74 IPL Special-Final

IPL 2017 SPECIAL
THANGARASU NATRAJAN: A year
ago, he was an unknown name in
professional cricket and a year later,
he is among the top 10 buys at IPL.
The young Tamil Nadu left-arm fast
bowler impressed one and all with
his darting Yorkers in the Tamil Nadu
Premier League last year. In a super
over, defending 13 runs against the
likes of Abhinav Mukund, Natrajan
bowled five Yorkers and conceded
just five runs to help his team win in
a nail-biting finish. He is considered
a death overs specialist and this has
fetched him a contract worth ` 30
million for Kings XI Punjab. It will be
interesting to see if the young gun
can change the fortunes of Kings XI
this year.
BEN STOKES:
There isn’t
an iota of
doubt that
the English
All-rounder
Ben Stokes
is the most
expensive
buy in the
history of IPL,
considering his abilities and recent
improvements. He is worth ` 145
million for Rising Pune Super Giants
and they will be hoping he performs
as they railed at number seven in the
IPL standings last year. Stokes bowls
fast and is a tremendous striker of
the ball. He is lightning quick on the
field and is always on the minds of
his opponents. He is probably the
finest all-rounder in limited overs
cricket. It will be interesting to see if
he is worth the money spent.
CHRIS WOAKES: Another English
all-rounder, Chris Woakes is a skilled
young cricketer who bowls wicket
to wicket with subtle variations. He
bats lower down the order and can
clonk the ball hard. He may replace
the injured Andre Russell in Kolkata
Knight Riders. In recent times,
Woakes has emerged as one of the
useful cricketers for England and
may well add value to the strong
Kolkata Knight Riders team. In his
all-time T20 career, Woakes has a
strike rate of close to 140 which is
superb for a lower order batsman.
TYMAL MILLS: The left-arm fast
bowler was recently in the news for
his fiery spells in NatWest T20 Blast
and was surprisingly picked up by
Royal Challengers Bengaluru for a
whopping ` 145 million. Mills, who
suffered a career-ending back injury
a few years ago, has chosen to play
only T20 cricket and has mastered
the art of bowling in the T20 format.
He is an explosive fast bowler who
bowls excellent Yorkers at the death
overs and has a nipping pace that
can be a cause for concern for the
best of batsmen. Being a lefthanded
bowler is another advantage
in this format where the angle of
delivery is not easy to score off.
JASON ROY: The dashing English
opener is in sensational form in the
limited overs format and is a clean
striker of the ball. He scores at a
strike rate of close to 150 in the T20s
and gets off to a blazing start in the
power play. It will be exciting to see
him open the innings for Gujarat
Lions, either with Brendon McCullum
or Dwayne Smith. Roy has scored
four centuries in his T20 career and
will be itching to make a valuable
impact for Gujarat Lions in his first
appearance in the Indian Premier
League.
MUSTAFIZUR RAHMAN: The young
hardworking Bangladesh left-arm
fast bowler was a hero for Sunrisers
Hyderabad in the last IPL as he took
17 wickets at an average of 24.76.
He was one of the prime reasons for
their IPL triumph. His slower ones
are very difficult to pick and most
of the batsmen struggle to score
against him. Rahman doesn’t leak
runs and has a staggering economy
rate of 6.90 in IPL. With subtle
variations, he has mastered the art
of bowling at the death overs from a
very young age. After an impressive
season with Sunrisers Hyderabad, he
has been retained.
RASHID KHAN: The teenage
sensation from Afghanistan has
become popular overnight after
he was picked up by Sunrisers
Hyderabad for a huge sum of ` 40
million. The 18-year-old leg-spinner
is an expert at bowling a googly
in the T20 format and bowls quick
in the air with clever last-minute
variations. He averages 14.80 and
has an impressive economy rate
of 6.03 in the 30 matches he has
played. It will be interesting to see
where and how he finds a place
in the playing XI for Sunrisers
Hyderabad.
74 ||||| APRIL 2017
IPL Special-Final.indd 74
30/03/17 12:38 PM