There’s not too much time left before the second half of IPL 2021 begins on 19 September with Mumbai Indians and Chennai Super Kings taking playing the opener.
The tournament, held in UAE last year, started out in India before COVID-19 forced the BCCI into halting the IPL in early May. Now, after 4 months the glitzy tournament is back, in UAE and will welcome fans as well.
The COVID-19 pandemic, the packed schedule and the upcoming men’s T20 World Cup have meant that the various franchises have had to ring in the changes as quite a few players opted out of the second leg of the IPL.
Among the teams who have been hit hard is Rajasthan Royals, for whom the likes of Ben Stokes, Jofra Archer and Jos Buttler are unavailable for the IPL. This has led to a few new faces coming into the tournament. And while some of the new recruits are well known internationally, they haven’t had a go in the IPL yet.
Adil Rashid
One of England’s dynamic spinners, Rashid has never featured in the IPL and is replacing Jhye Richardson in the Punjab Kings set up. The England leg spinner is well travelled in terms of playing franchise cricket and will be raring to go in UAE where the wickets will provide him more assistance than in UK.
Well loved in Yorkshire and well known to cause a few concerns for batters, Rashid’s played has played more than 250 T20 games across franchises and for England and has 297 wickets to his name. His economy too is under 7.5 runs per over, all of which together makes him a dangerous proposition to get away.
What’s more, he’ll be keen to get his rhythm going before the T20 World Cup rolls on.
Aiden Markram
This talent from South Africa has been making his country proud. The 26-year-old has already represented his country in all three formats and even has five Test centuries to his name. Markram has appeared in 59 T20s and made 1424 runs and also took 12 wickets. Punjab Kings have brought him in as a replacement for Dawid Malan.
In Markram, Punjab have found a flamboyant batsman, who has played in 13 T20I matches, scoring 405 runs. The South African also has a high score of 70 in T20I cricket.
Wanindu Hasaranga
A hard-hitting lower middle order batter and a leg spinner, Wanindu Hasaranga’s fine run in junior cricket about 5 years ago pushed him into the spotlight. Currently in-form and having had troubled the Indians on their tour of Sri Lanka recently, Hasaranga has a chance to make his mark on the glitzy world of the IPL.
Known to keep things tidy at his end and create chances for wickets as well, Hasaranga’s googly and slider are often the most cause of concern for batters, much like is the case with the far more dangerous Rashid Khan.
For RCB, who are still hunting for their first title, Hasaranga could just be the all-rounder they need to back up the power hitters in the line-up.
Against India in Sri Lanka in July, he picked 7 wickets in 3 games with a best of 4/9 in the final T20I, while in the white-ball games against the South Africans, he’s taken 7 wickets in 6 games, going wicketless in only 1.
Tim David
The Singapore-born cricketer made headlines after the Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) picked him last month. The 25-year-old played in the Caribbean Premier League recently where he made 282 runs in 11 T20 innings. Interestingly, David’s 190 of the 282 runs came from boundaries and hit 19 sixes in the tournament.
David has been playing in franchises in T20s across the world and putting in good performances consistently. He’s also found himself in tough situations quite a few times and has managed to pull his team out of a hole. Not only that, he averages above 30 in CPL, PSL and BBL, all of which are played in vastly different conditions.
For RCB, David is a fantastic get and could well be the crucial cog in the middle order.
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