From Bhuvneshwar Kumar to Jasprit Bumrah: IPL’s greatest dot-ball bowlers

In the IPL, where boundaries and high strike rates tend to be the main currencies, there exists a quieter, more lethal metric: penalties. Even if wickets are not taken, a series of deliveries can increase the pressure and force the attackers to bat, which in turn can lead to mistakes by the batsmen. Over the years, some of the most successful bowlers in the league have set their records not just by taking wickets but also by consistently dominating.

Bhuvneshwar Kumar holds the record for bowling the most dot balls in the history of IPL. In 201 innings, the Indian pacer bowled 1964 dot balls, of which 43.6% were scoreless. He also took 220 wickets in the game while maintaining an economy rate of 7.68 in his IPL career.

They are followed by two of the best spinners in the Indian Cricket League (IPL) – Sunil Narine and Ravichandran Ashwin.

Narine, who is ranked second, has bowled 1822 dot balls in 197 innings with an economy rate of 6.78. The long-time Kolkata Knight Riders spinner has taken 203 wickets with a penalty rate of 39.8%.

Ashwin ranks third with 1663 dot-wickets in 217 innings. The off-spinner took 187 wickets in the league while maintaining an economy rate of 7.2. Around 35.31% of his deliveries in the IPL have been dot balls.

Jasprit Bumrah and Ravindra Jadeja join the top five players who have bowled the most dots in IPL history.

Bumrah is widely regarded as one of the best T20 pacers of his era, having bowled 1,511 dots in 156 innings. His penalty rate was 42.17% while he also took 186 wickets in the tournament.

Jadeja spent most of his IPL career with the Chennai Super Kings, where he bowled 1,384 dot balls in 234 innings. The left-arm spinner took 178 wickets with an economy rate of 7.68.

record-breaking spell

The record for most runs scored in a single IPL match is shared by Deepak Chahar and Suyash Sharma. In 2019, Chahal bowled 20 dot balls in four matches for the Chennai Super Kings against the Kolkata Knight Riders, conceding just four runs. Suyash, who represented RCB against DC, also bowled 20 dot balls in this year’s IPL.

Dale Steyn holds the IPL single-season record. In 2013, Steyn played for Sunrises Hyderabad and bowled 219 dot balls throughout the season while taking 19 wickets at an economy rate of 5.66.

Here is the list of top 5 greatest IPL penalty bowlers: