A dot ball is often hailed as one of the most tragic nightmares for batsmen in the T20 international (T20I) format. While a majority of bowlers often dream of build excruciating pressure on the batting lineup of the opponent team, a few bowlers have lived the far-fetched dream and have annihilated even the finest of batsmen in the T20I format with their dot-ball deliveries.
The dot ball is often regarded as one of the strongest weapons of the bowlers to reduce the scoring rate of the opposing team and is considered to be extremely crucial in power plays and death overs in the T20I format. The legendary bowlers often mix dot balls with yorkers and slower deliveries to trick the batsman at the crease and pick up their wicket. Have you ever wondered about the top four bowlers who hold the record for the highest number of dot deliveries as of January 2026? Well, let’s find out.
In this article we will take a look at the top four bowlers who hold the record for the highest number of dot balls as of January 2026.
Top 4 Bowlers With the Most Dot Balls in T20Is
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Mustafizur Rahman – 1192 Balls
The Bangladeshi international cricketer Musatifizur Rahman is at the first spot in our list of the top four bowlers who hold the record for the highest number of dot balls in the T20I format. Often hailed as one of the most lethal ‘slow cutters’ of all-time, Mustafizur Rahman has played a total of 126 T20 international matches throughout his career and has delivered a total of 1192 dot balls which continues to be the highest total as of January 2026.
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Mustafizur Rahman played his debut T20I match against Pakistan on 24 April 2015 and played his most recent T20I match against Afghanistan on 3 October 2025. Owing to his dominant bowling attack, Mustafizur Rahman has picked up a total of 158 T20I wickets as of January 2026.
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Tim Southee – 1138 Balls
At the second spot in our list of the top four bowlers who hold the record for the highest number of dot balls as of January 2026, we have the former international cricketer and captain of the New Zealand national cricket team across all formats, Tim Southee. Often hailed as one of the greatest bowlers of all-time, Tim Southee played his debut T20I match against England on 5 February 2008 and continues representing England in the T20I format till 2023.
Tim Southee picked up a record total of 164 wickets throughout his T20I career and also delivered a record total of 1138 deliveries which continues to be the second-highest record total as of January 2026. Tim Southee is undoubtedly hailed as one of the greatest international cricketers to ever represent New Zealand across the T20I format and his legacy continues to reverberate in the annals of the format.
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Shakib Al Hasan – 1078 Balls
Next, at the second spot in our list of the top four bowlers who hold the record for the highest number of dot balls as of January 2026, we have the former Bangladeshi international cricketer and captain of the Bangladesh national cricket team Shakib Al Hasan. Often hailed as one of the greatest all-rounders to ever represent Bangladesh across all formats of international cricket, Shakib Al Hasan played a record total of 129 T20I matches between 2006 and 2024 and picked up a record total of 149 wickets at an average of 20.9 and an economy of 6.81.
Shakib Al Hasan also continues to hold the record for the third-highest number of dot deliveries i.e. 1078 as of January 2026. Moreover, as of January 2026 Shakib Al Hasan also continues to be the all-time highest ICC Men’s T20 World Cup wicket taker speaking volumes about his bowling dominance.
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Rashid Khan – 1016 Balls
Finally, at the fourth spot in our list of the top four bowlers who hold the record for the highest number of dot balls in the T20I format, we have the Afghan international cricketer and current skipper of the Afghanistan national cricket team Rashid Khan, who is widely regarded as one of the most prominent and successful bowling all-rounders of all-time in the history of the game across all formats.
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As of January 2026, Rashid Khan has played a record total of 109 T20I matches and has picked up a total of 184 wickets at an economy rate of 6.06 and an average of 13.7. Additionally, Rashid Khan has also delivered a phenomenal total of 1016 balls, which continues to be the fourth-highest total as of January 2026 ranking him at the fourth spot in our list.
