IPL 2019: The best strike bowler in each team

The Indian Premier League since its inception has revolutionized T20 cricket and it's certainly the world's premier T20 tournament. Batsmen have always dominated every season and with every passing game, T20 cricket issues a statement that it's more of a batsman's game than bowlers.

That being said, teams have always planned how to bowl to certain opposition batsmen and keep them under the check and such targeting approach has helped few of the champion sides to remain successful. The coaching staff are always on the look out for new innovations that might help their bowlers get the better of the batsmen and watch replays of them batting and try to find out a weakness and attack it.

But things don't always go according to plan and when the batting side seizes control, the captain has to turn to his main bowler for wickets and this 'strike' bowler plays a key role in every match. The strike bowler is someone who can bowl at all stages of the game and has the knack of picking up wickets when the team needs it and every good team has their strike bowler.

Let's take a look at the best strike bowler from each team.

Chennai Super Kings - Lungi Ngidi

Despite their successful campaign last season, CSK didn't really have a bowler who they could bank on throughout the season and the wickets they took were equally distributed between bowlers. But one man, Lungi Ngidi stepped up late in the season and played a crucial role and will be expected to continue in the same vein this season too.

The Proteas pacer is in fine form for his country and has made a remarkable recovery from an injury which had sidelined him for a few months. He'll also be key to CSK's title aspirations though he won't stay for the entire duration of the tournament.

He'll play under MS Dhoni's leadership and Captain Cool has always mixed things up whenever he needs wickets. He might be forced to change that approach because his trusted talisman DJ Bravo's form is fading and despite all the talk about Mohit Sharma, he's just not convincing enough and Dhoni should turn to Ngidi if he wants wickets.

Ngidi picked up 11 wickets in 7 matches at a staggering economy rate of 6.00 and a tremendous bowling average of 14.18. He'll be CSK's strike bowler this season.

Delhi Capitals - Trent Boult

The Delhi Capitals have the best overseas pace unit in the entire league and they will be itching to get into action against MI on Sunday. Kagiso Rabada and Chris Morris, their Proteas pace duo didn't feature much last season due to injuries and a lot will be expected from them. Despite their form and reputation, they don't have enough wickets to actually classify them as strike bowlers. Though they are proven international stars, Trent Boult is a much bankable strike bowler than the Proteas duo.

Boult bowls a minimum of 2 overs in the death and though he was expensive, he did pick up wickets whenever the team needed it. He'll stay for the entire season unlike Rabada and has worked on his wide yorkers and bouncers and the proper execution will certainly bring his economy rate down. His nip back into the right-handers can produce wckets early on and he really has evolved as a bowler in all formats in the past year.

He picked up 18 wickets last season and will be eager to improve the tally.

Kings XI Punjab - Andrew Tye/Mohammed Shami

The Kings XI Punjab are one of the sides who have more than one strike bowler in their team. In fact, this season the Lions from Punjab have a very potent bowling setup to support the likes of Andrew Tye and Mujeeb Zadran, and they have also beefed up their batting.

First up, you can't ignore the magic of Tye who was the lone ranger in the death overs for Punjab. While his partners leaked runs at will, Tye bowled with control and accuracy and brought in many crafty variations while also bowling the standard wide yorkers as well. He rightfully won the Purple Cap due to his ability to read the batsmen and bowl accordingly and pick up wickets.

Punjab also shelled out ₹4.8 crore to secure the services of ace Indian pacer Mohammed Shami. They seemed to have foreseen the future because when they bought Shami in December 2018, nobody expected him to be in this sort of form and he'll be key to Punjab's hopes this season. He's bowling at a great pace and has been in complete control. He can swing the new ball quite well and possesses the experience to be a force at the death.

Kolkata Knight Riders - Sunil Narine/Kuldeep Yadav

Who said that it only pace bowlers could be strike bowlers? KKR, probably the team with the best spin unit has in its side two quality spinners who can pick up wickets at will. While Andre Russell can be considered, he's far too inconsistent in his performances with the ball.

Sunil Narine has been a constant success for KKR ever since Gambhir urged the owners to pick him at the auction. Narine was first a revelation with his genuine mystery spin that sent batsmen into a spin trying to decipher his bowling. After a suspect action report and a couple of changes in action, the mystery element seems to have reduced but Narine's effectiveness remains.

He continues to bowl tight lines and lengths which aren't short or full enough for the batsman to pounce on and he picks up his wickets by exerting pressure and then gong for the kill blow. He can bowl at all stages of the games and is Dinesh Karthik's trusted strike bowler.

Another wildcard can be Kuldeep Yadav who has excelled as a wicket-taker for India in the past year and can continue with the same under DK. The only drawback is that he's more effective only during the middle overs.

Mumbai Indians- Jasprit Bumrah/Hardik Pandya

The Mumbai Indians have the most number of players from the Indian team and among the popular players, Jasprit Bumrah and Hardik Pandya top the list along with skipper Rohit Sharma.

While Bumrah is certainly a better bowler than Pandya, both of them have picked up a lot of wickets whenever the side needs them.

Bumrah is the go-to bowler for the team in all situations and has enhanced his wicket-taking abilities further in the past year. He can function against any batsman and can pick up multiple wickets in the death.

Pandya has the shrewdness and tact to pick up wickets despite not possessing the pace or accuracy of Bumrah. Hardik hits the deck hard and sets fields accordingly and despite being expensive, he lures the batsmen into playing attacking strokes and picks up wickets.

Mumbai are one of the stronger sides this season and with wicket-takers like Pandya and Bumrah, they can go all the way last season.

Rajasthan Royals - Jofra Archer

The Rajasthan Royals don't have depth in their bowling lineup and lack quality strike bowlers if you look past Jofra Archer and in case he leaves, RR will be in trouble.

Archer is the perfect wicket-taking bowler who bowls at a great pace and with perfect accuracy which he surprisingly manages despite his short run-up while bowling. He has crafty cutters, cross-seam deliveries, back of the hand slower ones and the loaded steaming yorker in his arsenal and he unleashes all of them at some point in the game. He's the complete package and is very hard to get runs off in the death.

Apart from Archer, there are players like Oshane Thomas or even Varun Aaron but the problem is that they don't have enough IPL experience and haven't done consistently well on Indian soil. Also, both of them leak far too many runs than can be warranted but if they're properly used and groomed, they can be of some use once Archer leaves.

Royal Challengers Bangalore - Umesh Yadav

Umesh celebrates after picking up a wicket

The RCB do possess some quality in their side in their bowling attack apart from their stellar batting unit. Nathan Coulter-Nile will be available this season though he'll miss the first couple of games and is slated to leave at the fag end too. RCB failed in their bowling last season and their death bowling, especially, let them down.

Despite the failures, there was one player who didn't get the credit he deserved and that was Umesh Yadav. Umesh opened the bowling for RCB and did a tremendous job and swung the ball both ways often rattling the stumps of the hapless batsmen. He was Kohli's main wicket-taker and go-to bowler due to the sub-par efforts from Yuzvendra Chahal and Tim Southee.

Yadav is expected to continue with his wicket-taking spree and create the impact RCB desire. They have a decent bowling lineup and have enough strength to pose a genuine title threat.

Sunrisers Hyderabad - Bhuvneshwar Kumar/Rashid Khan

The SunRisers Hyderabad are, without a doubt, the best bowling side in the league and fittingly possess the best strike bowlers. Bhuvneshwar Kumar has been their mainstay ever since he started playing for them and won the Purple Cap in both 2016 and 2017. Despite an average outing last season, he'll look to start fresh and keep on taking wickets like he usually does.

Bhuvi is primarily their opening bowler and after bowling a couple of overs, he's reserved for the death overs and he somehow manages to balance both the positions with ease. He plays with the batsman's mind and is one of the best death bowlers in the league. He's not the quickest of bowlers but has the tact and accuracy to be a leading strike bowler for the team.

Rashid Khan is another phenomenal bowler who is constantly on the prowl and looking out for wickets. Whenever he steps to the bowling crease, he creates a sense of uncertainty in the batsman's mind and his bowling is becoming harder to read as the days pass by. He's just 21 years old but is remarkably mature and can pick up wickets at any stages of the game and is the bowler to watch out for this season.

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