IPL 2019: 3 Unknown pacers who could surprise the league

Yet another stimulating edition of Indian Premier League is here and the fans just can't wait to watch their favourite cricketers getting back in action. The cash-rich league is not only about money and entertainment. It also provides a big opportunity to unknown players to play along with some world-class players and display their potential to make a name for themselves in the cricket world.

T20 is often considered as batsmen's game but it is the bowlers who win matches with their economical and wicket-taking bowling. And among bowlers, fast bowlers always play a key role for their team as they usually bowl in powerplay and during the slog overs when the batsmen try to score quick runs. Therefore, the importance of fast bowlers for any team is very much.

IPL 2019 will witness many top-class pacers like Jasprit Bumrah, Andrew Tye, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Kagiso Rabada, Trent Boult, Jofra Archer and many more. Here, we take a gander at three unknown fast bowlers who could surprise the spectators in the 12th season of IPL.

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#3 Harry Gurney

Harry Gurney is a cricketer who plays for the England cricket team. He has a good pace and variations in his bowling and moreover, he is a left-armer which makes him a very useful bowler in the shortest format of the game.

The 32-year-old has quite impressive T20 numbers as he has taken 145 wickets from 120 innings at an average of 22.93 and an economy rate of 7.71 with 4/17 being his best.

The left-arm pacer was bought by KKR for INR 75 lakh. Considering Gurney's potential, he can prove to be a bargain buy for KKR in IPL 2019.

Whether it is the matter bowling in powerplay or in death overs, the left arm seamer has all the qualities that a T20 specialist should possess. Hence, he could be one of the surprising players of IPL 2019.

#2. Prasidh Krishna

Prasidh Krishna will be key for KKR in the absence of Mavi and Nagarkoti

Prasidh Krishna is a very talented right-arm medium pacer who plays for Karnataka in domestic cricket. He was Karnataka's leading wicket-taker in Vijay Hazare Trophy 2018–19 with 13 wickets from 7 matches.

In the last IPL season, Krishna did really well after being roped in by Kolkata Knight Riders as an injury replacement of Kamlesh Nagarkoti. He picked up 10 wickets from 7 matches at an average of 26.00 with 4/30 being his best figures. He was one of the main reasons behind KKR's qualification to the playoffs.

As far as his overall T20 numbers are concerned, he has taken 20 wickets from 17 matches at an average of 25.15 and an economy rate of 8.22.

The 23-year-old will be looking forward to making a mark in the 12th edition of IPL and could surprise the fans if performs to his potential.

#1. Hardus Viljoen

Hardus Viljoen

Hardus Viljoen is a brilliant right-arm pacer from South Africa. He has played just 1 Test for the Proteas till date. Viljoen had a dream start to his Test career as he got the wicket of English legend Alastair Cook off his very first ball in international cricket.

In December 2016, following the footsteps of the likes of Colin Ingram, Alviro Peterson and Richard Levi, Viljoen left the South African cricket and signed a three year Kolpak deal with Derbyshire.

The right arm pacer is someone who believes in hitting the deck hard and does not rely on the swing. He has the ability to consistently bowl on a good pace and has many variations which make him a great fast-bowler. Taking his abilities into consideration, he could have been an excellent bowler for South Africa if he would not have signed the Kolpak deal.

The 30-year-old has been in great form of late. He was the highest wicket-taker in the T10 League 2018-19 as he took 18 wickets from just 18 overs in the tournament at an astonishing average and economy rate of 7.77. Considering the T10 format, these numbers are quite amazing.

As far as his T20 stats are concerned, he has taken 103 wickets from 88 innings at an average of 24.57 and an economy rate of 7.82 with 5/16 being his best figures.

He was roped in by Kings XI Punjab for INR 75 lakh during the auction. He possesses all the traits of being a good T20 bowler and could enthral the spectators in IPL 2019 if he gets enough opportunities.