5 greatest IPL bowlers of all time
The Indian Premier League (IPL) has favoured batsmen like any other T20 competition, but many bowlers have managed to stamp their authority on the tournament over the years.
In an era of small boundaries, big bats and field restrictions, both pacers and spinners have evolved constantly to keep up with the times.
In this article, we attempt to rank the 5 greatest IPL bowlers of all time.
Honorable Mentions: Ravichandran Ashwin, Piyush Chawla
Both players haven't done much wrong. They are placed at #6 and #3 on the wicket-takers charts, and both have multiple IPL titles to their name.
But while Ashwin has averaged over one wicket per game only 3 times in 12 seasons, Chawla has conceded runs at above 8 an over in each of his last 4 IPL campaigns with only 36 wickets to show for.
It is also slightly tough to accommodate spinners on this list since they mostly bowl in the middle overs, where the batsmen are at their most sedate. The following players have arguably had a bigger impact on their team's success and on T20 cricket overall.
#5 Bhuvneshwar Kumar
The leading wicket-taker among Indian pacers in IPL history, Bhuvneshwar Kumar slots in at a deserved #5 on this list. The Sunrisers Hyderabad pacer has been the leader of his team's attack for quite a few years now, and even became one of the only bowlers to be entrusted with captaincy in the IPL.
Bhuvneshwar has been next to impossible to get away in the powerplay, and unbelievably accurate with his yorkers at the death. A bowler who always gives his captain 4 overs in the toughest situations, he has taken 136 wickets in 121 games at an average of 23.91 and an economy rate of 7.23.
Bhuvneshwar has been troubled by injuries recently, and unless he brings himself back to full fitness soon, he could find himself excluded from this list.
#4 Amit Mishra
Amit Mishra, who has taken 160 wickets in 150 games at an average of 24.19 and an economy rate of 7.34, enters this list at the #4 position. The veteran leggie has picked up more wickets than any other spinner in IPL history, and pips the likes of Ashwin and Chawla to this list owing to his better record and style of bowling.
Mishra has always been an orthodox leg-spinner who relies on flight and guile to get wickets. He has carved a niche for himself as someone who is traditional yet extremely effective - something that is very rare in the modern T20 game.
Barring his injury-hit 2020 season, Mishra has taken double-digit wickets in all but two campaigns (9 wickets in 2015 and 7 wickets in 2014). He has also taken as many as three hat-tricks in the IPL.
Mishra is getting on in years at 38, and we might not see him at the top level for much longer.