Batting fatigue is a serious issue in T20 cricket, and especially in the Indian Premier League. This season, there have been 31 scores of 200 or more after almost 40 matches. That is an average of a 200-plus score almost every day.
Before Delhi's batting debacle against Bengaluru on Monday – where the Capitals were blown away for 75 in swinging conditions – the averages for the season were heavily skewed towards batters.
But even on such unforgiving wickets, one bowler stood out. Even more than Bhuvneshwar Kumar – the leading wicket-taker – and the evergreen Jasprit Bumrah.
Lucknow's left-arm fast bowler Mohsin Khan is the only bowler this season to have a five-wicket haul. And after four games, he has an economy of less than 6.5. Only one other frontline bowler has gone for around six an over this season – the indomitable Sunil Narine.
While the leading wicket-takers this season are all fast bowlers, the economy rate of many of them are in the eights and nines. Mohsin, 27, is not only among the wickets but is also giving away next to nothing.
The left-armer from the north Indian state of Uttar Pradesh has been here before though. He burst onto the scene in 2022 as a raw pacer capable of generating steep bounce and late movement from a short run-up and quick arm action.
The India cap was there for the taking. But successive injuries, including multiple blood clots in his shoulder, derailed a fast-rising career.
He underwent shoulder surgery in 2022 to save his career, and possibly his hand.
“I had given up hope of playing cricket at one point because I was not able to even lift my hand, forget bowling,” Mohsin told the Lucknow franchise's website. “I was not able to straighten my hand. The doctor had said if I was late by another month, they would have had to amputate my hand.”
It was a long road to recovery. He was a shadow of his former self in the next two seasons before he was laid low by a calf injury in 2025.
Earlier this year, Mohsin went out of his way to ensure he was completely fit for the IPL. He spent time at former India bowling coach Bharat Arun's academy to be in fighting shape for the season.
“What a lot of people don’t know is that he spent a few months at Bharat’s academy in Chennai leading up to this. He worked hard, and he’s getting fit,” Lucknow coach Justin Langer revealed. The franchise, it must be noted, has a good record of nurturing bowlers.
“We haven’t had him much for the last two seasons, and it’s a great thrill to have him in the team. It wouldn’t surprise me if India have him in their team in the not too distant future.”
A fully-fit Mohsin walks into the Indian team as his ceiling is significantly higher than the only other frontline left-arm seamer in the country – Arshdeep Singh.
The next two major white-ball tournaments are the 2027 ODI World Cup in South Africa and the T20 World Cup the year after in Australia. Both tournaments will require pace bowling firepower and back-ups.
After seasoned pros like Bumrah and Mohammad Siraj, only Arshdeep and Prasidh Krishna have remained consistently fit for India's national team. Veteran Mohammad Shami has made a good comeback in this year's IPL, but the national team management seems reluctant to trust his long-term fitness.
There are other exciting young pace-bowling prospects – like express quicks Mayank Yadav and Kartik Tyagi – but hardly anyone has managed to stitch two full seasons together while retaining the bowling edge; Sunrisers Hyderabad pacer Sakib Hussain has shown early promise and could break the trend.
If Mohsin can remain fit for a full season, he will most likely be one of the first names on the team sheet in white-ball cricket.
Mohsin had already shown his abilities – pace, movement, variations – in 2022 where he took 14 wickets from nine matches at an economy of less than six. Now, all he needs to do is take care of his body and be available even after the IPL finishes.
