We are almost halfway through the IPL 2023 group stage, and it has been a fascinating tournament so far, with not much separating the majority of teams. We’ve seen some great batting and nail-biting contests, but we’ve also seen some fiery pace bowling spells that have caught our attention. At the highest point of the Purple Cap list are two of India’s most encouraging impending seamers, Mohammed Siraj and Arshdeep Singh.
Both have contributed significantly to their respective teams’ four victories in seven matches and 13 wickets. Now that we have some stats and metrics, let’s try to figure out which fast bowler is more complete.
Across Formats
Mohammed Siraj is the by and large more complete bowler across designs since he as of now tracks down a spot in India’s playing XI in each of the three configurations. He carried the No. 1st-ranked ODI bowler for a while, which is quite an accomplishment when you consider the names he has beaten to get there. In just 24 ODIs, he has taken 43 wickets, and in 18 Test matches, he has also taken 47 wickets.
Arshdeep Singh, on the other hand, has only played three ODI matches and has yet to take a wicket. He is still in the early stages of his career. He has also yet to play in a Test.
The left-arm seamer, on the other hand, has performed admirably for India in Twenty20 Internationals, even winning the 2022 T20 World Cup. In 26 Twenty20 Internationals, he has taken 41 wickets. Siraj has only played in eight games and taken 11 wickets, so he has not yet established himself as a T20I bowler.
In a similar vein, Siraj is outperforming Arshdeep in the IPL. Arshdeep’s bowling average, economy, and bowling Strike Rate are all higher than Siraj’s, and the right-arm speedster has taken 72 wickets in 72 matches.
However, one must keep in mind that Siraj has made tremendous progress as a bowler over the past two years, and if one were to compare their overall IPL careers to the last two years, he may well be on par with Arshdeep.
Bowling Skillset
Mohammed Siraj appears to have a more comprehensive set of skills for a fast bowler, and he is ahead of Arshdeep in terms of raw pace. Siraj, 29, has played 58 First Class matches, whereas Arshdeep has only played seven, and he has unquestionably been the better bowler in the longer formats thus far.
That can be credited to him being a vastly improved administrator than Arshdeep with the new ball, with his speed, crease development, and exactness assisting him with getting wickets with the red ball and in the 50-over design.
Arshdeep, on the other hand, appears to be the more complete T20 bowler. He can swing the ball both ways and is a very good powerplay wicket taker, but he isn’t as good at making the new ball talk as Siraj.
The ball, on the other hand, matures into a beast at that point. Arshdeep isn’t the speediest bowler and his fastest conveyances are typically 135-140 KPH, however he makes up for the absence of speed with trickiness and a lot of varieties. He is currently probably the league’s best death bowler, and his darting yorkers are unplayable.
Mohammed Siraj’s T20 game has improved significantly, but if he wants to match Arshdeep’s consistency in the shorter format, he still has a long way to go.
Final Decision: At the point when you consider quick bowling in general, the more experienced and flexible Siraj looks the more complete pacer, however inside the T20 setting of things, Arshdeep is a more complete T20 quick bowler.