IPL 2018: Ranking teams based on their bowling lineup

IPL is set to begin in three weeks from now with the first match scheduled to be played in Mumbai. A team is considered good or bad on the basis of their batting strengths but it is often the bowling line-ups which determine the winner of the competition.

Sunrisers Hyderabad are the best example of how a good bowling unit makes a team unbeatable. The Hyderabad team won the 2016 IPL on the back of impressive performance by Bhuvaneshwar Kumar. The history of IPL winners also displays a similar picture.

Kolkata team of 2012 and 2014 had the likes of Sunil Narine and Piyush Chawla, the Chennai team of 2010 and 2011 had Ravichandran Ashwin and Dougie Bollinger in their ranks and the inaugural winners had the legend, Shane Warne himself.

Let us now look at where the eight franchises stand in terms of bowling strength on paper.

---

#8 Rajasthan Royals

Warne would be a source of strength for the Rajasthan bowlers

Rajasthan Royals are returning to the IPL fold after a gap of two years. The team has an excellent batting order but don't possess a great bowling line-up. They have Ben Stokes, Jofra Archer, Jaydev Unadkat, Dhawal Kulkarni, K Gowtham, and Shreyas Gopal as their premier bowlers.

The bowling is extremely brittle as Unadkat leaked runs abundantly in the recently concluded Nidahas Trophy and cannot be relied upon to bowl for the team in the death overs. The team has to rely on Stokes and Archer to bowl in the last few overs. The fact that the team would have to rely on the all-rounders to bowl in the end overs is an indication of the bowling strength of the Rajasthan team.

The team also has extremely inexperienced spinners in Gowtham and Gopal and they are untested at this level. Deploying inexperienced spinners in Sawai Mansingh Stadium where the ball doesn't turn much is a huge risk.

#7 Chennai Super Kings

Jadeja was the only bowler to have been retained by the Super Kings

Chennai Super Kings are the second team returning to IPL after a gap of two years. The team tried its best to retain the core of their older squad. While they succeeded in retaining the batting core, they failed in retaining most of their bowlers.

MS Dhoni has his task cut out this year with his team's bowling line-up. He has a flock of spinners like Harbhajan, Jadeja, Karn Sharma and Tahir to choose from but spinners alone can't win the team matches. The team falls behind in the pace bowling department as they don't have a single experienced pacer in the team.

Lungi Ngidi and Mark Wood are great talents but they are new to International cricket and this is their first season in IPL. Tahir is the only match winner in the bowling unit of CSK and he may not even have a regular place in the playing XI.

#6 Mumbai Indians

Pandya and McClenaghan's good performance is a must for Mumbai to defend their title

Mumbai Indians are coming into this year's tournament as the defending champions. Mumbai are also the only team to have won the tournament thrice. The team would carry the expectations of their previous performances and would have to step up if they are to defend the title.

The bowling attack looks weak especially when considering the current form of the bowlers. The Pandya brothers are not in good form and their bench strength is extremely poor. Pat Cummins will be the 2nd pacer for the team in the initial stages of the league and it would be interesting to see if he makes an impact.

The spin bowling cupboard looks bare for Rohit Sharma as he has only two credible options in Akila Dananjaya and Rahul Chahar and neither of them is a match winner at this level. Bumrah is the only match winner for the team and if McClenaghan supports him then Mumbai might as well ask a few questions from the opposition.

#5 Royal Challengers Bangalore

Sundar's form is a huge plus for Kohli

Royal Challengers Bangalore are a side known for their power hitters at the top of the batting order. The team has always relied heavily on their batting and it has often been at the expense of their bowling. This season, though, things might turn out differently.

The team has match-winning spinners in Washington Sundar and Yuzvendra Chahal. They also have quality pacers in Chris Woakes, Nathan Coulter-Nile, Umesh Yadav, Tim Southee, Navdeep Saini and Mohammed Siraj.

Sundar and Umesh would control the initial overs while Chahal would control the middle overs. The only problem the team could face is in the death overs. Mohammed Siraj and Umesh Yadav have the ability to leak runs and Chris Woakes is the only bowler who could be relied upon to restrict the opposition in the death overs.

#4 Kings XI Punjab

Ashwin's captaincy might bring the best out of Punjab bowlers

Kings XI Punjab are one of the three teams in IPL to have never won the competition. They have revamped their entire setup and have only one player from their 2017 team. This is probably the strongest Punjab team in the last 11 years and it would be interesting to see if this team brings a change in the fortunes of the owners.

Punjab team has two important match winners in captain Ashwin and Andrew Tye. They would be ably complemented by the likes of Axar Patel, Mohit Sharma, Barinder Sran and Ankit Rajpoot.

The 2nd pacer in the team may become a cause of concern for Ashwin if the experienced Mohit doesn't perform well and the 5th bowler is a definite problem if they decide to play Stoinis. Mujeeb Zadran is a good young bowler but finding him a place in the team is a difficult task for Ashwin

#3 Delhi Daredevils

Rabada will be Gambhir's

go-to

man

Delhi Daredevils are another team which made wholesale changes to their line-up this year. They have brought Gambhir back into the team and have made him their captain. The present Daredevils team is by far the strongest team that the franchise ever had and under Gambhir's captaincy, the team has a realistic chance of winning the competition for the first time.

They have a world-class pace bowler in Rabada and have a perfect replacement for him in Trent Boult if he were to get injured. They have a quality Indian pacer in Mohammed Shami who can bowl in any situation.

The team's spin bowling department also looks pretty good with the experienced Amit Mishra giving company to Shahbaz Nadeem and Jayant Yadav. Gambhir's only problem could be that there is still an uncertainty about Shami's participation in the competition and Delhi don't have any quality replacements for him.

#2 Kolkata Knight Riders

Kuldeep will be the key KKR bowler

Kolkata Knight Riders will be going into this year's IPL with a new captain in Dinesh Karthik. They don't have a great batting line-up and have some problems in the middle order but they have compensated it with their bowling strength.

Karthik has a great bowling attack to operate with thanks to some brilliant picks in the auction. The team has the best spin attack in the competition with the likes of Sunil Narine, Piyush Chawla and Kuldeep Yadav.

The team has the world's best bowler in the limited formats of the game in Mitchell Starc and they have a backup in Mitchell Johnson to replace Starc if injured. They have some great young Indian talents in Kamlesh Nagarkoti and Shivam Mavi to complement Starc. The team has all bases covered in their bowling department.

#1 Sunrisers Hyderabad

Kumar was retained by SRH even before the auction

Sunrisers Hyderabad are synonymous with a strong bowling attack. The franchise are known for having quality bowlers and this year promises to be no different. Hyderabad look the most balanced side in the tournament and it wouldn't be a surprise if the team lifts it second IPL Trophy.

Bhuvaneshwar Kumar is amongst the world's best bowlers across different formats and having him is a huge boost for Warner. Along with Bhuvi, they have the best domestic T20 bowlers in Siddarth Kaul, Basil Thampi, T Natarajan and Sandeep Sharma.

The team has retained the young spinning sensation Rashid Khan and he has fellow Afghanistan all-rounder Mohammed Nabi and Shakib-Al-Hasan for company. This is one hell of a bowling attack and it will be extremely difficult to get the better of this bowling line-up.