The IPL 2023 is unlike any in the past three seasons, because for the first time since 2019, the tournament returns to its traditional home-and-away format. Fans and players alike are excited for their homecoming for the stands to be filled jam-packed again.
As usual, death bowling will be crucial in the IPL 2023 in determining any team’s success or failure, not just in few matches, but throughout the season.
Here are the 2 teams which seem to have the strongest, well-rounded death bowling attack in the IPL 2023:
Sunrisers Hyderabad
SRH have built their success in the IPL on the base of their bowling attack, in particular, the pacers who have more often than not delivered goods for them. It is on the back of a strong pace-bowling group, most of which were Indian, that SRH were consistent – they reached 6 playoffs in their first 8 seasons from 2013 to 2020.
While the last couple of seasons haven’t been good for their team – marred by their skippers Warner and Williamson not performing and their batting order being shaky – SRH seem to have a solid group of bowlers heading into the IPL 2023.
Led by Bhuvneshwar Kumar, SRH’s seam attack boasts of yorker specialist T Natarajan, the fiesty quick-fire Umran Malik, and Kartik Tyagi, along with overseas stars Marco Jansen and Fazalhaq Farooqi, both of whom have been impressive in international and T20 cricket.
Natarajan, Malik, and Bhuvneshwar are likely to be tasked with the death overs along with an over of Jansen.
Punjab Kings
Arshdeep Singh and Kagiso Rabada formed a deadly duo for Punjab Kings in the IPL 2022. Last year, Arshdeep rose significantly in stature and was the second-best death-overs bowler in the IPL 2022, after Jasprit Bumrah. He nailed his yorkers very well, used his slower variations cleverly. An impressive IPL followed selection in the Indian team and soon he was heading India’s pace attack in the T20 World Cup.
Over the past year, Rabada has blown hot and cold in white-ball cricket, but when he’s on song, there are few pacers better than him in any phase of the game, be it with the new ball, or hitting the deck in the middle-overs, or bowling pin-point, fast yorkers in the death.
To partner them, PBKS have bolstered their bowling attack with Sam Curran, the most expensive signing in the IPL history worth 18.5 crore. Curran was the best death bowler in the T20 World Cup 2022, with 10 of his 13 wickets coming in this phase of the game, and bagged the Player of the Tournament award, helping England win the tournament.
On the bench, PBKS will have Nathan Ellis, who is already a sort of a white-ball specialist, known for his smart change of pace and hitting length and getting seam movement.
This year, in IPL 2023, the trio of Arshdeep, Rabada, and Curran could propel Punjab to their first playoff appearance since 2014.
