It is a well-known fact that cricket is very much a batsman’s game. However, a bowler is influential to the victory of a match or a tournament. Quality bowlers are now a feature in each and every team that has flown to England for the tournament. In this list, we take a look at the most dangerous bowlers in Cricket World Cup 2019.
Jasprit Bumrah
Jasprit Bumrah has been a highly consistent performer, both in the T20 cricket as well as in One Day Internationals. Recently, he had his brilliance showcased in the Indian Premier League where he helped his team, Mumbai Indians to clinch their fourth title. Bumrah needs to maintain this IPL form and stay focussed just ahead of the world cup schedule. Even the cricket legend Sachin Tendulkar has claimed that Jasprit Bumrah is the best bowler in the present era of cricket. Therefore, India can never get the World Cup without this lethal player in form.
The most influential thing about Jasprit Bumrah’s bowling is that he has a very low economy rate and even the best batsmen struggle to score on his deliveries. With an overall economy rate below 6.00, Jasprit Bumrah is definitely going to be the most dangerous bowler to play in the Cricket World Cup 2019. Also, his yorkers at the end of the innings can shatter the opposition.
This is further bettered by the speed variations mastered by Jasprit Bumrah. What makes Jasprit Bumrah better than all others in this list is that with him taking the lead, the other pacers like Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Mohammad Shami also become equally lethal in the match, so it’s a triple attack that charges against the opponents.
Kagiso Rabada
Kagiso Rabada is a prominent player on who the Proteas shall depend a lot if they want to take their first ever world cup home. Kagiso Rabada has already taken 106 wickets in the 66 One Day Internationals that he has played. His economy rate has never touched 6.00, let alone cross it. Also, there has been a huge consistency in his form in the last 3 years.
His prominence became visible in the team of South Africa only after he helped South Africa to gain a victory in the 2014 U-19 World Cup. Therefore, it is reasonable to believe that Kagiso Rabada can prove to be the most dangerous bowler at the World Cup.
Rabada has very precise control over the speed of his deliveries and he regularly bowls at a speed of 140-150 kmph, terrifying the batsmen. In the death overs, he has the glorious tool of producing accurate and deadly yorkers which can easily uproot the balance of the innings of the opponents.
His bowling figures are too impressive to not include him in the playing XI, and South Africa would need him to in order to sustain a place at the top of the World Cup Points Table. He has played 6 matches in England, therefore isn’t an inexperienced player to play in England. Also, he has taken 8 wickets as well there, making him a force to be reckoned with. Even though he has not played a One Day International after March 2019, he has showcased his form and skills well enough in the T20 tournaments such as the Indian Premier League.
Rashid Khan
Rashid Khan is the masterful spin bowler who hails from Afghanistan. In fact, he was the first player to feature in the Indian Premier League from Afghanistan. He has gained huge attention from the cricket fraternity due to his impactful bowling attack and brilliant ability to turn the ball.
It was Rashid Khan who proved to be deadly for every single team in the World Cup qualifiers. The batsmen found it very hard to find a solution to his diverse attack and gave in quickly. Rashid Khan has marvelous stats in his career so far and has taken 125 wickets in 59 matches played for Afghanistan. His best bowling figures are good enough to prove that he is indeed a dangerous bowler who has the ability to thrash the batting line-up of even the best of the best nations. He has 7/18 as his best bowling figures in a match innings.
In his last 2 matches, he has taken 2 wickets and hence, he is in the form with experience in playing in Europe. Therefore, he can become even more dangerous while being aware of the conditions. If he uses his skills well, Afghanistan might end up being in the upper half of the World Cup points table this year.
Mitchell Starc
Australia is also one of the favorites to win the Cricket World Cup 2019 and it cannot do so with Mitchell Starc being ineffective with the ball. It would be his responsibility to prove to be the most dangerous bowler in the World Cup and also to guide the Australian team to the top of the World Cup points table. He is already one of the most feared of bowlers in the present era, but playing against the teams in the world cup where each team comes prepared is a different ball game.
His importance can be seen with the fact that it was him who helped Australia in the 2015 World Cup and he would leave no stone unturned to repeat his performance of 22 wickets in the tournament. With Starc in charge, Australia would surely take the world cup back home again. With 145 wickets in 75 One Day Internationals, his economy rate is unbelievably low at 4.96 which is an indication that he’s a miserly customer.
Adil Rashid
England is the home turf for Adil Rashid and he knows the conditions better than most others. The home advantage along with his skills with the ball would definitely make him a dangerous force to play against. With an experience of 88 matches and 132 wickets, he is a bowler to watch out for.
His brilliant ability to divert the ball from its expected course is going to be instrumental in the cricket world cup 2019. England would largely depend on him for taking their first ever World Cup title.