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"Bumrah, Malinga in the end and...": Rahane reveals his top 5 IPL bowlers to AB de Villiers

Aakash Saini

Jasprit Bumrah with Lasith Malinga; Ajinkya Rahane [Source: @CrickeTendulkar/x, @ABD360/YT]Jasprit Bumrah with Lasith Malinga; Ajinkya Rahane [Source: @CrickeTendulkar/x, @ABD360/YT]

Ajinkya Rahane has named his top five Indian Premier League (IPL) bowlers of all time upon being asked by former South Africa captain AB de Villiers. Both Rahane and AB de Villiers recently interacted at the latter’s YouTube channel, the ‘AB de Villiers 360’.

Interestingly, the Indian Test discard named as many as three Mumbai Indians superstars, and two additional Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) zealots to cap his top five IPL list.

Ajinkya Rahane omits R Ashwin, Chahal from his top 5 bowlers

Ajinkya Rahane was asked to pick his top five IPL bowlers of all time by former RCB cricketer and ex-South Africa captain AB de Villiers during their interaction on the latter’s YouTube channel. 

Interestingly, Rahane did not name either Yuzvendra Chahal or Bhuvneshwar Kumar, two of the most successful bowlers in IPL history in terms of wickets. The seasoned Indian batter also snubbed legendary all-rounder and former off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin.

Instead, Ajinkya Rahane named three Mumbai Indians legends, including India’s premier speedster Jasprit Bumrah. 

Bumrah, a five-time IPL-winning fast bowler for the Mumbai Indians, has picked up 183 wickets from just 145 innings of the tournament.

Rahane also named former Sri Lanka captain Lasith Malinga and New Zealand pace demon Trent Boult in his list. Both Malinga and Boult have picked up 170 and 143 IPL wickets, respectively.

Ajinkya Rahane capped his top five list by picking KKR spin duo of Sunil Narine (192 wickets) and Varun Chakravarthy (100 wickets).

Justifying his selection, Rahane said:

“I always look at someone who can pick wickets. So, Boult with the new ball, Malinga and Bumrah in the end and you have the middle overs covered with Sunil and Varun.”

While Ajinkya Rahane has not been considered for national selection since July 2023, he remains a regular feature in the IPL. Moreover, the legendary right-handed batter led the KKR franchise earlier this year during the IPL 2025 season in India.

Quite recently, Rahane stepped down as Mumbai captain ahead of the 2025-26 Indian domestic season.