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The 12th edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL) is set to kick off on March 23rd with the opener set to take place between CSK and RCB at the MA Chidambaram Stadium. This season is most likely to be a tad less entertaining due to the unavailability of a few overseas stars owing to the World Cup but the intensity is the same nevertheless.
The teams and the coaching staff wasted no time in the off-season and worked hard to get their team combination right for the next season and there was a lot of action in the trading phase. The auction too was a bit low-key, but had a few surprises in store for fans and the Rajasthan Royals gave people another reason to troll them when they bought last season's big-money flop Jaydev Unadkat for the huge price of INR 8.4 Crore again.
On that note, let's take a look at the bowling attacks of the 8 teams and rate them.
Rajasthan Royals: Rating- 6.5/10
The Rajasthan Royals seem to be the weakest side on paper and despite possessing few good bowling options in their side, they are no match for the bowling attacks of the other teams. Their overseas mainstays are Jofra Archer and Ben Stokes and both of them will depart for England's WC preparations and this leaves them seriously understaffed on the pace front. While Oshane Thomas has been taking wickets, he is too expensive and it remains to be seen if he can curb those loose balls which he frequently bowls.
Unadkat and Dhawal Kulkarni are their other pace options and while the latter hasn't had a promising domestic season, Unadkat's hefty price tag might weigh him down even this season and even if he performs, he has no backup.
As for their spinners, they have two solid options in Krishnappa Gowtham and Shreyas Gopal but neither of them have played international cricket and are sub-standard when compared to other bowling attacks. Ish Sodhi might play an important role and he's one quality player who the side must use. Ashton Turner and Liam Livingstone are also handy with the ball but overall, their bowling attack lacks the bite or the depth to pose much threat to the other teams.
Also Read - IPL 2019: Rating the batting lineup of each team
Kolkata Knight Riders: Rating-7.5/10
The Kolkata Knight Riders have been among the top performers in the last few seasons of the IPL and the reason for this has been their strong core and their great spinner. But one thing which has been nagging them for a long time has been the absence of a proper overseas pacer and this season too, Lockie Ferguson doesn't seem to do it.
Ferguson bowls at a tremendous pace and is very hard to get runs off when on song but has little T20 experience and his IPL 2017 experience wasn't one to savor. Their Indian pace bowling options too have no experience playing at the international level and the likes of Shivam Mavi were thrashed last season.
Though their pace attack isn't as strong as they'd have wanted it to be, they have probably the best spin trio in the entire league. Sunil Narine, Kuldeep Yadav and Piyush Chawla together have been indomitable and possess great versatility and can change the whole outcome of the match easily. They have proven themselves on multiple occasions and seem to be getting better every season.
Overall, KKR possess a decent bowling attack which seems to lack only in the pace bowling front.
Chennai Super Kings: Rating- 7.5/10
The Chennai Super Kings seem to have a daunting bowling lineup with many options but if we break it down, it doesn't seem that formidable.
Their pace attack has three quality pacers in Ngidi, Chahar and Thakur and Mohit Sharma was clearly overpaid and has been way past his prime in the last few seasons. Bravo has lost his death bowling touch and was torn apart by opponent batsmen and Watson hardly bowls nowadays. With Ngidi set to leave for the WC early, CSK will be caught in a lot of trouble as they don't have enough Indian pace backups.
In the spin department, they have Tahir, Jadeja and Mitchell Santner as the main options and Jadhav is a good bowling option, no doubt. The others though may have no role to play through the entire tournament and it's a mystery as to why they retained Harbhajan Singh who's at the fag end of his career and has almost nothing to offer.
Though they have a variety of options, none of them seem to be a standout except for a couple of names. While CSK won't have any problems with regard to losing players to the World Cup, they don't have anyone to lead their attack and thus remain an average bowling side.
Royal Challengers Bangalore: Rating- 8/10
The Royal Challengers Bangalore seem to have beefed up their team with respect to their batting and their bowling too and have seen some improvement with respect to what we saw last season.
They possess a good pace battery led by Umesh Yadav who was brilliant last season. Though he hasn't been in the best form lately, he will turn up when the onus is upon him. They also have Nathan Coulter-Nile who's proving why he's such a great and highly sought after player with his performances in the ongoing India vs Australia series. His versatility to bowl at any stage of the innings will hugely help RCB.
They have Mohammad Siraj and Kulwant Khejroliya as Indian backups and Tim Southee as an overseas pace backup. Colin De Grandhomme and the very important Marcus Stoinis are also good pace options.
In the spin department, Yuzvendra Chahal will lead the attack and they have plenty of options in Pawan Negi, Washington Sundar, Moeen Ali and Prayas Ray Barman gives adequate backup.
Overall, they possess a potent bowling lineup to complement their batting and seem to be a strong side.
Delhi Capitals: Rating- 8/10
The Delhi Capitals have a refreshing look about them and possess a young and feisty side ready and eager to perform. Their bowling attack represents the same as they have a well-balanced and decent one on board.
Their pace attack mostly revolves around their overseas picks who seem to dominate. Trent Boult, Chris Morris and Kagiso Rabada are three great pacers by themselves and if they combine, it will be one hell of a match for the opposition batsmen. Though Rabada is set to leave halfway, Morris isn't in line for a WC selection and neither will Boult be recalled. Their Indian pacers seem to be paltry when compared to their overseas ones but Avesh Khan and Harshal Patel have been good in the domestic circuit and Ishant Sharma too adds experience.
In their spin bowling, they have experience and class oozing from the duo of Amit Mishra and Axar Patel which will provide the side with flexibility as they both can bowl at all stages of the game. Also, the impressive form of Sandeep Lamichchane is another positive and the young leggie will prove to be a handful for opposition batsmen. Rahul Tewatia is another spin bowling option.
Overall, the Capitals have a quality bowling attack with enough backups to emerge as one of the top sides this season.
Mumbai Indians: Rating- 8/10
The Mumbai Indians have been one of the most consistent performers in the IPL and their bowling has been a strength for them. They have a good bowling lineup this season but seem to be lacking backup in the spin department.
Their pace attack is one of the best in the league with Jasprit Bumrah, Jason Behrendorff, Mclenaghan, Cutting and Malinga providing great firepower to the side. They can easily play two overseas pacers as their top order is filled with quality Indian batsmen and playing players like Pollard is no longer necessary. Hardik Pandya will be another option though his fitness will be monitored. Adam Milne will also be an option.
Their spin bowling seems to be well set but they possess no good backups. With no international spinner, Krunal Pandya and Mayank Markande shouldered the responsibility last season and did a good job. They could've gone for an international spinner like Zampa to bolster their attack and with only Rahul Chahar for backup, the spin bowling seems vulnerable.
Kings XI Punjab: Rating- 8.5/10
The Kings XI Punjab spent a lot of money in the auction to fill up the slots in their squad and have assembled a good bowling attack this season. Though they considerably overpaid on Varun Chakravarthy, the gamble might pay off like it did on Mujeeb last season.
On the pace bowling front, they have standout options in Tye, the Purple Cap winner last season, young Sam Curran (bought for 7.2 Crore), Ankit Rajpoot who impressed last season and the in-form Mohammed Shami as their main pacers. Hardus Viljoen excelled tremendously in the T10 league, bowling to the best in the shortest format and is a good backup. Moises Henriques too is good with the ball. Also, it seems like Tye and Curran may not make it to the WC squad and this means that they'll stay for the entire tournament.
Their spin attack is one of the best and Mujeeb, Ashwin and Varun Chakravarthy provide a lot of variation among them. They also have Murugan Ashwin as a wrist spinner option and have a good spin attack too.
All in all, KXIP have a good bowling lineup and have what it takes to go all the way this season.
Sunrisers Hyderabad: Rating- 9/10
The Sunrisers Hyderabad undoubtedly possess the best bowling attack in the IPL. They retained their bowlers from last season and added the likes of Vijay Shankar and Shahbaz Nadeem during the trading phase in the off-season.
Their pace attack is the best in the league with standout options in Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Siddharth Kaul, Billy Stanlake and Sandeep Sharma set to be their main pacers. Even their reserve pacers are strong as both Basil Thampi and T.Natarajan are great in the domestic circuit. Vijay Shankar is also a decent pacer and can give the skipper an extra bowling option. Their death bowling is probably the best in the league.
They also possess one of the best spin attacks and Rashid Khan, the leader of the pack, has been in supreme form and has broken record after record this year. He isn't the only threat as Shakib Al Hasan and Shahbaz Nadeem are very good left-arm spinners and they also have backup in Mohammad Nabi and Deepak Hooda while Yusuf Pathan can bowl too.
SRH have been the strongest and most balanced teams in the past few seasons and this season too, they have assembled a squad capable of winning the title.
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