3 players from minor cricketing nations that have impressed in IPL 2023

The Indian Premier League (IPL) is one of the biggest leagues in the world and has, over the years, led to the discovery of several highly talented cricketers.

Several prominent Team India players such as Hardik Pandya, Jasprit Bumrah, and Rishabh Pant were discovered through the IPL route.

Like every season, this year too we have witnessed several excellent finds such as Suyash Sharma, Rinku Singh, Dhruv Jurel, etc. These players have impressed one and all with their exceptional performances.

However, this season has also seen several notable talents from lesser-known cricketing nations such as Ireland, Afghanistan, and Zimbabwe make their presence felt.

One can remember how in the past, players like Rashid Khan, Sandeep Lamichhane, Mohammed Nabi, Mujeeb Ur Rahman, and Ryan Ten Doeschate made their presence felt.

So, who are the big winners in this season among players from relatively weaker nations in the cricket world? Here is a look at three most prominent ones.

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#1 Sikandar Raza (PBKS)

Sikander Raza has produced some good performances this season [Image: Twitter/IPL]

Picked by PBKS on the back of an excellent 2022 for Zimbabwe and an excellent T20 World Cup, Sikandar Raza has made important contributions for his side.

After an initial struggle, the Zimbabwean cricketer has scores of 57, 36, and 13* in his last three games for the Kings. He showed his class with the bat as he kept his calm to take PBKS over the line in a final ball thriller against MS Dhoni's CSK. He won the Player of the Match Award (POTM) award for his match-winning half-century against LSG.

Raza has also developed a bag of tricks with the ball which he showcased last year in the World Cup and has chipped in with three wickets for his franchise. It was rather shocking to see him getting dropped in PBKS' last game against MI, despite his match-winning performance against CSK.

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#2 Joshua Little (GT)

Joshua Little has been terrific for GT [Image: Twitter/IPL]

Joshua Little had picked up the highest number of wickets in T20Is in 2022 and also bagged a hat-trick against New Zealand in the T20 World Cup. After a slightly difficult start to the season, the Irish pacer has improved tremendously, putting in consistent performances for GT in the last few games.

In eight games this year, Little has taken six wickets at a decent economy rate of 8.20. His economy rate is excellent, especially when you note that he usually bowls in the death overs and the powerplay.

In his side's win over KKR, he won the POTM award for an excellent spell of four overs in which he conceded just 25 and scalped the crucial wickets of Nitish Rana and Venkatesh Iyer.

In the game against Rajasthan Royals, he gave away just 24 runs in his four overs and dismissed the well-set Sanju Samson, the only RR batter who looked comfortable in the middle.

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#3 Noor Ahmad (GT)

Noor Ahmad has been a big part of GT's success [Image: Twitter/IPL]

In just six matches, the young Afghan spinner has picked up 10 wickets at an excellent economy rate of 7.03. His bowling in tandem with GT's star bowler and fellow Afghan national Rashid Khan has allowed GT Captain Hardik Pandya to control the games in the middle overs.

With both Rashid and Noor bowling well and picking up wickets regularly, GT have an advantage over most rivals in the middle overs of the match.

In Friday's match against RR too, Noor Ahmad bowled an excellent spell to dismiss the in-form Dhruv Jurel and the talented Devdutt Padikkal. He cleaned up Padikkal with an excellent leg-spinner and trapped Jurel LBW.

GT will be hoping that the youngster continues his fine show for the franchise as the competition nears its business end.