IPL 2022: Rating and Ranking the Fast Bowlers of all 10 Teams

Delhi Capitals the standout team as we look at the ranking of the fast bowlers of all 10 teams for IPL 2022.  

Fast bowlers – Be it bowling in the Powerplays or in the Death Overs, the most difficult overs are bowled by this category of bowlers. All teams in general look to keep 4 to 5 key fast bowlers in their team. These bowlers lead the bowling attack for their respective teams, and also help nurture the young Indian talent on offer. 

Unlike Spinners, Teams have invested heavily in Overseas pacers this season, and there are some fiery pace bowling on offer. Be it Lockie Ferguson, Anrich Nortje, or Kagiso Rabada, there’s plenty of pace on offer. While Overseas fast bowlers are available in plenty, the Indian fast bowlers are not far behind with the likes of Jasprit Bumrah, Mohd. Shami, or Harshal Patel. 

So, how are teams placed this year when it comes to their fast bowling attack? Let’s look at the ranking and rating of all 10 Teams when it comes to their Fast Bowlers in IPL 2022. Before that, let’s look at the methodology that would help us arrive at these rankings and ratings.

Methodology:

• Fast Bowlers are classified as two Solid Fast Bowlers, two Primary backup Fast Bowlers, and Secondary backup Fast Bowlers
• To remove the biases or perception, all Fast Bowlers are relatively rated on a scale of 10, basis their last three IPL performance, and their current International / Domestic form with more weightage being given to their IPL performance.
• In addition, the two Solid Fast Bowlers are given a maximum rating of 10. Whereas the Primary backup Fast Bowlers and Secondary backup Fast Bowlers are given a maximum rating of 7.5 and 5 respectively. 

Benchmark Fast Bowler for IPL 2022: Jasprit Bumrah

Alright then, let’s look at the ranking and rating of the Fast Bowlers of each Team for IPL 2022. 

#10: Sunrisers Hyderabad – 8.30

Two Solid Fast Bowlers for SRH: Bhuvneshwar Kumar & T Natarajan

Primary Backup Fast Bowlers for SRH: Marco Jansen & Kartik Tyagi

Secondary Backup Fast Bowler(s) for SRH: Umran Malik, Sean Abbott & Romario Shephard

Not the position you would want to be in, but the lack of a star overseas fast bowler is the main reason for it. SRH have the Indian duo of Bhuvneshwar Kumar and T Natarajan as their leading pacers. While Bhuvi is good in experience, T Natarajan rose to prominence in 2020. Apart from these two, SRH have two young Indian pacers, Kartik Tyagi and Umran Malik. 

From an overseas fast bowlers standpoint, SRH have decent names in the form of Marco Jansen, Romario Shephard, and Sean Abbott. All three may not be as belligerent as the likes of Nortje or Ferguson, but if Williamson can inspire, they can perform well. Overall, SRH have a rating of 8.30, which isn’t bad, but someone had to get 10th rank, and it’s, unfortunately, Sunrisers Hyderabad.

#9: Kolkata Knight Riders – 8.33

Two Solid Fast Bowlers for KKR: Pat Cummins & Tim Southee 

Primary Backup Fast Bowlers for KKR: Andre Russell & Chamika Karunaratne 

Secondary Backup Fast Bowler(s) for KKR: Umesh Yadav, Rasikh Salam, Venkatesh Iyer & Shivam Mavi

The KKR team is filled with tons of fast bowlers, but what they lack is a T20 specialist. One may argue seeing Umesh Yadav’s performance so far, but Umesh isn’t a T20 specialist, and is more of a classical swing bowler. His good performance is welcome, but he didn’t get good results in the last three years. In fact, Umesh didn’t play a simple game last season. 

For KKR, Pat Cummins and Tim Southee are their leading fast bowlers and another overseas duo of Andre Russell and Chamika Karunaratne is their primary backup fast bowlers. For secondary backup, KKR have a young Indian contingent in the form of Shivam Mavi, Rasikh Salam, and Venkatesh Iyer. Same as SRH, the rating for 8.33 isn’t bad, but is marginally lesser than others.

#8 Rajasthan Royals – 8.37

Two Solid Fast Bowlers for RR: Trent Boult & Prasidh Krishna 

Primary Backup Fast Bowlers for RR: Obed McCoy & Navdeep Saini 

Secondary Backup Fast Bowler(s) for RR: Daryl Mitchell, Kuldip Yadav & Jame Neesham 

Come to the number 7 position, we have the  Rajasthan Royals. RR are quite similar to SRH and KKR, but the presence of a star T20 bowler, Trent Boult increases their rating marginally. Other than Trent Boult, RR have decent fast bowling in the form of Prasidh Krishna, Navdeep Saini, Obed McCoy, and James Neesham. For RR, the rating stands at 8.37, which is slightly less given the loss of Counter-Nile. 

#7: Punjab Kings – 8.38

Two Solid Fast Bowlers for PBKS: Kagiso Rabada & Arshdeep Singh 

Primary Backup Fast Bowlers for PBKS: Nathan Ellis & Odean Smith 

Secondary Backup Fast Bowler(s) for PBKS: Sandeep Sharma, Vaibhav Arora, Raj Bawa, Ishan Porel & Rishi Dhawan 

Punjab Kings are almost quite similar to Rajasthan Royals with the only difference being Kagiso Rabada vs Trent Boult, and Rabada being a slightly higher-rated fast bowler than Boult. Other than that, all the other fast bowlers are quite similarly rated. PBKS have brilliant death overs bowler Arshdeep Singh as their second key fast bowler, and Nathan Ellis, Odean Smith, Sandeep Sharma, and Vaibhav Arora as other key backups. Punjab Kings’ rating stands at 8.38, which isn’t bad either. 

#6: Chennai Super kings – 8.41

Two Solid Fast Bowlers for CSK: Deepak Chahar & Dwayne Bravo 

Primary Backup Fast Bowlers for CSK: Adam Milne & Chris Jordan 

Secondary Backup Fast Bowler(s) for CSK: Dwayne Pretorius, KM Asif, Tushar Deshpande, Mukesh Choudhary, Rajvardhan Hangargekar & Shivam Dube 

Chennai Super Kings are currently experiencing a horrid run in IPL having lost four matches in a row, and the lack of their best fast bowler and INR 14 Cr player, Deepak Chahar is one of the main reasons. CSK are badly missing their key powerplay bowler as they are unable to create pressure at the start. The team also has Adam Milne injured, who is one of their key fast bowlers. 

Coming to other fast bowlers, CSK have Dwayne Bravo, Dwaine Pretorius, and Chris Jordan as key death fast bowlers. In addition, Chennai Super Kings have young Indian fast bowlers in the form of Tushar Deshpande, Rajvardhan Hangargekar, Mukesh Choudhary, KM Asif, and Shivam Dube. All these make for a rating of 8.41; again marginally better than Punjab Kings. 

#5: Lucknow Super Giants – 8.42

Two Solid Fast Bowlers for LSG: Jason Holder & Avesh Khan 

Primary Backup Fast Bowlers for LSG: Andrew Tye & Dushmantha Chameera 

Secondary Backup Fast Bowler(s) for LSG: Mohsin Khan, Ankit Rajpoot & Kyle Mayers 

The Lucknow Super Giants had a better rating than 8.42, but the loss of Mark Wood reduced their rating from 8.49 to 8.42; although that doesn’t change their ranking. LSG have their first-choice duo of Jason Holder and Avesh Khan as their leading fast bowlers. They form a strong pace attack, and are equally supported by Andrew Tye and Dushmantha Chameera. With 4 strong pace options already there, the backup of Mohsin Khan, Ankit Rajpoot, and Kyle Mayers isn’t bad either. 

#4: Gujarat Titans – 8.55

Two Solid Fast Bowlers for GT: Lockie Ferguson & Mohammed Shami 

Primary Backup Fast Bowlers for GT: Alzarri Joseph & Hardik Pandya 

Secondary Backup Fast Bowler(s) for GT: Dominic Drakes, Varun Aaron & Darshan Nalkande 

Number 4 on the list is the team that has done extremely well this season, the Gujarat Titans. The main reason for Gujarat Titans to do so well this season is the fast bowling duo of Mohammed Shami and Lockie Ferguson, which is undoubtedly the best most lethal fast bowling duo among all teams.

Supporting them are Hardik Pandya and Alzarri Joseph as key backups. The team also has Varun Aaron, Darshan Nalkande, and Dominic Drakes as secondary backups, as and when required. Overall, Gujarat Titans sit comfortably at the number 4 position with a rating of 8.55. 

#3: Mumbai Indians – 8.59

Two Solid Fast Bowlers for MI: Jasprit Bumrah & Tymal Mills 

Primary Backup Fast Bowlers for MI: Daniel Sams & Jaydev Unadkat 

Secondary Backup Fast Bowler(s) for MI: Basil Thampi, Riley Meredith & Kieron Pollard 

If you ask me, Mumbai Indians don’t deserve the number 3 spot, but Jasprit Bumrah being the benchmark with a perfect rating of 10, it considerably increases the rating. They also had Jofra Archer, who isn’t available this season, who would have again increased their rating to a considerable value.

With Jasprit Bumrah at the helm, Mumbai Indians have Tymal Mills, Daniel Sams, and Jaydev Unadkat as other key fast bowlers. The overall rating of 8.59 for Mumbai Indians could have gone below 8 had Bumrah not been there, but for now, they are at number 3. 

#2: Royal Challengers Bangalore – 8.77

Two Solid Fast Bowlers for RCB: Josh Hazlewood & Harshal Patel 

Primary Backup Fast Bowlers for RCB: Mohammed Siraj & David Willey

Secondary Backup Fast Bowler(s) for RCB: Jason Behrendorff, Akash Deep & Siddharth Kaul

Talk about the number 2 position, and Royal Challengers Bangalore undoubtedly deserve this position. They have three strong pacers in the form of Harshal Patel, Josh Hazlewood, and Mohammed Siraj; making them the best fast bowling trio in the competition.

For now David Willey, their key backup is leading the overseas pace attack, but we should soon see Hazlewood back in action. These three are well supported by Akash Deep, David Willey, Jason Behrendorff, and Siddharth Kaul. Overall, the Royal Challengers Bangalore get a rating of 8.77; which isn’t far behind the number 1 fast bowling attack team, Delhi Capitals. 

#1: Delhi Capitals – 8.91

Two Solid Fast Bowlers for DC: Anrich Nortje & Shardul Thakur 

Primary Backup Fast Bowlers for DC: Mustafizur Rahman & Lungi Ngidi

Secondary Backup Fast Bowler(s) for DC: Chetan Sakariya, Khaleel Ahmed, Kamlesh Nagarkoti & Mitchell Marsh

On paper, Delhi Capitals may have the best fast bowling attack with three overseas pacers, Anrich Nortje, Mustafizur Rahman, and Lungi Ngidi tilting the rating. But the fact that Delhi can play only two of these three make RCB a more dominant fast bowling attack when it comes to playing 11. But Delhi have a strong differentiator when it comes to Indian pacers.

Delhi have four good Indian names when it comes to fast bowling, and three of these four can make it to the playing 11 of any team. This includes the likes of Shardul Thakur, Chetan Sakariya, Khaleel Ahmed, and Kamlesh Nagarkoti. All four have IPL experience under the belt with Shardul being the most experienced one. Overall, Delhi lead the fast bowling attack with a rating of 8.91. 

So, that completes the ranking of the Fast Bowlers of all 10 teams for IPL 2022. Overall, Jasprit Bumrah is the best pacer for IPL 2022 with Anrich Nortje and Kagiso Rabada following him at number 2 and number 3 respectively. From the team perspective, there’s not much difference in the rating of all the teams, but Delhi Capitals have the best fast bowlers for IPL 2022. 

Thanks for reading! Seeing the ranking, which team has the best Fast Bowlers for IPL 2022? Please email your thoughts to business@cricalytics.com

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ALSO READ: IPL 2022: Ranking the All-rounders of all Teams by Performance

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