Rating the IPL 2021 performances of India's World Test Championship bowlers

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Mohammed Siraj

The final of the World Test Championship (WTC) is on the horizon, and India have named a strong squad for the encounter against New Zealand.

The WTC final will begin on June 18 in Southampton, and Virat Kohli's men will enter the match without much practice under their belt due to quarantine rules and the debacle that was the 2021 Indian Premier League (IPL). However, India have a number of world-class bowlers who can make the most of the conditions in England and also happened to acquire a good amount of game-time in IPL 2021.

In this article, we rate (out of 10) the IPL 2021 performances of India's World Test Championship bowlers.

Didn't play in IPL 2021: Umesh Yadav, Arzan Nagwaswalla

(Note: Ravichandran Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, Axar Patel, Shardul Thakur and Washington Sundar have been considered all-rounders and hence their performances haven't been discussed below)

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How did India's WTC bowlers fare in IPL 2021?

Mohammed Siraj

Jasprit Bumrah - 6/10

Bumrah wasn't at his best in IPL 2021 after returning from a lengthy layoff, but still managed to be economical. Although he bowled the most expensive spell of his IPL career against the Chennai Super Kings, he picked up six wickets in seven games at an economy rate of 7.11.

Bumrah remains India's spearhead in all three formats, and will have a key role to play in the WTC final.

Ishant Sharma - 6.5/10

For the Indian team, Ishant is certainly a Test specialist. But he continues to defy the odds with consistent performances in the IPL, which has given him a new lease of life in T20 cricket.

Ishant scalped only one wicket in three IPL 2021 games at an economy rate of 8.08, but the stats don't show how penetrative he was with the new ball. He was a touch unlucky, and bowled well in the middle overs as well.

Mohammed Shami - 5.5/10

Given the responsibility of leading the Punjab Kings bowling attack, Shami didn't completely achieve this objective although he registered eight wickets in eight games at an economy rate of 8.16. He was rather inconsistent, with a fiery spell to Indian skipper Virat Kohli being the sole standout.

Shami is still indispensable to the Indian Test team, and he will be invaluable in the friendly English conditions.

Mohammed Siraj - 9.5/10

Siraj was arguably the best pacer on display in IPL 2021. Leading the Royal Challengers Bangalore's charge in the powerplay and delivering accurate yorkers at the death, he recorded six wickets in seven games at an economy rate of 7.34.

Siraj's performances will give Kohli and the team management some serious selection headaches when it comes to the role of the third pacer.

Prasidh Krishna - 6/10

Prasidh was on the back of an impressive debut series against England, and perhaps didn't do as well as he'd have liked. Eight wickets in seven games don't make for terrible reading, but an economy rate north of 9 should've been better.

Prasidh has been named as a reserve, but it's tough to envision him being picked even in case of an injury to one of India's primary pacers.

Avesh Khan - 9/10

Avesh had a breakout campaign in IPL 2021, as he surged to second on the Purple Cap charts before the tournament was called off. He picked up 14 wickets in eight games at an impressive economy rate, and was lethal at all stages of the innings.

Also named as a reserve, the 24-year-old is expected to be called up to the main squad in the immediate future.

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