Top 5 Indian T20I bowlers of the decade

In the early 2010s, T20 cricket was the least popular format in the cricketing world. The Indian Premier League was just two years old and the cricket universe was under the impression that the format favored the batsmen a lot more than the bowlers. However, the last ten years have only been revolutionary in the T20 arena.

A lot of players have earned a name for themselves just by playing in T20 leagues all over the world. The birth of Champions League T20 and the decision to have T20 World Cups every second year have both helped a lot in this regard.

While the batsmen still rule the roost in this format, there have been many memorable performances from the bowlers as well, including several from Indian bowlers.

On that note, let us have a look at the top five Indian T20I bowlers of this decade:

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#5 Ashish Nehra

Ashish Nehra made a fantastic comeback to the Indian team

Matches - 27, Wickets - 34, Best Figures - 3/19, Economy Rate - 7.73

Left-arm fast bowler Ashish Nehra had played only two T20I matches for India before he made his T20 World Cup debut in 2010. He recorded his career-best figures in the shortest format in the match against Afghanistan and had a splendid tournament thereon. Nehra played a solitary match in 2011 against South Africa, where he scalped two wickets for 22 runs in his four overs and was then dropped from the team.

He returned to India's T20 side five years later after a phenomenal outing in IPL 2015. He played a match-winning role in the 2016 Asia Cup and was impressive in the 2016 T20 World Cup as well. The Delhi-based player remained an integral part of the team until his retirement in 2017.

#4 Yuzvendra Chahal

Yuzvendra Chahal had taken 6/25 in a T20I versus England

Matches - 34, Wickets - 50, Best Figures - 6/25, Economy Rate - 7.99

Yuzvendra Chahal made his T20I debut for India after IPL 2016. He was a part of the series against Zimbabwe and bowled a magnificent spell in the 2nd T20I where he returned figures of 1/19. Based on his performance in the series, he earned a place in the Indian T20I squad for the series against England.

Chahal picked up two wickets in the first T20I of the series but went wicket-less in the second match. The team management backed him to play well at the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium and the skinny lad from Haryana did not disappoint as he scalped six wickets in his four overs to tilt the game in India's favor.

He has now established himself as a prime wicket-taker in the Indian team. The 29-year-old has taken 50 wickets in the 34 matches he has played for the country. Currently, he stands third in the list of the highest Indian T20I wicket-takers of this decade.

#3 Jasprit Bumrah

Jasprit Bumrah is the world's number 1 ODI bowler

Matches - 42, Wickets - 51, Best Figures - 3/11, Economy Rate - 6.71

Jasprit Bumrah is the best bowler on the planet right now but the only reason he is at the number three position in this list is his career span. Bumrah made his debut in 2016 while this list considers the performances of players from 2010 to 2019. Thus, the Ahmedabad-born pacer holds the third rank here.

He has played 42 T20I matches for India so far and has represented the country in the 2016 T20 World Cup. The right-arm fast bowler played his first T20I against Australia at Adelaide. He picked up 6 wickets in his debut series and later followed it up with some fine spells against Sri Lanka.

Bumrah has been a fantastic performer for team India in T20Is and will be the team's most important bowler in the upcoming World Cup.

#2 Ravichandran Ashwin

Ravichandran Ashwin has not played a T20 international match since 2017

Matches - 46, Wickets - 52, Best Figures - 4/8, Economy Rate - 6.97

The most successful Indian T20I bowler of this decade missed out on the top spot just because of his exclusion from the T20I team. Although he has achieved enormous success in T20I cricket, Ashwin now seems to have fallen off the selectors' radar.

He has donned the Indian jersey in multiple T20 World Cups. He made his T20I debut against Sri Lanka in 2010 and his consistent performances thereon cemented his spot in the team. His ability to avoid provide breakthroughs at crucial junctions of the match often made him Dhoni's (and later Kohli's) go-to bowler.

The Chennai-born Ashwin led the Indian spin bowling attack in the 2014 T20 World Cup. He took 11 wickets in the tournament, all the while keeping his economy rate below six in every single group match.

#1 Bhuvneshwar Kumar

Bhuvneshwar Kumar has improved a lot in the last few years

Matches - 40, Wickets - 39, Best Figures - 5/24, Economy Rate - 6.85

When Bhuvneshwar Kumar made his international debut for India, the fans billed him as Praveen Kumar 2.0. He had an excellent command over the swing and seam of the ball. In his debut match against Pakistan, Bhuvneshwar returned figures of 3/9 in his four overs.

His performance in the subsequent matches wasn't up to the mark and the pacer was then dropped from the team. He later bounced back, putting his newfound ability to bowl quick yorkers in the death overs to good use, and was India's premier pacer once again.

One of the most economical bowlers around, there are just five T20Is out of the 40 he's played in where he has conceded more than 40 runs.

The Uttar Pradesh-born bowler also has a five-wicket haul to his name (against South Africa in Johannesburg) besides being the team’s vital cog in the 2014 and 2016 T20 World Cups.