IPL 2019: Best economy rates in IPL history

The Indian Premier League invites some of the finest bowling talents around the world. Having a bowler who can prevent the opposition batsmen from scoring runs is one of the biggest assets in the shortest format of the game.

Over the years there have been many talented bowlers who had superb economy rates in IPL. Glenn McGrath, Anil Kumble, Muttiah Muralitharan, Daniel Vettori, and Johan Botha are a few of these names. However, almost all of these players have retired from all forms of the game or they played in the IPL for only a few seasons.

In this article, however, we aim to filter out and analyze the Top 3 best-performing bowlers in IPL history, taking the criteria that they have played a minimum of 80 matches.

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#3 Ravichandran Ashwin (IPL Matches - 125, Economy rate - 6.72)

Ravichandran Ashwin

Ravichandran Ashwin has a brilliant record for both the national team and the IPL teams he has played for. The off-break bowler from Tamil Nadu played for Chennai Super Kings from 2008 to 2015 and then the Rising Pune Supergiant for the 2016 and 2017 editions.

The 32-year-old has been with the Kings XI Punjab since the 2018 season. He was retained ahead of the 2019 edition for a massive ₹ 7.6 crores. Popular for his carrom ball, Ashwin's IPL and international career has witnessed a slight dip in the past few years.

The lanky bowler has an overall 110 wickets in 125 matches in the IPL at an economy rate of 6.73 and a strike rate of 23.58. His performance in the previous edition was lacklustre as per his standards as he clinched just 10 wickets in 14 matches at an average of 41.00. The 2018 edition was also the first time Ashwin had an economy rate in excess of 8.

He even suffered a few niggles in India's previous two away tours -- in England and Australia. The versatile spinner still has plenty of years of cricket left in him and should come back strongly. An impressive outing in the 2019 IPL may just put him back in the reckoning for a spot in the World Cup.

#2 Dale Steyn (IPL matches - 90, Economy rate - 6.72)

Steyn is South Africa's most successful Test bowler with 433 wickets in 89 matches

The South African speedster recently announced his plans of quitting from white ball cricket after the 2019 World Cup but continue to play Test cricket for as long as possible.

35-year-old Steyn has played an overall 90 IPL matches and has 92 scalps to his name at an economy rate of 6.72 and a strike rate of 22.36. Deccan Chargers, Royal Challengers Bangalore, Sunrisers Hyderabad, and Gujarat Lions are some of the four franchises he has represented in the IPL.

His performances in the 2016 (economy rate 8.50 and played only 1 match), 2015 (economy rate 8.94 and had only 3 wickets in 6 matches), and 2014 (economy rate 7.69 and clinched 11 wickets in 14 matches) editions were below par.

Sadly, since Steyn's stints in the previous few editions of the IPL have not been the greatest, he found himself in the pool of unsold players. Cricket purists around the World will surely miss seeing him play in the IPL.

Regardless, Steyn is still regarded as South Africa's greatest ever fast bowler. Blistering speed and the ability to swing the ball both ways still make him an integral part of The Proteas Test squad.

#1 Sunil Narine (IPL Matches - 98, Economy rate - 6.53)

Sunil Narine is a vital cog for KKR

Sunil Narine is the most economical bowler in the history of IPL. He has been an integral part of the Kolkata Knight Riders since 2012. The right-arm off break bowler also represents Trinbago Knight Riders in Caribbean Premier League, Dhaka Dynamites in the Bangladesh Premier League, and Quetta Gladiators in the Pakistan Super League.

The 30-year-old has overall made 112 scalps in 98 matches at a strike rate of 20.4 and a rather impressive economy rate of 6.54. He is also the 7th on the list of all-time highest wicket-takers in the IPL.

Narine has also developed himself as a potent opening batsman as well, who, more often than not, scores a few quickfire runs at the top. 357 runs and 17 wickets in the 16 IPL matches that he played last season earned him the Most Valuable Player title. The Trinidad & Tobago-born player has been retained by KKR for a whopping ₹ 8.5 crores and will hope to make a similar impact for them as he did last season.