IPL 2019: 3 New Zealand pacers to watch out for

The 12th edition of IPL, IPL 2019, is less than 2 weeks away. The tournament will begin on March 23rd, and the first match will be played between the defending champions Chennai Super Kings and Royal Challengers Bangalore at M.A. Chidambaram Stadium, Chennai.

T20 is widely known as a batsman’s game. But we know that a team with a reasonable bowling attack can perform just as well as a team packed with batsmen.

If we look at the bowlers of the past editions, we can see that 10 out of the 11 Purple Caps have been won by pace bowlers and 6 of them by overseas bowlers. But we haven't seen a single New Zealand bowler in the list, even though the Kiwis have a good number of fast bowlers.

None of the Kiwi bowlers has succeeded in making a huge impact in any of the editions of the IPL till now. On that note, let us look at 3 Kiwi fast bowlers to watch out for in this edition of the IPL.

---

#3 Lockie Ferguson (Kolkata Knight Riders)

Ferguson has 46 wickets from 27 ODIs

Lockie Ferguson is a 27-year-old pace bowler from Auckland. He made his ODI debut in December 2016 against Australia, and the month after that he made his T20I debut against Bangladesh. In the latter match, he took two wickets with his first two deliveries, becoming the second player to do so.

But Ferguson truly came into the limelight in late 2018, when he picked 6 wickets from 2 matches in the ODI series against Sri Lanka. Then he also picked 11 wickets from 3 matches in the ODI series against Pakistan.

Ferguson has picked 46 wickets from 27 ODIs and 10 wickets from 5 T20Is. In first-class cricket, he has picked 149 wickets from 41 matches at an average of 24.65.

He came into the IPL with a base price of 1 crore and he was picked by Kolkata Knight Riders for 1.60 crore. He is known for the pace he generates with the ball and for his deadly bouncers. He usually bowls at 140-145 kmph.

It will be interesting to see how he performs in Indian conditions.

#2 Tim Southee (Royal Challengers Bangalore)

Southee is yet to make an impact in IPL

30-year-old Tim Southee is a right-arm fast medium bowler and a hard-hitting lower-order batsman who plays all formats of the game for New Zealand. He is also the current vice-captain of the New Zealand team.

Southee was named the Man of the tournament in the 2008 Under-19 World Cup. He was also the third-highest wicket-taker at the 2011 ICC World Cup, with 18 wickets.

Southee has picked 185 wickets from 139 ODIs and 67 wickets from 58 T20Is. In first-class cricket, he has picked 386 wickets from 100 matches at an average of 27.22.

Southee is known for his ability to generate late outswing at a brisk pace, his off cutting slower balls and his death bowling.

In IPL he has played for Chennai Super Kings (2011), Rajasthan Royals (2014-2015) and Royal Challengers Bangalore (2018-present). His IPL numbers are not so great, as he has picked only 27 wickets from his 37 IPL outings.

Southee will be hoping to make a bigger impact in this edition of the IPL.

#1 Trent Boult (Delhi Capitals)

Boult has 147 wickets from 79 ODIs

Trent Boult, is a 29-year-old left-arm fast bowler. He was the joint leading wicket-taker in the ICC Cricket World Cup 2015, and in 2018 he became the third bowler for New Zealand to take a hat-trick in ODIs.

He is currently playing the Test series against Bangladesh and he has already picked 6 wickets in the first Test.

Boult has picked 147 wickets from 79 ODIs and 37 wickets from 25 T20Is. In first-class cricket, he has picked 347 wickets from 93 matches at an average of 26.93.

In IPL Boult has played for Sunrisers Hyderabad (2015-2016), Kolkata Knight Riders (2017) and Delhi Daredevils (2018-present). In IPL he has picked 33 wickets from 28 matches.

Boult is known for his deceptive pace and the ability to swing the ball both ways. He is also known for his toe-crushing yorkers.

This year, he is expected to open the bowling with Kagiso Rabada.