The men's death-overs specialists every captain wants

The death overs are where T20 matches are won and lost, where a single expensive over can undo 15 tight ones. It is why a low economy rate between overs 16 and 20 is the rarest and most prized currency in the format. When the batters are swinging from ball one and the field is spread thin, keeping the runs down is a genuine art, and the numbers reveal exactly who has mastered it.

Sitting at the summit is Sunil Narine, whose economy of 6.97 in the death overs is staggering given the sample size. Across 2,651 legal balls at that stage — comfortably the largest workload in this list — the mystery spinner has conceded fewer than seven runs an over while claiming 182 wickets. No other bowler here dips below the seven-run mark, which underlines just how far ahead Narine is.

Saeed Ajmal follows at 7.15 from 608 balls with 53 wickets, and Wanindu Hasaranga's 7.62 across 648 balls yields a remarkable 76 wickets — the kind of strike power that makes him doubly valuable.

The pace contingent is led by Jasprit Bumrah, whose 7.89 across 2,095 balls and 155 wickets confirms his reputation as the finest death bowler of his generation. Rashid Khan (7.95, 105 wickets) and Imran Tahir (8.00, 82 wickets) show leg-spin can thrive under pressure too.

Lasith Malinga, the original yorker king, checks in at 8.03 with 176 wickets from 2,064 balls, ahead of Dale Steyn (8.06), Ravichandran Ashwin (8.12) and Mohammad Sami (8.31).

What binds them together is trust. When captains reach for these names in the final five overs, they are buying calm in the format's most chaotic moments.