"A bouncer and a yorker go hand in a hand" - Dale Steyn opens up on the impact of two-bouncer-per-over rule in IPL 2024
South African legend Dale Steyn feels the new two bouncers per over rule will have a massive impact during the upcoming IPL 2024.
Despite the bouncer being a weapon, it has been restricted to only one per over in T20s around the globe and in T20Is. However, the 2024 IPL season will see bowlers enjoy the option of bowling two bouncers per over.
Speaking to ESPNcricinfo, Steyn detailed how the second bouncer in an over makes the yorker a more lethal weapon.
"A bouncer and a yorker go hand in hand. If you get [the one] bouncer out of the way too early in the over, the next ball that immediately comes to your mind is the yorker, because now the batter knows you can't bowl a length ball and he is not expecting anything short. Everything is now going to be in his half," said Steyn.
Steyn also provided an example of how the bouncer can deter the batters even more than a yorker.
"I know a lot of [batters] fear the yorker a little bit. But if you are bowling yorkers to batters like [MS] Dhoni, [Jos] Buttler, and Surya [Yadav], they are able to access parts of the field where there is no fielder If you are bowling a yorker, the ball can go anywhere. If you don't execute it well, Dhoni hits you for a six-over long-on. You can bowl a perfect yorker and you can still get hit for a boundary over fine leg," said Steyn.
"Whereas with a bouncer, setting the field is much easier to control: you know the shot is potentially going to third man, deep square, fine leg. There are not many guys who can hit a bouncer over long-off or long-on - the percentages of that happening are extremely low," he added.
Steyn played in the IPL from its maiden edition in 2008 to 2020, picking up 97 wickets in 95 games.
He was then the bowling coach of the SunRisers Hyderabad (SRH) in 2022 and 2023 before stepping down for personal reasons this year.
"I can package my over better now" - Harshal Patel on the two-bouncer rule
Punjab Kings' (PBKS) newest recruit Harshal Patel felt the new two-bouncer rule is an added advantage for the bowlers to help them package their over better.
After spending the previous three seasons with the Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB), the 33-year-old got acquired by PBKS for a whopping ₹11.75 crore at the IPL 2024 auction.
When asked about the impact of the two-bouncer rule, Harshal told ESPNcricinfo:
"It is a huge, huge advantage. The biggest advantage is, you can bowl them at any point in an over - as opposed to [having to think of] when is the best, when we had just one bouncer an over. You can now go really hard early on: bowl a bouncer very first ball or second ball, then bowl a couple of length deliveries, then go defensive and close off the over. The more options you have, the better as a bowler. I can package my over better now."
"You need to be very good with line: you want to be somewhere around the left ear or left shoulder because that is the blind spot and batters don't have control. Because when you try to hook and when the ball rushes on to you or comes a little slower, you end up gloving," he added.
Harshal Patel was the Purple Cap winner in IPL 2021, picking up an incredible 32 wickets in 15 outings.
However, his form alarmingly dipped last season when the pacer bagged only 14 wickets in 13 games and traveled at an economy rate of over 9.60.