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T20 cricket is not only about runs as many cricket fans believe. At the end of the day, it is the bowling which ultimately decides the fate of a match. It has been seen so many times in the past that teams having gargantuan batting line-ups fail to win matches because of their inability to defend big scores.
It has not been wrongly said that bowling is more valuable than the batting. Sides having a lethal bowling attack but fragile batting line-up can still compete in big tournaments against good teams. However, it is rare to see it happening the other way around.
In the IPL 2019 Auction, some teams were unable to find the right bowlers to make their bowling attack complete. These teams have been left with scarce resources in the bowling department and would hope their bowlers make the best of what they have.
In this article, let us have a look at the three bowling attacks that look the weakest on the paper.
#3 Rajasthan Royals
The Rajasthan Royals' bowling attack appears to be very weak on paper. They are looking quite short of experience. Most of the Rajasthan bowlers are uncapped, or if capped, have played very little international cricket.
Apart from Ben Stokes and Jofra Archer, there is not a single fast bowler who has had the reputation of winning matches single-handedly over a long period of time. Jaydev Unadkat, Varun Aaron and Dhawal Kulkarni have played for India but are not considered threatening.
The spin-bowling too is very thin on experience and the only international spinner is Ish Sodhi. The Rajasthan Royals are going to struggle if their young guns do not deliver and will have to find a way to make things work.
Bowling options: Jofra Archer, Ben Stokes, Ashton Turner, Stuart Binny, Jaydev Unadkat, Varun Aaron, Oshane Thomas, Dhawal Kulkarni, Krishnappa Gowtham, Shreyas Gopal, Ish Sodhi, S Midhun, Shubham Ranjane, Mahipal Lomror.
#2 Royal Challengers Bangalore
Year after year, it has become quite an established fact that the RCB go in to the IPL with a sub-par bowling attack. It is a matter of surprise that why haven't the Bangalore franchise owners made an effort to work on their bowling despite taking part at so many auctions. This time around, the story is no different.
The RCB's pace attack is lackluster and cannot always be relied upon. Nathan Coulter-Nile and Tim Southee are their best in the fast bowling pack but not regarded as world-class T20 bowlers. Mohammed Siraj and Umesh Yadav do not seem to adapt to T20 cricket naturally as they keep on bowling the good length which is very easy to hit in the T20 format.
Yuzvendra Chahal is the only proven match-winner with the ball in this side whereas Washington Sundar and Pawan Negi have not always been effective. If their batting crumbles, the RCB do not have the bowling attack to defend scores of 130-140.
Bowling options: Yuzvendra Chahal, Washington Sundar, Pawan Negi, Nathan Coulter-Nile, Umesh Yadav, Tim Southee, Mohammed Siraj Kulwant Khejroliya, Marcus Stoinis, Gurkeerat Mann Singh Shivam Dubey, Prayas Barman, Colin de Grandhomme, Milind Kumar, Himmat Singh.
#1 Kolkata Knight Riders
If there is one team who has got its math totally wrong while picking the bowlers, then it is the Kolkata Knight Riders. Throughout the auction, the KKR just watched other teams pick potent bowlers and when the time was up, they had to settle for a mediocre bowling attack.
Surprisingly, this team does not have a single experienced foreign seamer. Players like Lockie Ferguson, Harry Gurney, Arnich Nortje were very surprising buys as these seamers are barely known in other T20 leagues, let alone the IPL. Their Indian fast bowlers like Shivam Mavi, Kamlesh Nagarkoti and Prasidh Krishna are still rookies.
The KKR rely very heavily on their spin department (Sunil Narine, Piyush Chawla and Kuldeep Yadav) which is the only thing to talk about in their bowling attack. If the wicket is not offering a little bit of spin, chances are that this bowling attack is going to go for cleaners.
Bowling options: Sunil Narine, Andre Russell, Piyush Chawla, Kuldeep Yadav, Prasidh Krishna, Shivam Mavi, Kamlesh Nagarkoti, Carlos Brathwaite, Lockie Ferguson, Harry Gurney, Arnich Nortje, Prithviraj Yarra, Shrikant Mundhe.
