IPL 2022: Top 5 death over specialists to watch out for 

The forthcoming 15th season of the Indian Premier League (IPL) is just a day away and its excitement is at its zenith. The marquee event is regarded as the toughest T20 league in the world as it hosts top players from across the globe.

While modern-day cricket is slowly becoming a batter's game, the death overs (final four overs of an innings) are considered the most challenging for a T20 bowler. Opposition batters are well-set on most occasions, going helter-skelter and even trying innovative shots to score as many runs as they can.

Year after year, death bowlers, mainly pacers, fetch a high price at the auction, demonstrating how desperate teams are to address this critical issue. Bowling in death overs necessitates a high level of skill and a tough demeanor, as well as the ability to stay one step ahead of the hitters.

Since its inception in 2008, the IPL has seen some exceptional death bowlers who have played a pivotal part in their team's success. With another blockbuster season awaiting, we will look at five such death-ball specialist bowlers who you might not want to miss seeing in action.

On that note, let's look at five death-over specialist bowlers to watch out for during the upcoming IPL season.

Note: Overs 16-20 have been considered death overs here.

Honorable mention:

Shardul Thakur (Delhi Capitals)

Andre Russell (Kolkata Knight Riders)

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#5. T Natarajan (Sunrisers Hyderabad)

T Natarajan during training session with SRH

The IPL 2022 will mark left-arm pacer T Natarajan's comeback from an injury. The Tamil Nadu-born bowler wasn't retained by the Hyderabad-based franchise. However, the Orange Army brought Natarajan back into their team by signing him for ₹4 crore at the mega auction.

He missed the majority of IPL 2021 due to a knee injury. He later underwent surgery for the same, resulting in him to feature in just two games in the previous edition.

The 30-year old's breakout season came in 2020, where he picked up 16 wickets in as many games. David Warner mainly used Natarajan to bowl difficult overs, utilizing the left-armer's ability to bowl yorkers with ease.

Natarajan's economy of 8.02 in IPL 2020 went on to show that batters didn't find him easy to get away with. Now, after a long layoff, Natarajan will be eager to put on an impressive show for SRH.

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#4. Chris Jordan (Chennai Super Kings)

England Nets Session

England's white-ball specialist Chris Jordan was picked up by the defending champions Chennai Super Kings (CSK) at the mega auction for ₹3.60 crore. The Barbados-born has been part of several IPL franchises including Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB), SRH and Punjab Kings (PBKS).

An amazing athlete and a brilliant outfielder, Jordan isn't specifically a new-ball bowler. He often bowls in the middle overs and is considered a death o-ver expert because of his vast experience in the T20 game.

Without Shardul Thakur and Josh Hazlewood, CSK are a bit short of premier death bowlers. That's where Jordan comes in as a more than handy option for new skipper Ravindra Jadeja.

The right-armer has a great variety of slower balls and can even surprise a batter with a searing bouncer. Aside from bowling in the second half of an innings, Jordan can even smack some big blows with the bat, if required.

#3. Harshal Patel (Royal Challengers Bangalore)

Harshal Patel was magnificent in the IPL 2021 [Harshal Patel's IG]

2021 belonged to Harshal Patel, who first dominated both halves of the IPL before making inroads into the national side.

Patel played 15 encounters for RCB last term, scalping 32 wickets. He created a new record for the most wickets by an Indian in an IPL season, leveling with Dwayne Bravo's numbers in the IPL 2013.

The Gujrat-born right-armer built his identity as a middle and death overs specialist, with bowling hardly any overs inside powerplays. The current Purple Cap holder also has an IPL hat-trick to his name, which he took against the Mumbai Indians last year.

Patel has the ability to keep the opposition under control in death overs by taking wickets at regular intervals. However, it would be intriguing to see how he manages to put the massive sum of INR10.75 crore that RCB spent for his services aside and perform to his true ability.

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#2. Jasprit Bumrah (Mumbai Indians)

2019 IPL Final - Mumbai v Chennai

Unlike the previous three names on the list, Jasprit Bumrah is the kind of bowler who is comfortable to bowl in any phase of the game. Arguably the best bowler in the world, let alone in the IPL, Bumrah has restricted countless opponents at the death and has held his nerve to bowl some of the most crucial overs.

Bumrah has quite a few variations in his repertoire, including his famous off-cutters, scorching yorkers, and back-of-length deliveries. Despite bowling majorly in death overs, Bumrah has a career economy rate of just 7.42 runs per over.

As far as his numbers in the final overs are concerned, Bumrah has picked up 63 wickets in 97 innings.

This year, however, it won't be as easy for Bumrah as he won't find his usual death bowling partners in Trent Boult and Nathan Coulter-Nile around him. The 28-year-old will once again be tasked with bowling key overs for MI this season, like he has done in previous seasons.

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#1. Bhuvneshwar Kumar (Sunrisers Hyderabad)

India v New Zealand - T20 International

Like T Natarajan, Bhuvneshwar Kumar also wasn't retained by SRH. However, the franchise bought back the experienced pacer at the mega auction for ₹4.2 crores after outbidding MI and Lucknow Super Giants (LSG).

Bhuvneshwar has fought many battles in his long career and his grit and perseverance is second to none. Since joining SRH in 2014, the right-armer has picked up 118 wickets in 101 games at an incredible economy of 7.42 runs per over. He is also the only Indian bowler to win two Purple Caps in the IPL.

However, the 32-year old, who was held back by injuries, endured a tough IPL 2021 and didn't even produce good numbers in international cricket as well. With a fresh season forthcoming, Bhuvneshwar will look to once again exhibit his varied skills and hunt in pairs with Natarajan.