The beauty of the IPL lies in its unpredictability. With such a huge roster of players, the tournament keeps getting new heroes every day.
Every team has a set of marquee players, the star performers who become the face of the franchise and are expected to fire in every innings. However, despite a Kohli in Bangalore, or a Dhoni in Pune, an off-day for the stars gives lesser known players an opportunity to fill the missing pieces, or stereotyped cricketers the chance to break character and prove their worth in the shortest format.
Here’s a list of five unexpected performers from this IPL:
Krunal Pandya
The lesser known Pandya, along with brother Hardik, was introduced to the game by their cricket-fanatic father, and their rags to riches journey has been an inspiring story since.Krunal, a limited over specialist, suffered from a labral tear in his shoulder which kept him out of the game for close to a year.
It was surprising, hence, when he was signed by the Mumbai franchise for an astonishing two crores, even though he hadn’t played a single first-class match.
Pandya’s crucial performances with the bat late in the innings has been one of the reasons for Mumbai Indians’ campaign revival this year. He has scored 111 runs at an average of over 55, and a strike rate close to 182.
His left arm spin has also been effective, with which he has scalped three wickets from seven matches and has helped stem the flow of runs in the middle overs.
Dhawal Kulkarni
Kulkarni rose to prominence with eye-catching performances in the first IPL, taking 11 wickets in 10 matches at an average of 21. Under the tutelage of Shaun Pollock, Kulkarni became a vital cog in the Mumbai line-up, both in the IPL and in the domestic circuit.
Playing for Gujarat Lions, one of the two new teams of the season, Kulkarni has been proficient with the new ball, taking seven wickets from just six matches, including an opening spell of 3-19 against the Daredevils where he snared the top three batsmen.
In the absence of Dale Steyn, Kulkarni has had a bigger role to play, especially since his new-ball partner, Praveen Kumar, has been pale and ineffective this season.
Also Read: 5 surprising exclusions in IPL teams so far
KL Rahul
Lokesh Rahul’s meteoric rise through the Karnataka cricket circles has made him one of the most exciting future prospects for India. Rated highly by his decorated namesake, Rahul Dravid, Lokesh already has two centuries to his name in a short career of five Tests.
Yet, with a star-studded top order, and the presence of Sarfaraz Khan and Kedhar Jadhav in the middle, he wasn’t expected to play a major role for the RCB team. Lacklustre performances from Jadhav, both behind the stumps and with the bat, as well as Gayle’s paternity leave, gave Lokesh Rahul a window to prove his worth.
Four matches later, he has installed himself as an integral part of the team with two half-centuries at the top of the order. He has also taken over the wicketkeeping duties from Jadhav, and has been apposite, if not clinical, behind the stumps.
Murugan Ashwin
The little-known leg-spinner from Chennai turned quite a few heads during the auctions a couple of months ago, bagging a whopping 4.5 crores from the Rising Pune Supergiants.
With the presence of India’s frontline spinner, Ravi Ashwin, and the Australian import, Adam Zampa, some questioned Murugan’s hefty prize tag and his role in the team. He, however, managed to make an instant impact, taking six wickets from his first three matches.
Amidst the insipid Pune bowling attack, Murugan has managed to provide the odd moments of brilliance. It might be his debut season, yet he’s the second highest wicket taker for his franchise after Thisara Perera, and his managed to overshadow the other Ashwin.
Steven Smith
There’s no doubt that Steven Smith is one of the top batsmen in the game today, especially on the back of an amazing run in both Tests and ODIs in the past couple of years. He has had a crucial role to play for Australia, more so after the departure of Michael Clarke post the World Cup last year.
However, the highest ranked Test player in the world has been an uninspiring T20 player.
With his leg-spin disappearing into oblivion, and after a string of disappointing batting performances in the shortest format, Smith’s position in the Australian T20 squad was being questioned. Even in the IPL, with a team consisting of stroke players like Dhoni, Pietersen, and Du Plessis, Smith was expected to just anchor the innings in the middle overs.
Untimely injuries to Du Plessis and Pietersen gave Smith a platform to step up and become one of the strongholds of the Pune lineup at the top. With an average of 45 and a strike rate of over 153, Smith has managed to put runs on the board for the Pune team, time after time.
An unfortunate wrist injury has brought a premature end to his IPL stint this year and has pushed the new franchise deeper into shambles.
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