IPL 2021: Rating All 8 Teams On The Basis Of Their Bowling Line-Up

The franchises that have a well-resourced bowling lineup have gone on to win more IPL titles — and it was evident with the Mumbai Indians (MI) winning the trophy record five times. The IPL 2021 auction saw a lot of franchises looking to strengthen their bowling by going for out and out fast bowlers.

Chris Morris became the most expensive player in the IPL Auction history due to his ability with the ball and was bought by the Rajasthan Royals for a whopping 16.25 crore. Jhye Richardson and Kyle Jamieson were the other expensive bowlers bagging 14 crores and 15 crores respectively. The franchises have figured out that a good bowling lineup is a must for performing consistently.

IPL 2021: Rating All 8 Teams On The Basis Of Their Bowling Line Up:

8. Punjab Kings – 6.5/10

Punjab Kings have a relatively inexperienced bowling unit with Mohammad Shami being the only limelight. Their two leg spinners, Murugan Ashwin and Ravi Bishnoi have done well last season, but still, they are pretty young and it will be a tough road for them to perform on a consistent basis.

They have roped in Aussie quick bowlers Jhye Richardson and Riley Meredith for a combined amount of 22 crores. They have no experience in the IPL before and it will be tough for them to adapt very soon. They don’t have a good bankable all-rounder who can give four overs and don’t have the right backups in the Indian pace department too. They will be hoping that Shami is fit throughout the tournament.

7. Royal Challengers Bangalore – 7/10

Royal Challengers Bangalore has been a team that has leaked so many runs as a bowling unit in the past. They have lost a hefty number of games due to their bowling lineup lacking quality and to add misery to it, they have let go of all-rounder Chris Morris who had a decent outing last year. Adam Zampa and Kane Richardson will need to come to the party if RCB needs some success.

They have relied a lot on Indian bowling with the likes of Chahal, Sundar, Saini, and Siraj who are decent enough but don’t look frightening. Chahal has been a prolific performer for the RCB over the years and has been their best bowler too. They have roped in Kyle Jamieson who should make his way into the playing XI due to his price tag and he doesn’t have a lot of T20 experience which will be a concern for them.

6. Rajasthan Royals – 7/10

Rajasthan Royals will be hoping that their new recruit Chris Morris satisfies his price tag. Their bowling department is spearheaded by Jofra Archer and the remaining bowlers haven’t shown any good promises. The addition of Morris could relieve the workload on Archer and they will eight good overs to be used separately.

Shreyas Gopal and Rahul Tewatia have been the two spinners in the playing XI with Mayank Markande being the backup. They have Ben Stokes who can bowl the tough overs and have got a little bit of Indian bowling with Jaydev Unadkat who needs a good season desperately. Kartik Tyagi showed some positive signs for the franchise last year.

5. Kolkata Knight Riders – 7.5/10

Kolkata Knight Riders have packed their bowling department with high-class spinners like Sunil Narine, Varun Chakravarthy, Kuldeep Yadav, and their latest buy Harbhajan Singh. They also have the services of all-rounder Shakib Al Hasan who might not play all the games but can be used as a backup option for the IPL 2021.

Kolkata has a good strength of overseas quicks with Pat Cummins, Lockie Ferguson, and Andre Russell can hit the deck hard too. The Indian pace department looks a major concern for the Kolkata team with the youngsters Kamalesh Nagarkoti, Prasidh Krishna, and Shivam Mavi being relatively inexperienced.

4. Chennai Super Kings –  7.5/10

Chennai Super Kings have a good bowling lineup but don’t have those impact bowlers who can strike at any situation. Dwayne Bravo has done the job for them in the past but he has taken wickets mostly in the death overs. Imran Tahir is a name that could make difference for them with his match-winning abilities.

The fast bowling contingent looks decent with Shardul Thakur and Deepak Chahar in the setup while the overseas quicks of Lungi Ngigi, Josh Hazlewood, and Sam Curran were not threatening. CSK has a good mix in their spin department and has picked up 7 spinners in the squad which is more than enough for the IPL 2021

3. Sunrisers Hyderabad – 8/10

Sunrisers Hyderabad was one of the best bowling units until last year but the IPL 2020 did not go their way as they lost their spearhead, Bhuvneshwar Kumar. They have found an excellent seamer in T Natarajan who did extremely well last year and earned his cap for the Indian team on the tour to Australia.

Rashid Khan is the number one T20 bowler in the world and has maintained respect for him throughout his IPL career. The problem for Sunrisers would be the third Indian seamer alongside Bhuvneshwar and Natarajan and they have the options with Sandeep Sharma, Siddharth Kaul, Khaleel Ahmed, and Basil Thampi. They have got two all-rounders who can bowl 4 overs in Jason Holder and Mitchell Marsh for the IPL 2021.

2. Mumbai Indians – 8.5/10

Mumbai Indians have a strong first XI and their bowling lineup looks completely sorted. The powerplay overs and the death overs will be taken care of by world-class pair of Jasprit Bumrah and Trent Boult. Krunal Pandya and Rahul Chahar were the spinners last year and they will have the choices with Jayant Yadav and Piyush Chawla.

Nathan Coulter Nile and Hardik Pandya will be the all-rounders while Pollard can roll his over too if needed. The backup options for Bumrah will be Dhawal Kulkarni which is the only major concern for Mumbai Indians and they will be hoping Bumrah stays fit throughout the IPL 2021.

1.Delhi Capitals – 9/10

Delhi Capitals have the strongest bowling lineup with sources in all departments and have got all the backups covered. Rabada and Nortje’s excellent partnership has been instrumental in their bowling success in last year’s IPL and their spin department comprises a lot of experience with Ravichandran Ashwin, Axar Patel and Amit Mishra.

The Indian fast bowling unit includes Ishant Sharma, Umesh Yadav, Avesh Khan and one of them will be in the playing XI. Marcus Stoinis and Chris Woakes will be the bowling all-rounders in the team while Tom Curran can be the backup option in the side.  Their bowling has a lot of depth and variety which looks like the most promising unit.