IPL 2018: 5 best death bowlers

It is said that it is the bowlers who win you matches in the shortest format of the game. A team might have some of the most powerful hitters in world cricket, but a strong bowling line up is equally, if not more, important.

Take, for instance, the case of RCB. They have always been a batting heavy unit with not many proven match-winning bowlers and hence have failed to lift the trophy even once.

In T20 cricket, bowlers who are utilised in the death overs to bowl yorkers and contain the batsmen are worth their weight in gold. Let us take a look at those bowlers - proven death over specialists who will be in action this year.

#5 Basil Thampi

Thampi was one of the finds of the season last year as he put up a string of excellent bowling performances and was Suresh Raina's go-to man for most of the tournament.

He displayed remarkable composure while bowling toe-crushing yorkers to some of the most powerful hitters of the ball like Chris Gayle amongst others. He will be donning the colors of the Sunrisers Hyderabad in this year's IPL and will form a lethal combination with the likes of Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Sandeep Sharma and Siddharth Kaul.

#4 Dwayne Bravo

Dwayne Bravo is the master of the slower ball that deceives the batsmen in the death overs. He is back with the Chennai Super Kings, a team he has had so much success with over the years.

CSK will hope they have him for the full season as he is extremely injury prone. At his best, the batsmen have a hard time picking the back-of-the-hand slower ball. He's also added a new weapon to his arsenal, the ball that dips at the last minute. He will be a force to reckon with this year.

#3 Bhuvneshwar Kumar

Bhuvneshwar Kumar is a proven match winner for the Sunrisers Hyderabad. He is adept at bowling yorkers and batsmen struggle to get him away in the latter half of the innings.

He has worked on his pace as well and is now deceptively quick. Such has been his impact in the IPL over the years that he was one of the players SRH retained even before the auction.

He will have a huge role to play if Sunrisers are to do well in IPL 2018. Keep an eye on him!

#2 Mustafizur Rahman

Who can forget that toe-crushing yorker that had Andre Russell on the floor? Mustafizur is a bowler with exceptional talent. He has a variety of slower balls, the back-of-the-hand off cutter and the super quick yorker in his armory, to name a few.

Mumbai Indians acquired his services at a bargain but it remains to be seen how much game time he actually gets. At his best, Mustafizur is worth his weight in gold so batsmen facing him better watch out for their toes.

#1 Jasprit Bumrah

Jasprit Bumrah has become a key member of the Indian side in all three formats of the game. His unorthodox action makes it hard for the batsmen to read him. He has a plethora of variations in his arsenal and causes huge problems for the batsmen in the latter half of the innings.

He came into the limelight with his performances for the Mumbai Indians and will form a potent bowling combination with Mustafizur Rahman. Needless to say, Bumrah will be at his lethal best in this edition of the IPL.