IPL 2019: Key death bowlers for each team

The Indian Premier League follows a swift format of cricket, in a sense that it has an ability to turn the match on its head in a matter of a few balls. It's not only about the muscle power with the bat, but the bowlers play, if not less, an equivalent role in a team's success.

This is where the significance of a lethal death-overs bowler strikes the franchises. All the IPL teams target the best that they can decide upon and rope them in their club.

We know that the sides having the best bowlers for the back end of the innings have done great in the history of the tournament, be it Chennai Super Kings with Dwayne Bravo, Mumbai Indians with Lasith Malinga or Sunrisers Hyderabad with Bhuvneshwar Kumar.

Here is the list of key death-over specialists from each franchise.

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#8 Trent Boult - Delhi Capitals

One of the few names that click our mind when we talk about current left-arm fast bowlers in white ball cricket is Trent Boult. The Kiwi is known for his swing and express pace with the new ball, along his capability to bowl at the death.

After mostly sitting on the bench for Sunrisers Hyderabad, the 29-year-old found a bigger opportunity with the Delhi-based franchise. While he played only 14 matches across 3 seasons until 2017, he got to play an entire season with Delhi Capitals and returned the favor with success, as the New Zealander scalped 18 wickets in the season.

In the 2019 edition, Boult is set to lead them at the crux with his considerable skills.

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#7 Jofra Archer - Rajasthan Royals

Archer has the best bowling figure of 3/22 in IPL

The Barbados-born English fast-bowling sensation played for West Indies U-19s in 2013. Thereafter, Jofra Archer has been playing for Sussex in the County Championship and will be eligible to be a part of the English cricket team in the near future.

The 23-year-old quick scalped 15 wickets in the last season from 10 games and displayed his wicket-taking skills. He bowled at 140+ kmph speed constantly, surprising the batsmen often with his pacy toe crushers.

With quite a thin bowling setup for the back end having Ben Stokes, Jaydev Unadkat, Dhawal Kulkarni, Oshane Thomas and Stuart Binny, Rajasthan Royals will bank on their last year's pick at the death.

#6 Andre Russell - Kolkata Knight Riders

Russell has opened the bowling for KKR quite regularly

Maybe this name would have appeared as a surprise to many, but that is the truth for Kolkata Knight Riders in their present bowling lineup, which is left shallow after the release of Mitchell Johnson, the ever-absent Mitchell Starc, and what might be considered as a blunder, Tom Curran.

Andre Russell has the pace to back him and seems quite capable of taking up the responsibility of bowling at the back-end of the innings - the role that he performs with the bat too.

Even after the addition of Harry Gurney, Carlos Brathwaite, Lockie Ferguson, the onus will be on the 30-year-old as he'll be a vital cog in the playing XI most of the times. KKR can't bank on the inexperienced Shivam Mavi, Prasidh Krishna or Kamlesh Nagarkoti too much either.

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#5 Nathan Coulter-Nile - Royal Challengers Bangalore

Coulter-Nile is set to return to the Indian T20 league

The 31-year-old quick was one of the seamers in the KKR squad that bowled out Royal Challengers Bangalore for a meagre 49 in 2017. Nathan Coulter-Nile has more than a decent record in IPL, picking 36 wickets from 26 games in his career.

Though Coulter-Nile joined RCB ahead of 2018 season, he was unfortunate to miss it out entirely due to injury and was replaced by Corey Anderson in their squad.

Having slender Indian contribution to fast bowling and the inconsistent Tim Southee, RCB will put the onus of restricting the flow of runs at the death on the big Australian.

#4 Andrew Tye - Kings XI Punjab

Tye has a fifer to his name in the IPL

The Australian T20 specialist was the leading wicket-taker in the last edition of the cash-rich league, and without any surprise, he will be the key for Kings XI Punjab at the death in the forthcoming season.

Andrew Tye has picked up three hat-tricks in his T20 career, one for Gujarat Lions in the IPL and two for Perth Scorchers in the Big Bash League. Last year, the 32-year-old grabbed 24 wickets from 14 games to race to the purple cap accolade.

In 2019 too, KXIP will bank upon the experience and variations of Tye to rescue them during the slog overs.

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#3 Dwayne Bravo - Chennai Super Kings

Bravo has 136 IPL wickets to his name

For about eight years now, Dwayne Bravo has been the go-to man for his captain MS Dhoni to bowl at the business end of an innings for Chennai Super Kings. In crunch affairs, he often started his four-over spell behindhand at the 13th or 14th over right until the end to face the challenge.

In 2015, the Caribbean all-rounder became the first cricketer to win the purple cap twice in the history of IPL, although he was later joined by Bhuvneshwar Kumar.

In the upcoming season, Bravo will continue to truck the burden of bowling at the death for CSK.

#2 Bhuvneshwar Kumar - Sunrisers Hyderabad

Bhuvi picked up a 5-wicket haul in IPL 2017

The medium-pace swing bowler, who hails from Meerut, has been the backbone of Sunrisers Hyderabad for quite a long time now. Initially, Bhuvneshwar Kumar's strength was to swing the ball both ways, but the rising demands of modern-day cricket led to his transformation as one of the finest death-over bowlers in the world.

In the last season, the 28-year-old was a bit off-color, as he picked only 9 wickets from 12 matches, albeit he won the purple twice in consecutive seasons. Moreover, as far as his economical nature is concerned, Bhuvi has never gone for more than 8/over after the end of any season.

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#1 Jasprit Bumrah - Mumbai Indians

Bumrah finished last season with an economy of under 7

The extravagant league is about catching the sight of Indian talent and nurturing them, and all credit goes to Mumbai Indians for Jasprit Bumrah’s exponential growth, which has made him the most dependable death over specialist in the Indian cricket team.

Despite a power-packed bowling setup consisting of Lasith Malinga, Jason Behrendorff, Mitchell McClenaghan, and Adam Milne, the skipper Rohit Sharma will continue to rely on Bumrah when the opposition is looking to shift gears.