IPL 2021: 5 Bowlers Who Will Have An Advantage With Second Phase Being Shifted To The UAE

On Saturday (May 29), the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) announced that the remainder of IPL 2021 will be played in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) in September-October. The tournament was postponed earlier in May, with 31 games remaining, owing to the covid-19 outbreak in franchises.

Some teams, such as the Mumbai Indians, who won the title last season in the UAE, wouldn’t be upset about the change of venue. Some players, too, might just flourish better in the conditions offered in UAE than they did in the 29 games played in India so far this season.

Here we look at 5 bowlers who will be happy with IPL being shifted to UAE:

Trent Boult

Trent Boult played a huge role in Mumbai Indians’ success last season. He snared 25 wickets in the UAE at an economy of 7.97; he was also the Man of the Match in the final.

Most of those wickets came in the powerplay, which set the foundation of MI’s victories. However, this season, even though he has picked 8 wickets in 7 matches, he hasn’t been chipping in with those early breakthroughs he did last season; he has lacked the penetration and most of his wickets this year have been in the death.

With the conditions offering swing and seam movement in the UAE – last season the tournament was also conducted in September-November – Boult would be licking his fingers to play in the UAE again.

Yuzvendra Chahal

If any bowler needs to regain his form desperately, it is Royal Challengers Bangalore spinner, Yuzvendra Chahal. The leg-spinner has suffered a blip in form in recent matches – he was dropped in the middle of the T20 series versus England and could manage 4 wickets in 7 matches of the IPL 2021 so far.

Comparing to his figures of 21 wickets at an economy of 7.08 from last season in the UAE – where he was the leading wicket-taker amongst spinners ahead of even Rashid Khan – Chahal would be a happy bowler for the tournament shifting to UAE. The slow nature of pitches, as well as the bigger ground sizes, in Dubai and Abu Dhabi, would assist Chahal to assert his dominance once again.

Kagiso Rabada

Kagiso Rabada has picked 8 wickets at an average of 28.50 in 7 games in IPL 2021, and these are decent numbers. However, these numbers look pale in comparison to his last season’s tally of 30 wickets at 18.27 apiece, bagging the purple cap.

The movement in the air and extra bounce on the UAE pitches aided Rabada’s bowling, the help he seldom got in India this season. While the Delhi Capitals are already on top of the points table, improvement in Rabada’s bowling – and the possible inclusion of Anrich Nortje too – could catapult them to their maiden title this year.

Mohammed Siraj

In 7 games this season so far, Mohammed Siraj has picked 6 wickets while leaking 7.35 runs per over – which is a significant improvement compared to his previous IPLs. While these numbers seem decent for any pacer, what Siraj has shown in the truncated IPL is his control over the new ball.

As mentioned with the case of Trent Boult, Siraj, too, would have massive gains with the tournament shifting to the UAE as the conditions will offer him movement in the air in the powerplay.

Jasprit Bumrah

Jasprit Bumrah is the last bowler a batsman would want to face. Last season in the UAE, the champion pacer returned with 27 wickets at an average of 14.96 and a strike rate of 13.33. This year, while he has been at his best choking the runs, the wickets column has been dry.

Bumrah has snapped just 6 wickets in 7 matches at an average of 32.00 and a strike rate of 27.00. Like Boult, he too has struggled for wickets with the new ball. The elite bowler he is, it wouldn’t take him long to fill the wickets column in the helpful UAE conditions.

Also Read: Top 10 Active Bowlers With Most Wickets In Test Cricket