Who is Sonam Yeshey? Bhutan’s left-arm spinner, who took eight wickets, recording best-ever figures in a T20I

Bhutan‘s left-arm spinner Sonam Yeshey rewrote history books, becoming the first bowler in the history of the game to take eight wickets in a T20I. With this feat, the 22-year-old recorded the best-ever figures in a T20I. Yeshey ran through the Myanmar lineup, returning with figures of 8/7 in the spell of four overs. This performance helped Bhutan bundle out Myanmar for a paltry 45, enabling the side to register an emphatic victory by 81 runs.

“History made! Bhutan’s Sonam Yeshey rewrites the record books with a world record bowling spell. The left-arm orthodox magician claimed 8/7 in 4 overs against Myanmar today. @ICC,” the official handle of Bhutan Cricket wrote on X (formerly Twitter).

Bhutan dominated the entire series, winning 5-0 with Yeshey taking 13 wickets. It is worth mentioning that only six bowlers have picked up a seven-wicket haul in T20Is (two times in men’s cricket and four times in women’s cricket).

Indonesia’s Rohmalia has the best figures of 7/0 in women’s cricket, achieving the feat against Mongolia in 2024. Before Yeshley, Syazrul Idrus had the previous best figures in men’s international cricket (7/8 for Malaysia against China).

Speaking of Yeshey, he burst onto the scene with a three-wicket haul on his T20I debut in 2022 against Malaysia. Ever since then, he hasn’t looked back, snapping 38 wickets in 35 matches.

All you need to know about Yeshley

His 38 wickets in the 35 matches have come at an average of 17.10 and a strike rate of 18.4, with an economy rate of 5.5. He has a total of 37 runs to his name in the T20I format, with his highest score being 11 not out against Myanmar in 2023.

Here are the best bowling figures in a men’s T20I

Bhutan’s Sonam Yeshey – 8/7 against Myanmar

Indonesia’s Syazul Idrus – 7/8 against China

Bahrain’s Ali Dawood – 7/19 against Bhutan

Singapore’s Harsha Bharadwaj – 6/3 against Mongolia

Nigeria’s Peter Aho – 6/5 against Sierra Leone