IPL 2017: Muttiah Muralitharan calls Bhuvneshwar Kumar the best bowler in IPL history

What’s the story?

Sunrisers Hyderabad’s bowling coach Muttiah Muralitharan has called Bhuvneshwar Kumar the best bowler in the history of the Indian Premier League, stating that the 27-year-old cricketer has delivered whatever the team has required from him and added that he was a big prospect for India.

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“I think he's the best... I'm not saying this because he's from SRH, but over the last 4-5 years I've been seeing him even when I was not here. He's the best bowler in IPL history.

“He bowls two overs in the Powerplay and two at the death and his economy rate is so low. Whatever the team has asked of him, he has delivered. Unfortunately, he hasn't played much T20 cricket for India. He will be a big prospect for India as well” Murali said in an interview with The Times Of India.

In case you didn’t know...

Bhuvneshwar has been the best bowler in the 2017 edition of the Indian Premier League so far, having picked up 16 wickets in the 7 matches that he has played so far and like Murali said, proving very effective both at the front end as well as the back end of an innings.

In addition to bowling well, we have also seen the cricketer give advice to the other younger and inexperienced bowlers in the group who seem to have imbibed the knowledge imparted very well, as has been evident from their exploits in recent matches.

The heart of the matter

Murali further praised the two Afghanistan players- Mohammad Nabi and Rashid Khan- stating that both players have performed well above the management’s expectations.

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He was also not willing to take the Royal Challengers Bangalore, their next opponents lightly despite the Virat Kohli-led side getting bowled out for 49 in their previous game against the Kolkata Knight Riders.

What’s next?

Bhuvneshwar will have a key role to play once again on Tuesday when the Sunrisers take on the Royal Challengers at Bengaluru. The small dimensions of the ground could be a challenge for him as well as the rest of the bowling attack, but having bowled here in the past, he could well succeed in putting the brakes on the Bangalore batting line-up.

Author’s Take

While Bhuvneshwar has certainly impressed one-and-all with his bowling in this IPL, to say he is the best bowler in the history of the competition would be going a bit far. The likes of Dwayne Bravo, Amit Mishra and others have consistently performed over the las 10 years and so they will perhaps edge the Indian in the all-time list.