The growth of the T20 format across international and franchise cricket has helped bowlers hone their skills better. Spinners Rashid Khan (Gujarat Titans), Wanindu Hasaranga (Royal Challengers Bangalore) and Yuzvendra Chahal (Rajasthan Royals) are tricky to read.
However, in the past three seasons, the fast bowlers have been stealing the thunder by picking up wickets and bowling more dot balls to choke the opposition. Prasidh Krishna (Rajasthan Royals) bowled 200 dots last year. His teammate Trent Boult delivered 176 dot balls, while Mohammed Shami (Gujarat Titans) from the champion team bowled 172.
Though there will be some spin on a few pitches, especially Chennai, in the home and away format, these pacers will likely deliver the goods in the 2023 edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL):
Deepak Chahar (Chennai Super Kings)
India pacer Chahar has the most wickets (44) in the powerplay for the Chennai Super Kings (CSK) since 2018. He missed the last season due to a back injury, but the record remained untouched. The right-arm pacer who can swing the ball both ways has been part of two IPL title wins under Mahendra Singh Dhoni in the yellow jersey.
The 2019 edition was Chahar's breakout season, where he picked up 22 wickets in 17 games. On the international front, his figure of 6/7 against Bangladesh, achieved in 2019, is a T20I record.
The 30-year-old is an all-rounder. He is capable of playing the cameos in the lower order.
Archer's comeback is a boon for the Mumbai Indians, who will be without the services of Jasprit Bumrah. The lanky Caribbean pacer, who represents England, sat out 541 days to recover from a string of injuries that paused his growth after the victorious ODI World Cup 2019 campaign.
The 27-year-old returned to competitive cricket with the SAT20 League in Mumbai Indians Cape Town colours earlier this year. He can bowl 150kmph with ease. The seamless run-up with a straight face is so deceptive that it is difficult to predict if the incoming delivery will be a short one or a yorker.
Born and raised in the West Indies, he built his tendons by sprinting on the beaches. He is almost like a kangaroo on the cricket pitch who walks in and knocks off helmets. In his last IPL season in 2020, for Rajasthan Royals, he picked up 20 wickets in 14 outings.
T. Natarajan (Sunrisers Hyderabad)
Left-arm pacers are an X-factor as they can angle the ball into the right-hander for the lbw traps. Tamil Nadu pacer Natarajan was a revelation in 2020 and 2022 for the Sunrisers before injuries started playing hide and seek.
Natarajan, the second-highest wicket-taker of the Sunrisers in 2022 (18 wickets in 11 games) after Umran Malik (22 wickets), will be keen to showcase his skills with yorkers. Statistics say that the bowler had delivered 66 yorkers in the 2020 edition. Even AB de Villiers had failed to read him.
Overall, Natarajan has 38 wickets in 35 games and is a brilliant bowler at death.
Trent Boult (Rajasthan Royals)
There is nothing that Trent Boult can't do. Give him any jersey, and the left-arm pacer will put his hand up to bowl in the powerplay, the death and even the Super Over if required.
The New Zealand paceman is an IPL veteran, having started in 2015, and has grown in stature since.
Boult's 16 wickets in as many games for the Royals catapulted the franchise into the finals. He was the best bowler for Sanju Samson's side in the final with 1/14 in four overs, including a maiden, at an economy of 3.50.
Mohammed Shami (Gujarat Titans)
Shami is a skiddy customer. His mix of pace and swing has troubled champion batters in the IPL. Last year, he was instrumental in Gujarat Titans' victorious campaign by picking up 20 wickets in 16 games.
The right-arm pacer, currently on 99 wickets in 93 games, Mohammed Shami (Gujarat Titans) will be gunning for the 100th wicket when the Titans meet the Super Kings in the opener at the Narendra Modi Stadium today (March 31, 2023).
Earlier, Shami had turned heads in the Punjab Kings jersey in the IPL. In the 2020 edition, he defended six runs in a Super Over, highlighting his skills at the death.
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