Is Harshal Patel more influential bowlers in IPL than Jasprit Bumrah, Rashid Khan and Arshdeep Singh?
Since 2021, among those taking the top 50 wickets in the IPL, no bowler has a better wicket-wicket-match ratio than Harshal Patel.
Jasprit Bumrah, Arshdeep Singh, Yuzvendra Chahal, Rashid Khan, Arshdeep Singh, and Varun Chakarwarthi are probably the best bowlers in the Indian Premier League (IPL). Nevertheless, none of them have more wickets than Harshal Patel in the last five sessions.
Bumrah is the only one of them who missed the match due to injury. And no, Harshal has not played more and more matches. Nevertheless, that wicket is standing on top of the mountain.
Harshal Patel or Purple Patel?
The right hand pace does not have a nominated home ground like Arshdeep, Bumrah, Chakarwardi or Rashid. Since 2021, Harshal has played for 3 separate teams. He was with Royal Challengers Bangalore from 2021 to 2023, spent a season with Punjab Kings (2024) and now plays for Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH).
Here no one is arguing that Harshal is a better bowler than him. In fact, he has not played for the India cricket team since January 2023. But he can be more impressive and valuable picking than all the bowlers mentioned above. He has won the purple cap twice in 2021 and 2024. Only two more bowlers have done Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Dwayne Bravo.
In the modern T20 format, where the sports batsmen have lost more, it is often a team with the best bowlers who come to the top. And he falls in this category. Since 2021, among those taking the top 50 wickets in the IPL, no bowler has a better wicket-wicket-match ratio than Harshal Patel.
The most wickets in IPL since 2021
| Bowler | Turn | Wicket | Wicket per match | average | economy | Strike rate |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Harshal Patel | 65 | 102 | 1.56 | 20.03 | 8.77 | 13.6 |
| Yuzvendra Chahal | 69 | 93 | 1.34 | 22.80 | 8.22 | 16.6 |
| Rashid Khan | 67 | 80 | 1.19 | 24.91 | 7.65 | 19.5 |
| Avesh Khan | 61 | 77 | 1.26 | 25.38 | 8.80 | 17.2 |
| Arshdeep Singh | 62 | 75 | 1.20 | 26.33 | 8.91 | 17.7 |
The most influential bowler of IPL
Bumrah has given enough respect to himself that batsmen often try to play him. Arshdeep Singh is on his way. One should not forget that he is the most successful T20I bowler for India. Why Harshal is not mentioned with these pacers, because he is rarely bowled in the powerplay if he rarely, if ever,.
Harshal has bowled at just 18.1 overs in Powerplay since 2021. Pacers usually bowl more in just one season. He is used as a middle and death-over bowler. He bowled 214.4 overs from 7-20 overs in IPL during this period.
There may also be a discount before this. But nowadays, the batsman is not slow. They never remove their feet from the pedal. This is where Harshal comes. He does not mean being economical. His job is taking wickets. And as mentioned above, it is best to do so.
In fact, their influence may be greater than the choice of Bumrah, Rashid or Arshadeep, even if it may not be as versatile, skilled or as a formation.
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