5 Fastest Bowlers at IPL 9

The fastest ever recorded speed of a ball in the IPL is 173.9 kph, courtesy of an error by Hawkeye, during IPL 2013. Chris Gayle, the batsman on strike, was seen staring shocked at the reading, with eyebrows up. Had the reading been correct, Morne Morkel would have bowled the fastest ever delivery in cricket, a good 12.6 kilometres quicker than Shoaib Akhtar’s record.

The IPL is known more for the size of the sixes that are produced in it rather than bowling speeds, but raw pace has a part to play in the competition as well. Kings XI Punjab’s Mitchell Johnson has regularly crossed the 150kph mark in the IPL’s recent years, thus earning a fierce reputation in India. Dale Steyn, Morne Morkel, Shaun Tait are some of the other bowlers to have attained such speeds.

There is a completely new batch of fast bowlers in the IPL racking up the numbers on speedometers in the current edition.

The top 100 fastest balls till now in IPL 2016 have been bowled between a total of 14 bowlers, with the surprising names among them being Dhawal Kulkarni and Ashok Dinda. The most number of 140+kph balls have been bowled by the Delhi Daredevils speedster who is also at #1 in this list:

#1 – Chris Morris (Delhi Daredevils) – 150.02 kph

Chris Morris has enjoyed a phenomenal IPL 9, his all-round skills in full bloom

Chris Morris has bowled eight of the ten fastest deliveries yet at this year’s IPL. Morris has been at the top of several lists this year – he also has the highest strike rate of the tournament and is the top ranked fielder as of yet.

With the ball, Morris has taken 8 wickets in 31 overs, at an average of 26.5. However, he has also hardly leaked runs, having an economy rate of 6.8.

A genuine fast bowler who swings his bat, connecting on most occasions, lower down the batting order – Morris is a T20 captain’s dream.

#2 – Adam Milne (Royal Challengers Bangalore) – 148.83 kph

Adam Milne has bowled the fifth fastest delivery of the current edition

Adam Milne was played in RCB’s first match of the ongoing campaign, but did not get a chance to feature after that. He went for 1/43 against Sunrisers, not good enough figures for him to be persisted with, and then was ruled out of the whole tournament with an injury.

RCB have not been able to find somebody who can do a better job than Milne, and so it would have been likely that he would have got more chances had it not been for his injury.

His habit of threatening the 150kph mark would only have served his cause. Three of his 24 balls against Sunrisers had been bowled at above 148kph.

#3 – Mohammed Shami (Delhi Daredevils) – 148.49kph

Mohammed Shami has not been in the best of touches, but his speed has not wavered

Mohammed Shami has not enjoyed the best of times at the current edition, and must pull up his socks if he is to successfully return to the India team from his injury lay-off. However, his efforts at gaining speed have not been lacking though.

He has managed to take only 4 wickets in 21 overs, at an average of 51.5. His economy rate of 9.7 has not been anything to write home about either.

He is one of three bowlers to feature among the 10 fastest deliveries in IPL 9, however, and the only Indian. It is hoped that Shami’s pace is complemented by more control soon.

#4 – Mitchell McClenaghan (Mumbai Indians) – 148.26kph

Mitchell McClenaghan has been a vital component of Mumbai Indians ion the absence of Malinga

The second Kiwi on this list, McClenaghan has not been at his fastest in the IPL, but his speed has been enough to put him among the five fastest bowlers of this year.

His figures are the most impressive among the bowlers on this list, as he has been one of Mumbai Indians’ spearheads in the bowling department in the absence of Lasith Malinga. McClenaghan has played all 10 matches of this campaign, picking up 14 wickets at an average of 22.4 and an economy of 8.1.

His speed, and impressive control to harness it, even on Indian pitches, shows why New Zealand opted to go in with two relatively unknown pacers in place of Tim Southee and Trent Boult at the World T20.

#5 – Varun Aaron (Royal Challengers Bangalore) – 148.15kph

Varun Aaron has been wicketless in the IPL 9

If Varun Aaron was looking to make his way into the Indian team for the shorter formats, he will have to look further than IPL 9. Despite his consistently high speed of deliveries, penetration has been one thing lacking from his bowling.

Aaron has gone for runs at an economy rate of 9.2 in the four matches that he has been played without picking up a single wicket. If he cannot seal his place in an IPL side, it looks unlikely that his national team ambitions will bear fruition soon.

(Figures updated as of 8/5/16)