3 Indian bowlers who can benefit from a good series against South Africa
The recently concluded Indian Premier League (IPL) saw a plethora of Indian bowlers announce themselves to the cricketing world. Some were handed their debut IPL caps this season, while others enhanced their reputation over the course of this tournament.
Mohsin Khan, Yash Dayal, Mukesh Choudhary, Umran Malik, and Arshdeep Singh all left significant marks in this year's IPL. Among the aforementioned bowlers, Malik and Singh have earned maiden call-ups to the Indian squad for the upcoming T20I series against South Africa.
Other than the two rookie pacers, the Indian squad for the T20I series has been packed with bowlers; nine out of the 18 members of the squad are primarily bowlers.
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Let's take a look at three bowlers who could benefit from the T20I series against South Africa:
#3 Umran Malik (Winner of the Indian Premier League 2022 Emerging Player award)
As mentioned earlier, Umran Malik, with his express pace, brought in plenty of curious viewers and drew plaudits from experts and former cricketers.
The Jammu-Kashmir speedster finished fourth highest on the wicket-taker's list in this year's IPL with 22 wickets to his name. He clocked a speed of 157.2 kmph, the fastest an Indian bowler has ever recorded in the Indian Premier League.
Umran Malik is surely one for the future 🔥
#IPL #ipl2022 https://t.co/sb7pMkPCAA
Malik's finest performance in this year's IPL came in a losing cause, against the Gujarat Titans. Chasing 196, Gujarat Titans got off to a flyer. Malik was summoned on to bowl in the eighth over by SunRisers Hyderabad (SRH) skipper Kane Williamson, and he turned the match on its head completely.
Malik finished with figures of 5/25 in his four overs, bowling his entire spell throughout the middle-stages. It was a one-man show; Malik was the only one to take any wicket among the five bowlers used by SRH that day. Despite SRH losing the game, Malik was awarded the 'Player of the Match' for his breathtaking spell.
There are aspects in which Malik needs to improve, though. Malik has rarely bowled with the new ball or has been used at the death in the Indian Premier League. Although he has clocked some serious pace, he has gone for plenty of runs as well due to his irregular line and length; his economy rate of 9.03 concurrs with the same.
If given an opportunity in the T20I series against South Africa, Malik could improve on that front. That way, he can present a case for himself to be a regular for the Indian side in this format in the near future.
#2 Arshdeep Singh
Arguably one of the best performers for the Punjab Kings this IPL, it was only a matter of time before Arshdeep Singh got a call-up to the national squad. Having completed his third season with the Punjab Kings, Arshdeep has transformed himself into a bowler for all situations in T20 cricket.
It was almost like he was a cheat code for the Punjab Kings this IPL. Whenever there was a feeling of the game slipping away from PBKS, the left-arm pacer bowled a miserly over to change things for his team.
The variety of deliveries that he has in his arsenal is commendable as well. Yorkers, wide-yorkers, bouncers, hard-length deliveries, dipping slower balls and off-cutters, Arshdeep has used them all to perfection.
While took only 10 wickets in his 14 IPL matches, Arshdeep had an economy rate of 7.7 in death overs this season. Only Jasprit Bumrah yielded a better economy rate than him at the death. With the latter being rested for this series against South Africa, Arshdeep has a big opportunity to step up and take up his role as a death-overs specialist for the Indian side.
#1 Yuzvendra Chahal
The 2022 IPL has been a redemption of sorts for Yuzvendra Chahal. Having been let go by the Royal Challengers Bangalore in the mega-auction, Chahal found himself in the pink and blue of the Rajasthan Royals.
He repaid the Royals' faith in spectacular fashion, ending up winning the Purple Cap with 27 scalps to his name.
wickets this season, Yuzvendra Chahal wins the #IPL2022 Purple Cap 🟣
With 2️⃣7️⃣ wickets this season, Yuzvendra Chahal wins the #IPL2022 Purple Cap 🟣🏆
What a dominant season he has had! 🔥
#HallaBol #CricketTwitter https://t.co/8P7DcY5Myg
Chahal's most notable performance this year came against the Kolkata Knights Riders. Set 218 to win thanks to a blistering hundred from Jos Buttler, KKR were on course towards victory, with 40 needed off the last four overs with six wickets in hand.
Chahal, who conceded 38 in his first three, completely changed the course of the match in his final over. He took a total of four wickets in the over, starting with getting Venkatesh Iyer out stumped. He ended up taking a hat-trick off the last three balls of his spell, which included the scalp of a well-set Shreyas Iyer. Chahal's figures of 5/40 were the fourth-best in this year's IPL.
Chahal, who used to be a vital cog for the Indian men's team in white-ball cricket, played only one T20I after the T20I series against England in 2021. He was then ignored by the selectors for the ICC Men's T20 World Cup in 2021, a move that didn't quite pay off for the Men in Blue.
Since then, he has been drafted back into the national T20I side, having been a part of the T20I series against New Zealand, West Indies and Sri Lanka. With another T20 World Cup coming up in the next few months, Chahal will certainly look to pin his spot in the side.