Even though the IPL has been tough for bowlers from the beginning, some bowlers have managed to do well and give a hard time to batsmen from other teams. These good bowlers are not common, and teams often have to spend a lot of money to get them to play for their team.
Most of these bowlers are from other countries, and many teams choose to use two of their four slots for overseas players to have these top-quality bowlers on their team.
Let’s take a look at the 5 overseas bowlers with most wickets in in IPL history:
5. Kagiso Rabada – 99 wickets
Kagiso Rabada is doing really well in the IPL. He’s got the best strike rate of any bowler with over 25 wickets. His strike rate is less than 14.5, which is amazing for someone with around 100 wickets. You can find out how to calculate bowling strike rate and average in this article.
He’s only played 63 games and already taken 99 wickets. So, he’ll likely beat Malinga’s record for the fastest to 100 IPL wickets in the next season.
4. Rashid Khan – 112 Wickets
Rashid Khan has a really cool story in the IPL. He’s from Afghanistan and he’s made a big difference for Afghan cricketers. Rashid is a great bowler, especially known for being very economical. That means he doesn’t give away many runs when he bowls. In fact, he has the best economy rate of all bowlers who’ve taken more than 8 wickets in the IPL.
He played for Sunrisers Hyderabad for 5 years before moving to Lucknow Super Giants. Every season, he’s been super consistent, getting at least 15 wickets.
3. Sunil Narine: 152 wickets
Sunil Narine is considered one of the best players in the IPL. He has always played for KKR and has been their main bowler since he started in 2012. He took more than 20 wickets each season from 2012 to 2014.
Although he’s not getting as many wickets lately, he still doesn’t give away many runs. Like Watson, he has won the Most Valuable Player award twice. He’s also a contender for the MVP Award in IPL 2020.
2. Lasith Malinga: 170 wickets
Lasith Malinga is the second best bowler in the history of the Indian Premier League (IPL). He’s not from India but from Sri Lanka. He’s taken a lot of wickets, even though he’s played fewer games than another bowler named Amit Mishra. Malinga has played for Mumbai Indians throughout his career and has set many records. In 2011, he had a fantastic season, taking 28 wickets while giving away very few runs and bowling very effectively.
1. Dwayne Bravo: 183 wickets
Dwayne Bravo, the West Indian cricketer who bowls at a medium pace, has taken the most wickets in the history of the IPL. He’s been amazing for the Chennai Super Kings team. In 2013 and 2015, he took 32 and 26 wickets, earning himself two purple caps.
Bravo has also played for Mumbai Indians and Gujarat Lions. He’s really good at bowling at the end of the game when it’s tough for the batsmen. He even holds the record for taking the most wickets in one season, which is 32.
READ MORE: Top 5 IPL Teams with the Most Wins in a Single Season
