India's bowling attack in the series.

Ahead of the match, Shami is on the cusp of a significant world record. Having taken 195 wickets in 101 ODIs, he needs just five more to equal Australian pacer Mitchell Starc’s record for the fastest 200 ODI wickets. Starc achieved the milestone in 102 matches, and if Shami manages to take five wickets in Nagpur, he will join Starc at the top of the list.
Fastest Bowlers to Reach 200 ODI Wickets:

    Mitchell Starc (Australia) - 102 matches
    Saqlain Mushtaq (Pakistan) - 104 matches
    Trent Boult (New Zealand) - 107 matches
    Brett Lee (Australia) - 112 matches
    Allan Donald (South Africa) - 117 matches
    Waqar Younis (Pakistan) - 118 matches
    Shane Warne (Australia) - 125 matches
    Makhaya Ntini (South Africa) - 126 matches
    Lasith Malinga (Sri Lanka) - 127 matches
    Mitchell Johnson (Australia) - 129 matches

Among Indian bowlers, the record for the fastest to 200 ODI wickets is held by Ajit Agarkar, who reached the milestone in his 133rd match against Bangladesh in Dhaka on December 26, 2004.
Fastest Indian Bowlers to 200 ODI Wickets:

    Ajit Agarkar - 133 matches
    Zaheer Khan - 144 matches
    Anil Kumble - 147 matches
    Javagal Srinath - 147 matches
    Kapil Dev - 166 matches
    Harbhajan Singh - 178 matches
    Ravindra Jadeja - 182 matches

So far, only seven Indian bowlers have taken over 200 wickets in ODIs. If Shami secures five wickets in the upcoming matches, he will become the eighth Indian to achieve this feat.

The record for the most ODI wickets for India is held by Anil Kumble, who claimed 334 wickets in 269 matches.

Most ODI Wickets for India:

    Anil Kumble - 334 wickets (269 matches)
    Javagal Srinath - 315 wickets
    Ajit Agarkar - 288 wickets
    Zaheer Khan - 269 wickets
    Harbhajan Singh - 265 wickets
    Kapil Dev - 253 wickets
    Venkatesh Prasad - 196 wickets
    Irfan Pathan - 173 wickets
    Kuldeep Yadav - 172 wickets