IPL 2023: Dwayne Bravo expects more yorkers from CSK pacers

Former India pacer Venkatesh Prasad felt that it is also important how comfortable the bowler is in bowling a yorker.

Chennai Super Kings fast bowler Dwayne Bravo. (Photo | BCCI)

CHENNAI: Although most surfaces across venues during the Indian Premier League are batter friendly with some help for the spinners, fast bowlers too have a significant role to play in the shortest format of the game. Particularly, death bowling is an important phase where pacers are employed. Bowling at the death is an art in itself and former Chennai Super Kings fast bowler Dwayne Bravo is among the few who had mastered the same during his playing days.

During his stint with CSK, Bravo had enthralled the crowds with his death bowling, often sending down a penetrative yorker in style and then casually follow it up with a slower one to fox the batter so effortlessly. Now in the new role as the bowling coach of the franchise, the West Indian believes that his team's speedsters need to improve their bowling at the death.

"There is a secret formula for bowling at the death," says Bravo before candidly adding that he isn't going to share it for other teams to follow. "There is a particular template to follow, we all in the bowling group (Eric Simons) and the coach (Stephen Fleming) are on the same page and understand the philosophy of bowling. So it's a work in progress. It is impossible to try and coach the players the way I did in my time when I used to play and bowl in the back (death). They (bowlers) have to develop their own style and we have to encourage them and stick to the basics," he added.

As he has done through his playing days, Bravo reiterates the significance of a yorker in the final overs of an innings. "Best is always the yorker, but it's one of the most difficult (deliveries) to bowl. You have to really put in the hours to practice and get other options over and around the wicket, bowling wide, bowling straight and so on. It is the most important for bowling and last game, there was a big improvement from the first game. We bowled like three yorkers and it's very important to improve that. We did that on Monday night and again it's early days in the tournament and we need to improve from here on."

''At this moment, if you don't have pace and bowl a yorker, you will not survive. Unless you bowl really quick like 150-plus kph, you will not survive and even if you bowl at 150-plus kph, there comes a moment when you really have to rely on your yorker. It's the most difficult to bowl and the safest option whenever you are under pressure in the back end of the innings. Yorkers are go to balls once you are able to execute, its impossible for a batter to hit,'' said Bravo.

Former India pacer Venkatesh Prasad felt that it is also important how comfortable the bowler is in bowling a yorker. "He must assess the conditions, wicket and the batter who he is going to bowl. If there is dew, gripping the ball may be difficult, so an intended yorker can result in a full toss. One needs to have the ability to bowl yorkers, outswingers, slower ones, cutters and even bouncers too. Physique and skill-sets are important for a bowler to develop a certain style. All cannot bowl like a (Glenn) McGrath or Dale Steyn. McGrath put his height to effective use. Steyn had express pace. Having said that, if you look at T Natarajan the other day, after a poor over he bounced back by bowling back of length deliveries, off-cutters and so on. At the death, what is important is composure for a bowler to read the situation and bowl accordingly,'' Prasad said.