T20 cricket, irrespective of what sceptics say, is about batting power and who can out-hit the opponents.
It should, therefore, come as no surprise that the biggest draw of the 2026 IPL has not been a star international batter or bowler, but a 15-year-old kid – Vaibhav Sooryavanshi - who is ripping into world-class bowlers with alarming ease.
Still, even in a format as unforgiving as T20, bowlers have a key role to play. The game has gone to such extremes in the shortest format that the moment bowlers are given a little assistance, they blow the opposition away.
On Monday, Rajasthan Royals’ red-hot batting line-up, which included the seemingly unstoppable Sooryavanshi and Yashavi Jaiswal, were reduced to 9-5 by Hyderabad’s debutant new-ball pair of Praful Hinge and Sakib Hussain.
Many teams have started to look at potent fast bowlers who can attack the top-order batters, rather than seamers who are largely hoping to escape punishment.
This season, almost all franchises have fielded pacers who can bowl on or above the 90mph mark. That strategy has not worked in every instance, but there is a school of thought among franchises that high pace can at least generate wickets.
The fastest among all bowlers this IPL is Gujarat Titans quick Ashok Sharma, who hurled the quickest delivery of the tournament at almost 96mph.
After being in and out of franchises since 2022, Ashok finally got his moment to shine this season and has become one of the stars of the tournament.
Another bowler on the list, a bit surprisingly, is England quick Jamie Overton. Largely seen as an all-rounder, Overton has turned into an enforcer using his strong upper body and high-arm action to provide Chennai a genuine attacking option who can also pick up wickets.
There are others as well. Below is the list of the quickest pacers of the IPL so far.
Fastest bowlers of IPL 2026
1. Ashok Sharma (Gujarat Titans) – 154.2 kph (95.8mph)
2. Jamie Overton (Chennai Super Kings) – 151.2 kph (94mph)
3. Anrich Nortje (Lucknow Super Giants) – 150.9 kph (93.7mph)
4. Kagiso Rabada (Gujarat Titans) – 150.7 kph (93.6mph)
5. Kartik Tyagi (Kolkata Knight Riders) – 149.7 kph (93mph)
Fastest bowlers in IPL history
1. Shaun Tait – 157.7kph (98mph)
2. Gerald Coetzee – 157.4kph (97.8mph)
3. Lockie Ferguson – 157.3kph (97.7mph)
4. Umran Malik – 157kph (97.5mph)
5. Mayank Yadav – 156.7kph (97.3mph)
6. Anrich Nortje – 156.2kph (97mph)
7. Dale Steyn – 154.4kph (96mph)
=8. Kagiso Rabada – 154.2kph (95.8mph)
=8. Ashok Sharma – 154.2kph (95.8mph)
