In the shortest format of cricket, bowlers’ contributions can make a big difference. In T20 cricket, an individual bowler gets a maximum of 4 overs to bowl. If you look at the bowlers’ list in the history of T20 Cricket, there are; Sunil Narine, Nathan McCullum, Stuart Broad,
Morne Morkel, Lasith Malinga, Mitchell Starc, Dale Steyn, Bhuvneshwar Kumar,
Ravichandran Ashwin and many others. Here we will look into the top 5 bowlers in T20 Cricket history and some of their best wickets.
1. Lasith Malinga
This former cricketer of Sri Lanka is best known for his bowling in limited-overs cricket. He is also well-known as “Yorker king” since he introduced Yorker deliveries to take wickets effortlessly. Later inspired by Malinga, Jasprit Bumrah started using Yorkers to take off the stumps of the batsmen. In a total of 84 T20 international matches, from 2006 to 2020, he bowled for 299.5 overs and successfully took 107 wickets. In the T20 IPL, he played 122 matches for Mumbai Indians and took 170 wickets.
“He actually bowled a slower Yorker on the last ball of the 20th over to win an IPL title. I mean, who would have thought that this was possible?,” Aakash Chopra quoted as saying during an interview on Betway.
2. Sunil Narine
This right arm off break West Indies bowler has played a total of 51 matches since 2012. One of his best bowling figures remains 4/12 wickets against New Zealand in 2012. In t20 IPL, Narine has been the powerhouse of KKR’s bowling attack. He has taken 145 wickets in his IPL career. In IPL, Sunil Narine received the Most Valuable Player title two times, in 2012 and 2018.
“Sunil Narine is the best spinner, because of his variations. I had no idea which way it was going,” Pietersen said during an interview to Betway.
3. Bhuvneshwar Kumar
Playing against Pakistan in 2012, Bhuvi made his debut in t20 international. In his 59 international 20 over matches, he has taken 58 wickets with an economy rate of 6.99. He has a 5 wicket haul in T20I against South Africa. Bhuvi has played for both Pune Warriors and Sunrisers Hyderabad in the IPL. He has bagged three 4, and one 5 wickets haul in IPL. This Indian bowler has been awarded with Purple cap twice for taking the most number of wickets in the 2016 and 2017 IPL.
4. Dale Steyn
South African bowler Dale Steyn is regarded as one of the best fast paced bowlers. Debuted in 2007, Dale has taken 64 wickets with an economy rate of 6.94. In IPL, Dale has played for 4 different teams, RCB, SRH, Gujrat Lions, and Deccan Chargers. He has bowled for 362.4 overs in his IPL career and taken 97 wickets. This right-arm fast bowler has been appointed as a bowling coach of Sunrisers Hyderabad in this IPL season 2022.
5. Ravichandran Ashwin
This Indian spinner is a well-known face of team India. Debuted in 2010, Ashwin has played 51 matches. In t20 matches, he has grabbed 4 wickets haul twice. His four wickets for 8 runs against Sri Lanka is his best bowling figure in T20I. In t20 IPL, Ashwin has played 169 matches in total. With an economy rate of 6.91, Ashwin has a 4 wicket-haul next to his name. This former all-rounder of CSK is currently playing for Rajasthan Royals in TATA IPL 2022.