The Coming Back of the Attacking Yorker in IPL 2025

The attacking yorker is back in force in IPL 2025, and bowlers are making reverse swing work in their direction. It has been very much seen in Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) away games, whose bowlers have been responsible for their five consecutive wins. In those games, RCB restricted the opposition sides to low totals, which were easily chased down by their batsmen. Where RCB bowlers have been good is the death overs (16-20), where they have the second-best economy rate and second-most wickets taken.

RCB's most standout bowler this season has been Josh Hazlewood. He has delivered outstanding death overs, particularly in away games where he has conceded only 8.25 runs per over and taken four wickets. Hazlewood's approach has varied throughout the season. In the initial game against Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR), he delivered predominantly short-length balls. However, by the 37th game, he attempted yorkers on 10 out of 12 balls in his second over. In their away match against Punjab, Hazlewood and Bhuvneshwar Kumar delivered 17 yorkers out of 24 balls and conceded only one boundary, off the final ball of the innings. This policy change works to highlight the greater importance of the yorker as an arsenal choice, especially in the death overs.

Reverse swing has been the secret behind much of this reorientation. The reimposition of the ban on reversal of saliva before IPL 2025 allowed bowlers to produce more reverse swing out, and most benefited fast bowlers. Mitchell Starc, Hazlewood's long-time collaborator, demonstrated precisely how effective reverse swing could be. In a thrilling match against Rajasthan Royals, Starc used reverse swing to take an exceptional spell, holding 31 runs in the last overs. His ability to reverse swing the ball in the final overs turned out to be decisive, and during the Super Over, he went even fuller and got more reverse swing, again demonstrating the effectiveness of reverse swing for death overs.

Starc's spell against Royals is seen as a season-saver, being the advent of reverse swing towards the latter part of innings. Throughout the season, the percentage of yorkers attempted by fast bowlers has risen. In the initial 32 innings, 41% of death overs' balls were yorkers, but that percentage has risen to 54% in the next 11 innings. More significantly, the percentage of straight yorkers, or attack yorkers, has risen from 35% to 63%, reflecting an unmistakable shift in bowling strategy.

Fast bowlers have become the focal point of the death overs in this season, with teams relying more and more on pace rather than spin to close the game. The change is also reflected in the decline in spin overs during the death, from 40% at the start of the season to a paltry 28% in recent matches. The rise of reverse swing has revitalized the seam bowling attack, with some people thinking that something like it may be possible in international cricket too.

The success of the yorker attack is also highlighted by the statistics of IPL 2025. When yorkers are delivered by fast bowlers hitting the stumps, their economy rate is significantly better when compared to when they miss their length. For example, when bowlers miss with full tosses, they concede at an economy rate of 13.5 runs per over. But when they succeed and produce yorkers, the economy rate drops to 5.91 runs per over, which shows the massive difference a well-placed yorker can make in limiting runs and taking wickets.

The resurgence of reverse swing and the increased employment of attacking yorkers in the death overs have added a lot to the game. The removal of the saliva ban has clearly been a game-changer, providing the bowlers with more swing and bringing back the yorker as a potent weapon. As the tracks are going to get increasingly abrasive with every game, reverse swing can be an even larger influence, further tilting the bat-ball balance in the bowlers' favour.

Generally, the yorker attack has experienced a major revival in IPL 2025, with the likes of Hazlewood and Starc leading the way. Going forward, as the season runs its course, reverse swing and yorkers are likely to continue to be at the center of deciding the fortunes of matches and thus the death overs even more crucial for sides looking to emerge victorious.