IPL History: Top 5 most economical bowlers

Sunil Narine has been the best bowler in IPL in recent years

With the Indian Premier League knocking at the door, the cricketing world is set to witness the grandest domestic T20 league kickstart its 12th edition on 23rd March. In more than a decade of exhilarating and enthralling cricket, IPL has given us countless moments of joy and agony.

This season can serve as a preparation drill for all the international players ahead of the ICC World Cup. In fact, this is the first instance that IPL is going to be played before the 50 over World Cup, so the hype is real.

Bowlers have always been the backbone of any cricket team, and economical bowling is worth its weigh in diamond when it comes to the T20 format. Bowling in T20 cricket is not only about picking up wickets, but bowling dot balls are also as crucial the batting side succumbs to pressure.

There have been many exceptional bowlers who hogged the limelight with their skillful bowling. From Lasith Malinga to Shane Warne and from Shoaib Akhtar to Brett Lee, various world-class bowlers have taken center stage in the biggest cricket carnival. Therefore now we are about to discuss the most economical bowlers in the history of the IPL, with a minimum of 30 innings.

Some honorable mentions are:

Glenn McGrath (6.61) in 14 innings, Lasith Malinga (6.86) in 110 innings, Daniel Vettori (6.78) in 34 innings and Ravichandran Ashwin (6.73) in 122 innings

#5 Dale Steyn - 6.72 in 90 innings

Dale Steyn is one of the most talented and aggressive bowlers of this era. In spite of a career hindered with injuries, he will go down as one of the best fast bowlers of all time. His blistering pace and sublime swing bowling have haunted many world-class batsmen for years.

The Protean has played for four teams in his IPL career, Royal Challenger Bangalore (2008-10), Deccan Chargers (2010-12), Sunrisers Hyderabad (2013-15) and Gujarat Lions (2016).

Bowling in powerplay is no easy feat by any means, but Steyn used to restrict the batting lineups along with picking wickets upfront. He has 92 dismissals to his name in his 90 IPL matches at an economy rate of 6.72.