IPL: Top 10 Bowlers With Highest Combined Earnings So Far

Bowlers have often endured an unfair amount of a hard time in Indian Premier League (IPL) or franchise cricket. Flat wickets and small boundaries, and the dew factor, have indeed made bowlers’ work of containing the batsmen and picking up wickets challenging. Nevertheless, it would be unreasonable to discredit the work of the handful of skillful bowlers.

The 13 completed IPL editions have seen plenty of bowlers bowl exceptionally well under pressure, especially under death. Such bowlers have not only controlled the runs by nailing the yorkers consistently, but also picking up key wickets at crucial junctures. Moreover, these spells have managed to secure wins out of some impossible positions, enabling them to earn hefty amounts from franchises.

We take a look at ten bowlers in IPL with highest combined earnings thus far:

10. Mohammed Shami – INR 34,70,00,000:

Mohammed Shami has been one of India’s leading bowlers across formats. The 30-year old has been part of Kolkata Knight Riders and Delhi Capitals previously; however, some of his notable performances have come for the Punjab Kings, which he joined back in 2019. Sham took 19 wickets in 14 matches that year at 24.68.

The Bengal seamer followed with another exemplary season in 2020 as he took 20 wickets in 14 games at 23.00 in the UAE. The right-arm seamer performed exquisitely in the super over against the Mumbai Indians, unleashing a series of unplayable yorkers as Punjab emerged victorious after two super overs.

9. Amit Mishra – INR 35,75,00,000:

Amit Mishra has been a reasonably consistent performer since the inception of the T20 league and is one of the most-capped bowlers. Amit Mishra has represented SunRisers Hyderabad and Deccan Chargers and is currently part of a strong Delhi Capitals’ spin-bowling attack. The 37-year old has the most number of hattricks, with three of them.

The leg-spinner has so far featured in 154 games, and his 166 wickets at 23.98 are the second-highest in the history of the tournament. Mishra has taken those by maintaining a decent economy rate of 7.36, along with four four-wicket hauls and a fifer. Thus, if the second leg of IPL 2021 resumes, he will most likely overtake Lasith Malinga’s 170 to become the leading wicket-taker.

8. Jaydev Unadkat – INR 36,41,50,000:

Though Jaydev Unadkat has represented plenty of franchises and showed promise, he has been mostly inconsistent. Jaydev Unadkat started his IPL career with the Kolkata Knight Riders and plied his trade for Royal Challengers Bangalore, Delhi Capitals, Rising Pune Supergiants, and is currently part of the Rajasthan Royals.

The left-arm seamer’s best season came for Pune in 2017 when he grabbed 24 wickets in 12 matches at 13.42, alongside a fifer. That year, the 29-year old also maintained an economy rate of 7.03. But the last three completed editions have produced only 25 wickets in 33 games without any impactful performance. Unadkat hit a record high in IPL 2018 auction when Rajasthan bought him for INR 11.50 crores.

7. Pat Cummins – INR 37,50,00,000:

Pat Cummins fetched a jaw-dropping amount of INR 15.5 crores from the Kolkata Knight Riders in the IPL 2020 auction, becoming the costliest player until Chris Morris broke it the following year. Pat Cummins has become an integral part of the Knight Riders’ setup as the right-arm seamer has also produced some valuable innings with the bat, along with delivering some fiery spells.

But the 27-year old’s statistics in IPL are decent, snaring 38 wickets in 37 matches at 30.13 with a solitary four-wicket haul. Cummins’ best year in the marquee T20 league was with the Knight Riders in 2017 when he took 15 wickets in 12 fixtures at 24.87. He scored an unbeaten whirlwind 66 this year against the Chennai Super Kings in a steep chase of 221, only to fall short by 20 runs in the end.

6. Rashid Khan – INR 40,00,00,000:

Rashid Khan has been the trump card for the SunRisers Hyderabad after joining the franchise back in 2017. Rashid Khan, the number two T20I bowler, went for INR 4 crores to the Orange Army and has taken at least 15 wickets in the four completed editions. His highest of 21 scalps arrived in 2018 at 21.81.

A striking feature of the 22-year old’s bowling is that his economy rate has not gone past seven in any of the seasons. Overall, the wrist-spinner has 85 scalps in 69 fixtures at 20.11, maintaining an impressive economy rate of 6.24. He also has a batting strike rate of 147.17 and played an instrumental role with the same against the Kolkata Knight Riders in the playoff game three years ago.

5. Dale Steyn – INR 47,15,08,250:

Dale Steyn had been a prolific bowler at the start of his IPL career; however, his T20 form has tapered down as the seasons progressed. Dale Steyn was part of Deccan Chargers, Sunrisers Hyderabad, Gujarat Lions and most recently, in 2020, was with the Royal Challengers Bangalore. But he managed only one wicket in three matches at 133.

The veteran right-arm pacer’s best season was in 2013 for the SunRisers Hyderabad when he took 19 scalps in 17 matches at 20.21. In the process, he also maintained an impressive economy rate of 5.66. Overall, the 37-year old has 97 wickets in 95 IPL games at 25.86 and an excellent economy of 6.92.

4. Lasith Malinga – INR 48,22,19,500:

Lasith Malinga has been with the Mumbai Indians since the start and has been part of four out of their five title victories. Despite not playing the entire 2020 edition and the 2021 season so far, Lasith Malinga’s 170 wickets remain the highest in the tournament’s history. Notably, the veteran’s final delivery in IPL resulted in a wicket and gave the Mumbai Indians its fourth trophy.

Lasith Malinga’s best year in IPL was 2011, when he took 28 wickets in 16 matches to take the purple cap. The 37-year old’s 170 wickets have come in 122 games at 19.85, keeping a decent economy rate of 7.16. Malinga has seven four-wicket hauls and a solitary fifer as well go with.

3. Bhuvneshwar Kumar – INR 51,72,62,778:

Bhuvneshwar Kumar might have become a highly-injury prone bowler in the recent past; however, he remains one of the most effective new-ball bowlers. Bhuvneshwar Kumar’s swing with the new ball has set the tone for the SunRisers Hyderabad often and has headlined their bowling attack on most occasions. The Meerut-born seamer has also captained the side a few times.

Bhuvneshwar Kumar is one of the few bowlers to earn the purple cap twice in the history of the tournament and is the only one to do so consecutively. The 31-year old 23 and 26 wickets in 2016 and 2017, respectively, with the former effort resulting in the SunRisers’ maiden title victory. Overall, Kumar has 139 scalps in 126 games at 24.65.

2. Harbhajan Singh – INR 58,14,00,000:

Harbhajan Singh is one of the veterans of not only Indian cricket but also IPL, consistently playing almost all the seasons since 2008. Harbhajan Singh, one of the most-capped IPL players, has so far missed only the 2020 edition due to personal reasons. He has a tidy record as a bowler and was part of Mumbai Indians’ in their three title wins.

Harbhajan was also part of the Chennai Super Kings’ squad that lifted its third IPL trophy in 2018. Overall, the seasoned off-spinner has 150 scalps in 163 matches at 26.97, maintaining a decent economy rate of 7.11. The 40-year old also has a healthy batting strike rate of 137.91.

1. Sunil Narine – INR 95,24,78,000:

Sunil Narine joined the Kolkata Knight Riders back in 2012 for $2.4 million as captain Gautam Gambhir strongly batted for his signing. It proved to be a masterstroke as the mystery spinner took 24 wickets in 15 games at 13.50, keeping an economy rate of 5.48 with two four-wicket hauls, proving integral in the franchise’s title victory that year. In Kolkata’s second title win in 2014, he snared 21 victims in 16 games at 19.38.

The T&T cricketer’s abilities might have gone for a toss at present; however, his past exploits are worth envying. Sunil Narine is one of the two players to win the most valuable player of the tournament twice in IPL history, doing so in 2012 and 2018. While in 2012, the 32-year old earned for his bowling, six years later, Narine worked magic with the bat too. He hit 357 runs in 16 games, maintaining an astonishing strike rate of 189.89 while opening the batting. He took 17 scalps as well at 22.47.

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