Australia star fast-bowler Mitchell Starc is set to go past India legend Kapil Dev and South Africa icon Dale Steyn in the list of most wickets taken in Test cricket’s history. Starc gears up for Australia’s upcoming two-match Test series, starting from August 13, with a couple of records in his sights.ย
The left-arm modern-day great is already one of Australia’s finest fast bowlers. At 36, he still holds a key corner in the Australian bowling line-up and is part of the famous troika which features Pat Cummins and Josh Hazlewood too. Starc was a star performer in the Ashes 2025-26, where he picked 31 wickets in the 4-1 home win and also scored 156 runs.ย
Starc looks to enter top 10 in Test wickets’ list
Now he eyes a couple of major milestones as Australia will be hosting the Bangla Tigers for the first time in Test cricket after 23 years. The 36-year-old is the joint 12th-highest wicket-taker in Test cricket with 433 wickets in 105 Test matches, tied with former Sri Lankan spinner Rangana Herath. He is only two wickets away from going past the great Indian all-rounder Kapil Dev on the list, while he is seven scalps away from surpassing Steyn and breaking into the top 10 list of the all-time wicket-takers.
Kapil has 434 wickets to his name in 131 Tests, while Steyn ended his fabled red-ball career with 439 wickets and is the leading-wicket taker for South Africa. If Starc gets seven more wickets, he will enter the top 10 list of leading wicket-takers in the Test format. The list is headed by Sri Lanka legend Muttiah Muralitharan, who has 800 scalps to his name.ย
Starc eyes major WTC record too
Starc, and the returnees Nathan Lyon and Pat Cummins are all set to battle it out for another major World Test Championship record. The three are in a fight for most wickets in WTC history, with Lyon currently leading the chart with 224 wickets. Starc is only a little behind as he has 222 wickets, while the Aussie skipper trails only by three with 221 scalps to his name.ย
They are by far the top three leading wicket-takers in the history of the seven-year WTC cycle now, with India’s retired Ravichandran Ashwin a distant fourth (195 wickets).
Most wickets in WTC history:
1 – Nathan Lyon: 224 wickets in 55 matches
2 – Mitchell Starc: 222 wickets in 54 matches
3 – Pat Cummins: 221 wickets in 52 matches
4 – Ravichandran Ashwin: 195 wickets in 41 matches
5 – Jasprit Bumrah: 185 wickets in 42 matches
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