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As the current year reaches the end of its middle third, preparations have already begun for the major event that will take place next year - the ICC T20 World Cup. Set to be hosted for the first time in India, it is one of the most expected sports events of 2016. After being hosted by South Africa, England and West Indies, the T20 World Cup finally set foot inside the subcontinent as Sri Lanka hosted it in 2014. Now, it all set to come back to India - the inaugural winners of the trophy.The Qualifiers for the World Cup was held on July, where Netherlands and Scotland shared the Cup, thus qualifying for the main event in 2016. Along with them were old hands Ireland and Afghanistan, comeback team Hong Kong and the new entrant Oman. These six teams will join Bangladesh and Zimbabwe in the first round of the main tournament, where two teams will advance to the Super Six and meet the other teams.The World Cup promises to be an exciting affair, and all the fans are geared up to support their favourite Indian cricketers. But this time the tournament has a big Indian flavour, not owing to the Indian team, but rather the number of Indian-born players playing for other nations.Here are some of them:
#10 Munis Ansari
When you look at Oman’s Munis Ansari at the start of his run-up, bounding towards the batsman and preparing to deliver the ball, you don’t think you’re going to see anything special. It’s at the start of his bowling action that all hell breaks loose. Munis Ansari is a slinger – called Oman’s Malinga – because of the similarity in their actions.
Born in Sehore, Madhya Pradesh, Ansari quickly made his way into Oman’s international side thanks to his quick bowling and deadly accuracy. Though it is not easy to bowl with this action, Ansari bowls with good pace and a nagging line.
Ansari holds the record for the best bowling figures for Oman in an international match, with 4/15 against Netherlands in the 2015 ICC Qualifiers. Ansari teamed up with Rajesh Ranpura to be one of the best opening combos in the tournament as they picked up 22 wickets between them.
With Ranpura’s accuracy and Ansari’s pace, Oman’s bowling line-up troubled even the veteran batsmen in the Scottish and Irish teams. He set up several victories for Oman in their quest for qualification, including a 3/23 against Namibia and 2/23 against Kenya.
Ansari finished as the fourth highest wicket taker in the tournament and was part of ESPNCricinfo’s team of the tournament. A dependable fast bowler who can be called upon at the death, Ansari will want to make sure that Oman qualify for the Super Eights and give the other teams a good fight.
#9 Anshuman Rath
Anshuman Rath is Hong Kong’s own fairy tale story. Rooted in India, Anshuman came to prominence in early 2015 – at seventeen years of age - when he was given permission to play for Hong Kong by his school on condition – that he took his schoolbooks along. Anshuman jumped at the chance and scored his maiden half-century in his second game against Papua New Guinea.
An elegant left-hander, Anshuman also made his mark in the Middlesex Cricket League, scoring a sedate 73 off 94 balls, batting along with Mark Ramprakash and Grant Reingold. Though not the typical T20 basher, Anshuman prefers to construct his innings, giving more importance to spending time in the middle than go all out from the start.
Anshuman is more than happy to play an anchor role and steady the ship than take unnecessary risks and lose his wicket. Also an excellent fielder, Anshuman doesn’t mind moving up or down the order keeping in mind the state of the match. If quick runs are needed, he doesn’t mind sitting back and letting the other big-hitters take the stage.
He is also a good left-arm spinner, and he often sends down tight overs when the opposition is scoring freely. All in all, Anshuman Rath is the all-rounder that Hong Kong needs when it looks to play in the ICC T20 World Cup 2016 and try to make history.
#8 Rajesh Ranpura
The third player of Indian-origin from Oman, Rajesh Ranpura is the poster-boy of Oman’s resurgence at the international level. Born in Palanpur, Gujarat, Ranpura quickly rose to the national side by putting in a series of impressive performances.
A fast bowler, Ranpura regularly opens with the new ball, extracting movement in the air and off the seam as he tries to cut the opposition team down to size. His new ball partnership with Munis Ansari troubled many teams in the recently concluded ICC T20 Qualifiers. Ranpura is Oman’s leading wicket taker in T20s, with 15 wickets in 15 matches at an economy of 6.52. For a new ball bowler who bowls at the powerplay overs and in the death, this is very impressive. He also holds the record for the most economical bowler for Oman in a match, with figures of 3-0-8-1 against Italy, with an economy of just 2.66 runs per over.
With amazing stats behind him, a tendency to put wear his heart on his sleeve and sheer will-power, Ranpura aims to leave a mark on the ICC 2016 World Cup. Looking at his performances so far, it will be hard to argue he won’t.
#7 Gurinder Sandhu
Gurinder Sandhu is one of the talks of the town in Australia nowadays. After both his parents, originally from Punjab, emigrated to Australia in the 1980s, Sandhu took to cricket like a fish to water. A tall, strapping fast bowler, Sandhu uses his height to extract pace and bounce even from dead, unresponsive wickets. He came into the domestic scene in 2012-13 and with a flurry of impressive performances; he won the Steve Waugh Medal at the end of the year.
He showed impressive stats with an average of just 11.85 in the Sheffield Shield Cup as his popularity rose. He proved himself to be a multi-talented cricketer – he can also bowl off-spin on the last day of a test match to make use of the cracks in the pitch.
His ability to swing the ball both ways makes him a dangerous prospect, combined with the steep bounce he gets. He has a decent economy of 7.00 in T20 cricket with a best of 3/19. He was a surprise pick for the 2015 edition of the Indian Premier League as he was snapped up by the Delhi Daredevils. He was picked up for the recent tour of India A where he impressed everybody with his tight bowling and capability of picking up quick wickets.
Sandhu currently aims to put in a good performance in the KFC T20 Big Bash in Australia and further boost his chances of making the main squad for the World Cup. If Sandhu is picked for the World Cup, Australia will add another weapon to their already-impressive arsenal of fast bowlers.
#6 Ajay Lalcheta
The biggest surprise of the ICC T20 Qualifiers was the qualification of dark horses Oman. Though they had been on a process of giant killing throughout the year, almost nobody expected them to actually qualify for the main event. But that was exactly what they did, bringing joy to a country that hopes to leave its mark on history.
Ajay Lalcheta represents the country of Oman, and is the embodiment of their hopes and dreams. Born in Porbandar, Gujarat, Lalcheta, a slow-left arm bowler, initially played for Saurashtra in underage cricket. He would play his last match in India in 2005 and then emigrate to Oman.
He helped Oman reach the doorstep of the 2012 ICC World T20 Cup by taking 4/13 against Afghanistan in the Qualifier. But Oman succumbed under pressure and was shot out for just 77 runs, thus ending their dream. But he did not give up. He delivered again and again; making sure Oman was never out of the running for the 2016 World Cup. He made many notable contributions, including a 4/22 against Hong Kong, 5/20 against Singapore and a terrific all-round effort of 36 runs and 3/22 against Saudi Arabia.
Lalcheta is a wily bowler who uses his left arm angle to fox the batsmen into playing unconventional shots. His quicker arm ball is a threat if the batsman does not pick it up early. He also bowls with a miserly economy of 6.75 that makes him hard to hit. All in all, Lalcheta will be one of Oman’s trump cards as they look to go past the group stage and enter the Super Six next year.
#5 Ish Sodhi
In the curious case of Indian-born cricketers to have played for New Zealand, it is apparent that they all have been spinners. Dipak Patel, Jeetan Patel and now Ish Sodhi. Inderbir Singh Sodhi – called Ish for short – was born in Ludhiana in India. He migrated to Auckland in his youth, where he started his cricketing career.
Though he was a promising leg-spinner, the lack of fame in his small Auckland town and the absence of good spinning tracks did not give him the early career boost he needed. But he was not daunted. He trained with Dipak Patel and Matt Horne, who helped him improve his bowling and made a move to Northant Districts happen. That changed Sodhi’s life as more people started to notice him. Leg-spin is a dying art, and Sodhi revelled in it. He bowled with good control and gradually made his way up the ranks.
He is also very handy with the bat, which makes him an asset in T20 cricket where you do not need any specific technique to make quick runs. He will look to prove his worth in India where the pitch is friendly towards the spinners and provide some lower order runs as New Zealand look to snaffle the elusive ICC trophy.
#4 Kinchit Shah
When you look at the Hong Kong cricket team, you can see that they take pride as a fielding unit. Every fielder is meticulously placed to cover the gaps and not allow easy runs. The best fielders patrol the outfield, ready to sprint in and save another run for the team. Among the best fielders of the Hong Kong team is Kinchit Shah. The teenager, who was born in India, often stands at long-on or long-off, where most of the runs are scored.
He sweeps the straight boundary for most of the game, where he has the best view of the match, and this helps him to keep track of what is going on. Kinchit also keeps wickets occasionally, when regular keeper Jamie Atkinson is unavailable. His electric fielding and quick feet across the turf made viewers look up and take notice during the ICC World Qualifiers this year.
Just twenty years old, Kinchit already seems to look like a seasoned fielder, and took some very good catches during Hong Kong’s spectacular tournament. The highlight came in their crunch match against Afghanistan in the first play-off, where a win would put them in the main event. Afghanistan was 113/2 in 4 overs, and was looking to accelerate the scoring rate.
Kinchit first took a good catch at long-off to dismiss the well set Nawroz Mangal who had just completed his half-century. A couple of overs later, Kinchit took what was arguably the catch of the tournament, running in from deep square leg and pulling off a spectacular dive to dismiss the dangerous Najibullah Zadran. The double-wicket blow derailed Afghanistan and they ended up with twenty runs less than they wanted.
The game of cricket is often broken down into batting and bowling, but it is youngsters like Kinchit Shah who prove that fielding is as important as the other two. With Hong Kong playing their second major international T20 cup, it will be up to Kinchit to set the fielding standards for the tournament and ensure Hong Kong reach the Super Six stage.
#3 Sunil Narine
From West Indies, the land of fast bowlers, hails Sunil Narine, arguably the only mystery spinner in world cricket at the moment. When he comes into bowl, he doesn’t look menacing or aggressive. At the most, he looks almost bored with everything that is going around him.
He strolls up to the crease, and releases the ball with a barely visible twist of the wrist. The batsman looks confidently at the ball. He believes he has read the spin, and plays for the conventional off-spin. The ball pitches on middle, turns away and hits the top of the off-stump. Clean bowled by the carrom ball.
Narine was born and raised in the West Indies, and has roots in India. After excelling in the Airtel Champions League T20 series, he was bought by the IPL franchise Kolkata Knight Riders in a surprise bid. This proved fortunate for them as Narine led them to two IPL titles.
His ability to turn the ball made the batsmen unable to read him as Narine became the most economic bowler in IPL history. His variations in pace and length also make him a candidate to bowl during the powerplay or at the death overs, further increasing his value to the team.
Though he was set back due to a problem with his action, he has bounced back in the Caribbean T20 League, where he excelled with the ball. With the inclusion of Sunil Narine in their squad, the West Indies have a fair chance of winning the World Cup in the spinning subcontinent pitches of India.
#2 Jatinder Singh
Meet Oman’s best batsman – Jatinder Singh. Originally from Ludhiana, Jatinder is presently the face of Oman cricket. He is the highest run-scorer for Oman in T20s, with 349 runs in 11 matches, with a highest of 65*.
He initially impressed in the 2012 World T20 Qualifier with two contrasting half centuries – a slow 56* against Ireland and a stroke-filled 56 against Denmark. An elegant right handed batsman, Jatinder proved that he could hit the big shots when he made his highest score against a strong Netherlands team which was looking to overwhelm them in the group stages.
He also showed that he could play a steady and sedate innings as he made a crucial 33 against Namibia, which secured Oman their qualification for the World Cup. Jatinder’s speciality is clearing his front leg and playing through the line, which gives him the maximum power required to hit the ball over the boundary. His ability to read the game and play accordingly makes him a very dependable player to be out in the middle. He scored 213 runs at an average of 35.5 in the 2015 Qualifiers, which made him eligible to get into ESPNCricinfo’s team of the tournament.
Dubbed as Mr. Consistent, Jatinder is usually the one whom everybody turns to when the team is in trouble. He is the backbone of Oman’s cricket team, and has bailed them out on numerous occasions. Along with hard-hitter Zeeshan Siddique, Jatinder will be one of the men to watch out for in next year’s World Cup as Oman prepares to cause some major upsets and rise above their opponents.
#1 Hashim Amla
Already one of the modern greats of the game, Hashim Amla is now practically a household name when it comes to cricket. Though he was born in South Africa, he has his roots in the Surat region of Gujarat in India. After impressing in his youth, Amla made rapid strides towards the world of international cricket, hoping to represent South Africa at the highest level. His quick feet and lightning wrists helped him to get noticed immediately, and he took the opportunity with both hands.
After four centuries in the domestic season of 2004-05, Amla was quickly kept as a backup player, soon to make his debut. He soon got the chance in 2004, but he did not stand out very much in his debut series. He was soon awarded a second chance, and he made it count with a sparkling century in New Zealand. From then, there was no looking back. Amla is a regular member of the national team in all three formats of the game, a feat that very few players can boast of.
He provides South Africa with a steady start or unleashes his range of strokes if a quick burst is required. His elegant stroke making and languid grace makes him one of the most aesthetic batsmen around. Amla especially enjoys batting in the subcontinent, and he will relish playing the World Cup next year, where he will hope to bring home South Africa’s first ever ICC World Cup trophy.
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