Spinner and bouncer—a very rare combination—and with this powerful mix, one brother welcomed his younger brother as the Pandya brothers faced each other.
But that’s not the main part. What’s important is that when it comes to bowling bouncers, Krunal Pandya has even surpassed Bumrah and Siraj. Strange, right?
From IPL 2025 till now, Jasprit Bumrah has bowled 34 bouncers, while Mohammed Siraj has delivered 33. But being a spinner, Krunal Pandya has bowled 35 bouncers. And what’s even more shocking is that Krunal doesn’t even plan his bouncers in advance—he himself has said this. He says that sometimes he bowls two consecutive bouncers, and sometimes he suddenly bowls a bouncer on the first and the sixth ball.
Sounds pretty easy, right? But in reality, it’s not that simple. For a spinner, bowling a “bouncer” is completely different from fast bowlers. Spinners need certain special things to bowl a bouncer. They have to “flick” the ball hard so that it hits the pitch and generates bounce. Finger and wrist strength are very important. Along with this, the ball has to be delivered slightly faster than a normal spin delivery. This extra pace helps the ball reach the batsman quicker and also helps with the bounce.
For a bouncer, a spinner doesn’t bowl full or good length, but slightly short of length so that the ball rises. If the pitch already has bounce, it becomes easier for a spinner to bowl a bouncer. A batsman also gets shocked by a spinner’s bouncer. And surely, young spinners will be inspired by Krunal Pandya—and maybe one day, bowling bouncers will become normal for spinners.