Wahab Riaz finished his career with 439 wickets across Tests, ODIs and T20s in the Cricsheet ball-by-ball archive — 83 in Tests, 116 in ODIs and 240 in T20 cricket. That spread tells the story of a left-arm fast bowler who was built for pace and aggression, and whose value grew as the overs shrank.
He played 310 matches across the three formats in this record, bowled 13,482 balls and conceded 12,436 runs. Those numbers give an overall bowling average of 28.33, which sits between his lean T20 return and his heavier red-ball and fifty-over figures.
Full career data lives on his Wahab Riaz player profile, and the wider context is on the all-time cricket records page.
Wahab Riaz career stats by format
| Format | Mat | Runs | Bat Avg | Bat SR | HS | 50s | 100s | Wkts | Bowl Avg | Econ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Test | 27 | 306 | 8.50 | 42.1 | 39 | 0 | 0 | 83 | 34.51 | 3.42 |
| ODI | 88 | 725 | 14.22 | 86.3 | 54 | 3 | 0 | 116 | 34.92 | 5.76 |
| T20 | 195 | 861 | 13.05 | 128.9 | 53 | 1 | 0 | 240 | 23.00 | 7.81 |
T20 figures include internationals for Pakistan and franchise cricket for Peshawar Zalmi, Barbados Tridents, St Lucia Kings, Derbyshire, Surrey, Essex, Comilla Victorians, Dhaka Platoon and Khulna Tigers.
His standing in the game
Wahab Riaz belongs to a long line of Pakistani left-arm quicks, and the archive frames him clearly: a strike bowler first, a hitter in the lower order second. He was never a metronome. His economy rates — 3.42 in Tests, 5.76 in ODIs, 7.81 in T20s — show a bowler who went looking for wickets and accepted the runs that came with that approach.
What sets him apart is how widely he travelled. Ten different teams appear across his T20 record, from Pakistan to the Pakistan Super League, the Caribbean Premier League, English county cricket and the Bangladesh Premier League. Few fast bowlers of his generation carried their game into as many dressing rooms, and the 195 T20 matches in the archive make that his most heavily documented format by a distance.
Test cricket: 83 wickets at 34.51
Wahab's Test career in this record runs to 27 matches and 49 bowling innings. He sent down 5,018 balls for his 83 wickets, a strike rate of roughly one wicket every 60.5 balls. That is the profile of a bowler who could break a partnership with a hostile spell but who did not always control the long middle sessions that Test cricket demands.
His Test economy of 3.42 is the highest of his rate figures relative to the format — a reminder that he bowled to attack rather than to contain. His last Test in the archive was played in October 2018.
With the bat in Tests he made 306 runs from 41 innings at 8.50, with a top score of 39. He faced 727 balls, striking at 42.1 — he could hang around, but runs were a bonus.
ODIs: 116 wickets and three fifties
Across 88 ODIs Wahab took 116 wickets at 34.92 with an economy of 5.76. His strike rate works out to about one wicket every 36.4 balls, noticeably sharper than in Tests. Fifty-over cricket suited his short, intense bursts: captains could use him as a weapon in the middle overs and at the death rather than ask him to hold an end.
His ODI batting deserves more attention than it usually gets. He scored 725 runs at 14.22 with a strike rate of 86.3, three half-centuries and a best of 54. He hit 54 fours and 29 sixes. For a number nine or ten, that is genuine value — the kind of late-order hitting that turns a below-par total into a defendable one. His last ODI in the archive was in November 2020. More on the format's leading performers is on the ODI hub.
T20: the format that fit him best
Wahab's T20 numbers are his best by every bowling measure. In 195 matches he took 240 wickets at an average of 23.00, striking roughly once every 17.7 balls. His economy of 7.81 is respectable for a bowler who so often worked in the powerplay and at the death, the two phases where runs flow fastest.
The breadth of his T20 career is the other headline. He bowled in all 195 of those matches — 4,242 balls in total — and conceded 5,521 runs. His T20 record ends in March 2023.
With the bat he added 861 runs at a strike rate of 128.9, including 40 sixes and 68 fours, a top score of 53 and one fifty. In a format where a few lusty blows from the tail can decide a game, those numbers made him a more complete package than his batting average of 13.05 suggests.
What the numbers show
Three patterns stand out from Wahab Riaz's record:
- He got better as the format got shorter. His bowling average falls from 34.51 in Tests and 34.92 in ODIs to 23.00 in T20s. His strike rate drops from about 60 balls per wicket in Tests to under 18 in T20s.
- He traded runs for wickets. His economy rates are on the expensive side in every format, but the wicket returns justified the selectors' faith — 439 wickets is a substantial career haul.
- He was a useful lower-order hitter. Four fifties across ODIs and T20s, 74 sixes in white-ball cricket and strike rates of 86.3 and 128.9 made him more than a number eleven.
Taken together, the data describes a specialist strike bowler whose aggressive method was rewarded most in limited-overs cricket, and whose ability to play in leagues around the world kept him in demand long after his last Test.
Career summary
| Measure | Value |
|---|---|
| Matches (all three formats) | 310 |
| Total wickets | 439 |
| Total runs | 1,892 |
| Balls bowled | 13,482 |
| Runs conceded | 12,436 |
| Overall bowling average | 28.33 |
| Best format by average | T20 (23.00) |
FAQ
How many international and T20 wickets did Wahab Riaz take?
In the Cricsheet archive Wahab Riaz took 439 wickets: 83 in Tests, 116 in ODIs and 240 in T20 cricket, the last including both internationals and franchise leagues.
What was Wahab Riaz's best format?
T20. His bowling average of 23.00 and strike rate of roughly 17.7 balls per wicket are his best figures in any format, comfortably ahead of his Test average of 34.51 and ODI average of 34.92.
Did Wahab Riaz score any fifties?
Yes. He scored three ODI fifties, with a best of 54, and one T20 fifty, with a best of 53. His highest Test score was 39.
Which teams did Wahab Riaz play for?
Pakistan in all three formats, plus T20 sides Peshawar Zalmi, Barbados Tridents, St Lucia Kings, Derbyshire, Surrey, Essex, Comilla Victorians, Dhaka Platoon and Khulna Tigers. His full record is on the Wahab Riaz profile.