Bhuvi@200: The understated efficiency of an IPL workhorse | Number Theory

His is a stint of workload shouldered and returns delivered, with unerring consistency and understated efficiency, much like his bowling action

Earlier this month, Bhuvneshwar Kumar became the second bowler to cross 200 wickets in the Indian Premier League (IPL). He’s the first pacer to cross this milestone. In a sporting league that has a tendency to magnify flash and extravagance, the unassuming 36-year-old Kumar almost slips through. His is a stint of workload shouldered and returns delivered, with unerring consistency and understated efficiency, much like his bowling action and dipping inswinger.

Reuters file

• 
  Taking wickets

  In the IPL, pacers dominate the list of wicket-takers. There are 68 fast bowlers and 32 spinners in the list of top 100 IPL wicket-takers. But as one goes higher up, there’s greater parity between the two bowling forms. In the top 10, for instance, there are six spinners and four pacers. What that is underscored is that longevity progressively becomes a challenge for fast bowlers. That’s one of the areas where Kumar stands out. Among the top 10 wicket-takers, Kumar has played significantly more IPL games than the other three pacers in the list. The other feature that binds this set of top wicket-takers is franchise stability. They have either spent their career with one franchise (Sunil Narine at Kolkata, Jasprit Bumrah and Lasith Malinga at Mumbai), or have played for multiple franchises but spent considerable time in one. Bengaluru, Kumar’s current team, is his third franchise, but he spent 11 straight years at Hyderabad before this.
• 
  Operating under pressure

  The likes of Bumrah and Malinga playing relatively fewer matches, while still keeping pace on wickets, shows their destructive and superior wicket-taking ability. They are strike bowlers in the truest sense. One area, though, that sets Kumar apart from all others in the top 10 list of IPL wicket-takers, even pacers, is that he has mostly bowled in an innings when the game pressure is at its highest. As many as 85% of the 4,270 deliveries bowled by Kumar have been either in the power play (overs 1 to 6), when only two fielders can be placed outside the inner circle, or in the death overs (overs 17 to 20), the period of the game that records the highest average scoring rate. By comparison, Malinga is at 72% and Bumrah at 70%. All spinners in this list have mostly operated in the middle overs.
• 
  Economy and strike rate

  There are dimensions in which Kumar will never be the benchmark. He’s not a pure wicket-taker—among the top 50 wicket-takers in the IPL, he’s ranked 33rd on the average number of balls per wicket (21.1). He’s not the most economical—among the top 50, he’s ranked 15th on average runs conceded per over (7.7). There are bowlers like Malinga, Bumrah, Amit Sharma and Rashid Khan, who stand out on both those metrics. Then, there are bowlers who are very good at one of those metrics, but not the other. For example, Bravo took more wickets in proportion to bowls delivered, but was expensive. In that sense, Kumar occupies a place in the middle, striking a precious balance between frugality and wicket-taking ability.
• 
  Shouldering workload

  And, perhaps most important is that Kumar has done this season after season, with a consistency and workload that is unmatched among the top wicket-takers. This is Kumar’s 16th season. Even among the top wicket-takers, there are four others who have racked up as many seasons, even more. But Kumar is the only pace bowler among them. Further, Kumar betters everyone on workload. A side plays at least 14 matches in an IPL season, more if it progresses to the playoffs. At a maximum of 4 overs per bowler per match, that’s 56 overs for a season. In his 16 seasons, Kumar has had 10 seasons in which he bowled 50 overs or more. That’s more than any other bowler among the top 10 wicket-takers. It’s an efficiency that he’s achieved in his unassuming way.

(www.howindialives.com is a database and search engine for public data)