IPL 2017: Best bowlers of each franchise

Delhi Daredevils: Amit Mishra

Amit Mishra has been relentless in IPL cricket. T20 is a format Mishra likes the most. He has used IPL as a platform to remind the national selectors of his qualities. The leg-spinner is second only to Malinga in the all-time wicket takers in the IPL with 124 wickets. He is a genuine wicket taker and uses the googly to good effect.

Though Mishra has had a quiet couple of years in the IPL – collecting just 29 wickets collectively in the last 3 seasons off 36 games he featured in, he still has the quality to lead the Daredevils attack. The Haryana cricketer has the ability of running through sides even in a format like T20. The best thing about this 34-year old is that he looks to pick wickets which always is handy in T20 cricket.

Kings XI Punjab: Axar Patel

The 23-year old Axar Patel’s rise as an international cricketer is directly proportionate to his IPL exploits. After giving sturdy performances in his first season (2014) for Punjab, Axar was immediately rewarded with a national call-up. Since 2014, Axar has played as many as 37 games (30 ODI’s and 7 T20’s) for India compared to 28 in the IPL. His performances post his breakthrough season in 2014, have been steady. He performs the leading bowler’s role for Kings XI Punjab for the last 3 years and it won’t be any different this season.

Axar falls into the bracket of a multi-utility cricketer. Though he essentially is a bowler, he bats and fields well too. Axar relies more on drying up the runs and waiting for the batsman to make a mistake. This is a safe and smart approach in T20 cricket. The left-arm spinner would be motivated to do well in this season for; a good performance might win him a ticket to England to play in the ICC Champions Trophy which follows shortly after the conclusion of the IPL.