Best IPL Bowler – Who Dominates the League’s Bowling Charts

In the last 18 years of the IPL, the tournament seemed to have generalised more towards the batters, with a plethora of runs coming in an innings, making life tough for the bowlers. The shorter dimensions, the ban on saliva due to the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, the fast outfields, and the usage of heavy bats have been a few of the reasons behind it.

 Despite being taken to the cleaners on most occasions, a few of the bowlers have been able to come up on top with sheer consistency. They have adapted to the requirements and rose to prominence by thinking ahead of their time and outfoxing the opposition batters. Names like Lasith Malinga, Sunil Narine, Rashid Khan, and Jasprit Bumrah, among others, have constantly asked tough questions to the batters despite the odds stacked against the bowlers. We shall have a quick glimpse at those special cricketers who have dominated with their bowling performance in IPL history.

1.    Yuzvendra Chahal

Known for his smart bowling and wicket-hunting ability, Yuzvendra Chahal is the leading wicket-taker in the IPL. Having featured in 172 matches, he has bagged 219 wickets with four maidens in the tournament’s history. The wrist-spinner’s bowling average is 22.49, with a bowling strike rate of 16.98. He is also the bowler with the most four or more wickets in an IPL innings, with the number reading nine.
The Haryana bowler initially featured for the Mumbai Indians in 2013 when the Ambani-based team won their first-ever IPL title. However, Chahal had little to contribute as he played a solitary game where he was wicketless. The next season, the Royal Challengers Bengaluru roped him in, which turned out to be a game-changing decision for both the franchise and the player. Chahal became one of the promising bowlers for the Bengaluru unit over time, picking up a handful of wickets each season. It required extreme skill to bowl with precision and cunningly extract wickets in a batter’s haven like that of the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium. Chahal excelled in his task without many hiccups.  
However, the Bengaluru unit failed to retain him ahead of the IPL 2022 mega-auction, where the Rajasthan Royals bagged him for three seasons, picking up 27, 21, and 18 wickets in three editions. Despite his impressive performance with the ball for the inaugural champions, Chahal was released into the IPL 2025 mega auction. This is when Punjab Kings snared him, where he took his second IPL hat-trick against the Chennai Super Kings. 

2.    Bhuvneshwar Kumar

One of the prominent pacers to have outwitted opposition batters with controlled swing, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, is the second-highest wicket-taker in IPL. After playing 186 games, he extracted 193 wickets at a bowling average of 27.29. He also has a bowling strike rate of 21.44 while maintaining an economy of 7.63. 
At the beginning of his career, Bhuvneshwar was known to produce both in-swing and out-swing deliveries that often bemused the batters. His accuracy and control over a huge swing earned him a national call-up as he represented India across the three formats. However, in pursuit of increasing his pace, the Uttar Pradesh-based bowler lost his innate sharp swing in the second half of his cricket career. 
In his IPL career, Bhuvneshwar made his debut for the Pune Warriors India under visionary leader Sourav Ganguly before making a switch to the Sunrisers Hyderabad in 2014. In quick time, he became a vital cog for the Orange Army, donning their jersey for the next decade. The right-arm medium pacer won a couple of purple caps in back-to-back seasons in 2016 and 2017 – only the second bowler to earn the prestigious recognition on a trot. 
The skilful bowler’s wickets surged low in the subsequent seasons, where he failed to penetrate the batting attacks during the powerplay and slog-overs phase in general. Yet, the franchise trusted his ability long before releasing the veteran ahead of the IPL 2025 mega auction. Soon, Bhuvneshwar was snapped by the Royal Challengers Bengaluru, where he had a decent outing until the season paused due to political turmoil in India. 

3.    Piyush Chawla

One of the wrist spinners that emerged during India’s transition phase at the far end of Anil Kumble’s international career, Piyush Chawla has been a constant name featuring in IPL until IPL 2024. Before turning 17, he bowled Sachin Tendulkar with a googly, turning out to be one of the most memorable moments of his career. Piyush donned the hat for 192 IPL games, picking up as many wickets at a bowling average of 26.60 and a strike rate of 20.0. He bowed out of his IPL career with an economy of 7.96.
Initially, the Uttar Pradesh-based spinner was picked up by the Kings XI Punjab in the inaugural season of the glitterati tourney, where he was a regular in the playing XI until 2013 before transitioning to the Kolkata Knight Riders in 2014. He was also a crucial member of the Shah Rukh Khan-owned franchise’s second IPL trophy that year. It was Chawla who struck the winning runs after a classy Manish Pandey knock eclipsed Wriddhiman Saha’s only IPL ton in the final.
The Kolkata side backed Chawla until 2019, but the leggie gave moderate results with the ball in hand, leading to his departure for the Chennai Super Kings during the COVID-19 pandemic era. He featured in seven games for the Yellow Army, scalping only six wickets. Eventually, Super Kings’ rivals, Mumbai Indians, snared Chawla the next season, where the veteran featured in three seasons, with IPL 2023 being one of his very best. The wrist-spinner bagged as many as 22 wickets in 16 matches, being one of the positives for a depleted Mumbai side, which qualified for the playoffs after a couple of poor seasons. His brilliant returns extended the run until the end of the cycle before the veteran called time off his IPL career and joined broadcasting in 2025.

4.    Sunil Narine

One of the greatest of all time to have ever played the T20 game, Sunil Narine has played for a solitary franchise in the history of the IPL. It is worth mentioning that he is one of the rarest cricketers ever to do so. Even the likes of MS Dhoni and Rohit Sharma have featured for multiple franchises, but not Narine. 
In his 14-year IPL journey, Narine has scalped 190 wickets from 188 matches with best figures of 5/19 against the Kings XI Punjab in 2012. Adam Gilchrist and Shaun Marsh were two of the prominent names he outwitted in that match. The best part about him is his control and subtle variations. Having started as an aggressive bowler who didn’t back down from bowling in the toughest phases of the game, Narine caved into a relatively defensive bowler after repeated bowling action trials. He went under the scanner numerous times and had to make amends for his bowling action, losing out of the radar of the national team. 
In addition, Narine is also an evolving cricketer who believes in adapting to the conditions and learning with time. The wily operator’s variations are hard to pick by, with a maiden over against Nicholas Pooran in a Caribbean Premier League Super Over being the primary example. 
In his inaugural IPL edition, Narine was the frontrunner for the purple cap but was eclipsed by Morne Morkel due to a difference of a solitary wicket. The Trinidadian bagged 24 scalps while Morkel fetched 25 wickets for the Delhi Daredevils. Despite starting his IPL career with a bang, his wicket-taking abilities declined halfway through his career due to repeated bowling action setbacks. This is when a Gautam Gambhir-led Knight Riders asked him to open the batting in 2017, and his swashbuckling best was on display. Partnering with Chris Lynn, the Knight Riders clobbered 105 runs in a powerplay against the Royal Challengers Bengaluru – a long-time record before Abhishek Sharma and Travis Head breached it in 2024.
Narine’s all-around show was pivotal for the Knight Riders in their third title in 2024, where he smashed his first IPL ton. Not only did he smoke 488 runs at an average of 34.85 and a strike rate of 180.74, but also regulated the middle overs phase and scalped 17 wickets at an economy of 6.69. He continues to master his bowling craft alongside his batting surgency.

5.    Ravichandran Ashwin

Known as an uncanny operator of the cricket ball, Ravichandran Ashwin is one of the greatest spinners of all time. He has made huge strides in Test cricket, but the rise began from the IPL itself. It was the Chennai Super Kings that invested in local talent, which Ashwin embraced with open arms in 2009/10. Having played 200 matches, he has bagged 185 wickets at a bowling average of 30.32. His overall economy is 7.18 while the bowling strike rate is 25.3.
Although an off-spinner by nature, Ashwin’s ability to use the angles and develop new variations has often helped him taste success. In the 2011 season, the Chennai-bred pocketed 20 wickets in a successful Chennai Super Kings outing where they won the title by defeating Royal Challengers Bengaluru in the grand finale. It was one of the breakthrough editions for the mystery bowler who had an economy of only 6.10 in the season. 
While Ashwin was surreal during the powerplay and middle overs phase, slowly, the batters started to pick up his variations. In the process, he was often taken down for runs, compelling the spinner to turn defensive with his approach in the latter half of his IPL career. Barring representing the Super Kings, he also donned the jersey for Rising Pune Super Giants, Delhi Capitals, Kings XI Punjab, and the Rajasthan Royals. However, Ashwin blew hot and cold with very little to offer in his last few editions, seeing a return to his old franchise, the Super Kings, bagging five wickets in eight matches.

6.    Dwayne Bravo

Known for his friendly and calm behaviour, Dwayne Bravo was a part of the IPL from its inception. Initially, he was a part of the Mumbai Indians, picking up 26 wickets from 30 games across three seasons. The Santa Cruz-born was snared by the Chennai Super Kings the next season, which turned out to be his second home for the rest of his IPL career, barring a one-off season with the Gujarat Lions in 2016. 
Bravo was one of the very underrated all-rounders in the tournament who made a clear impact with both bat and ball in hand. With the white cherry, he developed his game in the slog-overs phase with a variety of slower deliveries, the dipping yorker, and weird bowling angles, making life difficult for the opposition. Cunning enough, he was the go-to man for captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni to operate after the tenth over at the far end of Bravo’s IPL career. Not only was he a wicket-taking option with the ball, but also economical as he often curbed runs and neutralised strong starts of their adversaries.
In his IPL career, the three-dimensional star won four IPL titles with the Super Kings. He is also a part of the limited players list to have won the purple cap twice in IPL; he took 32 and 26 wickets in 2013 and 2015, respectively. After participating in 158 innings, he fetched 183 wickets at an economy of 8.38. He concluded his IPL career in 2022 with a bowling strike rate of 23.82.

7.    Jasprit Bumrah

One of the pioneers of modern bowling, Jasprit Bumrah, is a household name in India for his incredible bowling prowess. Not like in India, but the World Cricket recognises the Gujarat-bred pacer as one of the best all-format bowlers. Similar to his heroics in the international spectrum, the IPL has played a central role in some of Bumrah’s classic spells and insane bowling.
Having made his debut for the Mumbai Indians in 2013, Bumrah’s first-ever IPL wicket was Virat Kohli. At the start, he wasn’t the lethal best as he is now. It took him a season or two to find his mojo and stamp authority with the ball in hand. He picked up only eleven wickets from 17 games in his first three IPL editions before bagging 52 wickets in the next three editions from 2016-2018. Since then, his wickets column has never reflected a number less than 15 at the end of a particular IPL season. Bumrah’s 27 scalps in IPL 2020/21 were the best in terms of wickets taken in a season. Overall, the right-arm pacer has pocketed 178 wickets from 141 matches at a bowling strike rate of 18.2. It means he picks a wicket in every three overs. Moreover, Bumrah has an economy of 7.26 and a bowling average of 22.07.
What makes Bumrah unique is his bowling action. He has a wayward bowling style with a short run-up compared to any other orthodox pacer. Moreover, his bowling action is such that the ball’s release point is a shade forward compared to other pacers. And coupled with a whippy action of the wrist, Bumrah’s bowling action turns out even more lethal. He’s only 31 and must have more years to solidify his mettle going forward in the league of the best bowlers in IPL.

8.    Amit Mishra

Hailing from Delhi, Amit Mishra is one of the underrated bowlers in IPL history that a large group of people often miss out on. In 162 matches, he has picked up 174 scalps at a bowling average of 23.82. Like many other leggies, Mishra has a great bowling strike rate, reading 19.3. His bowling economy of 7.37 is one to look at as well. The numbers are enough to justify the wrist-spinner’s ability to take wickets and curb runs. 
He made his IPL debut for the Delhi Daredevils in the inaugural edition in 2008. Although he was not a regular pick in the first season, his figures of 5/17 against the Deccan Chargers were one of the most buzzed-about moments of the edition. It included two big wickets in the form of Shahid Afridi and Herschelle Gibbs. After a docile outing in the first three seasons, Mishra’s career transitioned to the Deccan Chargers, where he bagged 32 wickets across a couple of editions before a 21-wicket season for a newly formed Sunrisers Hyderabad.
However, it was the peak of Mishra before his art began to fade away, with a plethora of uncapped stars rising from 2014. Nevertheless, Mishra served as a tertiary spinner to the Delhi unit for seven years from 2014 to 2021 before a couple of editions with the Lucknow Super Giants in 2023 and 2024. His poor fitness and fielding were the other major concerns as his career concluded post-pandemic.

9.    Lasith Malinga

Known for his slinging action, Lasith Malinga was one of those names that tend to feature in most “IPL Best XI.” Such was his charisma that even the greatest of batters would find it difficult to decode his yorkers. With time, he got better, mastering the art of yorker while mixing it up with beautiful slower ones and sharp bouncers. He also crafted a dipping slower yorker that often befuddled an opposition batter irrespective of his form.
After missing the first season of IPL for the Mumbai Indians, Malinga returned to action for the next couple of editions in the cycle, bagging 18 and 15 wickets respectively. The next five seasons saw the peak of Malinga as the death specialist went on to churn up 110 wickets from 72 games, helping the Mumbai side win the title in 2013 and 2015. In the meantime, Bumrah rose to his peak prowess for the Mumbai side and forged a threatening attack with Malinga in the slog overs phase. 
Malinga, eventually, hung boots after IPL 2019, winning his fourth IPL title with the franchise and concluding with 170 wickets from 122 matches at a mind-boggling bowling average of 19.79. His bowling strike rate reflected 16.6 at an economy of only 7.14. The right-arm pacer was as lethal as one could be and generally operated in the tough phases of the over. He is also the only bowler to have enforced double-hattricks twice in his International career. The first one came against South Africa during the 2007 Cricket World Cup, while the next one came against New Zealand in a bilateral encounter in 2019.