There was a time when cricket teams used to brag about their strength on the basis of the fast bowlers that they had in their bedecked echelons. The raw and brutal pace wasn’t just a technique like the current days, but it used to be a fear-mongering aspect of each side, especially with players of towering statures like the Whispering Death, Big Bird, Barney, Paddles and countless others who have romanticized the art of fast bowling to an extent where a team sans such big brutal names used to be considered as effeminate.
However, the entire paradigm of cricket has changed and things are no longer as they used to be. As the game has evolved over the years, so has the sportsmen playing the sport. From being a sport of all-round ability, it is now a stoush of the willow and the leather which is highly predominant towards the ones flailing the blade frenetically.
Despite the sunset of those brutal and minatory fast bowlers, a new lot of the genres has been evolving who has not only built themselves according to the prerequisites of fast bowling but are capable of consistently hitting the deck at 145 plus clicks.
As India celebrates the fourteenth edition of the biggest cricketing extravaganza in terms of franchise cricket, Indian Premier League 2021, we will take a look at those monikers who are spearheading the renaissance of fast bowling in IPL and are considered to be the deadliest fast bowlers across the face of the planet. In this story, we will be celebrating the four fastest bowlers of IPL 2021.
1. Anrich Nortje
Anrich Nortje was brought in as the replacement of Chris Woakes in IPL 2020. Hailing from the Rainbow Nation, there weren’t many expectations from this man. However, when he started belting out those nasty bullets that went on to break all the previous speed records of IPL, people realized that what a wonderful signing has the Capitals made in Nortje. Playing the perfect complement to Kagiso Rabada, he blazed the tournament with the five fastest deliveries in the entire antiquity of the fray. He came out with figures of 22 wickets from the 16 games which he played, bowling at a decent economy rate of 8.39. The war that he brewed with Jos Butler in the solitary over where he was smacked for a couple of boundaries and then he avenged his humiliation with a tracer bullet ranging at 150 plus clicks was one of the highlights of the tournament.
2. Kagiso Rabada
Another South African name who turned out to be a ship-wrecker last time and continues to be one of the finest fast bowlers in the tournament’s glittering history is Kagiso Rabada. Plying his trade for Delhi Capitals, he left an indelible impact on the tournament and was an industrious part of Delhi en route to reaching the finals. He claimed the Purple Cap in 2020 by a 30-wicket performance that saw him establishing himself as an unplayable bowler. Until now, he has played 35 games in his IPL career and has managed to scalp 61 wickets.
3. Pat Cummins
One of Kolkata’s most glittering moniker in the preceding edition of the tournament was their Rs 16 crores purchase, Pat Cummins. The towering gentleman from Australia generated a good deal of pace and consistently bowled at 145 plus clicks that compelled the batters to play him out instead of going for the kill. His first match seemed out of sorts, but he made an excellent comeback in the second and ended the tournament on a high when he scalped four wickets against Rajasthan Royals. Though his wicket count wasn’t really symbolic of the brilliant effort that he managed to put in, yet he has shown enough decency in line and length laced with some brutal speed that at times kissed 150 plus clicks to dazzle the batsmen.
4. Jasprit Bumrah
Needless to say, Mumbai Indians’ and India’s primary bowling option, Jasprit Bumrah will be one of the most crackling pacers of the tournament. Able to hit the deck as hard as 148 clicks, he has already started the fray on a decent note that saw him bowling 4 overs and chronicling figures of 27 for 2 from the same that kept RCB in check. He missed out on the Purple Cap in the preceding edition by a whisker as he could only go up to 27 wickets, three adrift of the leader, Rabada. If he gets going, he can single-handedly destabilize any fortified batting line-up and push the opposition to the brink of decimation.
