IPL 2019: 5 Innovative Batsmen and 5 Spinners who can keep a check on them

IPL 2019 isn't far away and the tickets for the first few matches have mostly sold out, indicating that the entire nation is in anticipation of the 12th edition of the IPL. With the World Cup to follow, few countries have opted that their players return on or before May 1 to prepare training for the most prestigious cricket tournament.

It has been 11 years since the first edition of the IPL got under way and T20 cricket has changed radically since then. While the field restrictions, rules and big name players garnered a lot of attention, it really was the innovations and the different types of shots and deliveries that made the league more popular.

While innovators like Maxwell will not feature this season, there are many great innovative batsmen who will display their skills.

The IPL brought into play a more entertaining brand of cricket and in this piece, we rank the top 5 innovative batsmen for this season and spinners bowlers who can keepa check on them.

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#5 Batsman: Kedar Jadhav (CSK) | Bowler: Varun Chakravarthy (KXIP)

Jadhav showed tremendous character as he walked out with a hamstring strain match playing this shot after which he smashed a boundary to help CSK beat Mumbai

The article starts with the lesser recognized of the finishers and the newest mystery spinner in the league. Kedar Jadhav is a very good limited-overs batsman and possesses all the shots in the book. He also plays those innovative shots but not on a regular basis and mostly during the death overs when his finishing skills are required to come into play.

But his innovation isn't in the league of few players like Maxwell, De Villiers or Eoin Morgan. He prefers to play the scoop shot, the ramp shot and the shot over fine-leg like he did in CSK's opener against Mumbai last season. He is a very dependable batsman with an aggressive edge and teams must plan in advance to bowl to him.

Varun Chakravarthy became the latest sensation in the IPL after he was bought by the Kings XI Punjab for INR 8.4 Crore ahead of this season. The mystery spinner arose to fame following his terrific performance for the Siechem Madurai Panthers in the TNPL. He later impressed on his debut season in the Vijay Hazare Trophy and garnered the reputation of being a genuine mystery spinner with many variations.

Not much is known about him but he is a bowler who prefers to keep the batsman on a tight leash. He doesn't turn the ball to the extent to which players like Mujeeb do but when the ball does turn, the batsman is genuinely tricked by it and it will be intriguing to see these two take on each other.

The first opportunity to witness this clash will be on April 6, when Kings XI Punjab visit Chennai for an evening game at 4:00 pm.

#4 Batsman: Rishabh Pant (DC) | Bowler: Kuldeep Yadav (KKR)

Pant playing an innovative shot

Rishabh Pant and Kuldeep Yadav are the latest sensations in the Indian side. Both of these players show flamboyance and have had many people awe-struck with their performances with the willow and the ball respectively.

Pant is someone who has won the hearts of many people with aggressive batting and tremendous ball-striking ability. The keeper-batsman is just 21 years old and was the Emerging Player last season after scoring a whopping 684 runs at a strike-rate north of 160. The southpaw is also widely regarded as MS Dhoni's successor by fans and experts alike.

Pant doesn't necessarily try to innovate but his goal is rather to hit the ball for a boundary and he always manages to get the ball away despite getting caught up in awkward positions. In doing so, the left handed batsman plays shots all across the ground and even behind the keeper. He is very quick to adjust halfway through playing a shot and is one of the few players who had the courage to reverse sweep a pace bowler. When on song, he is an unstoppable player.

Kuldeep got the better of Pant once last season and this left-arm chinaman bowler is one of team India's most valuable assets. He isn't a mystery spinner by any means but the game has seen very few chinaman spinners that batsmen fail to realize that Kuldeep is another wrist spinner too.

This unintentional mystery that his bowling creates works for him and he too isn't a predictable bowler and it's tough to read him off the hand. He often bowls with a scrambled seam and this doesn't allow the batsman to read him off the pitch as well.

These two young guns will get an opportunity to square off on March 30 when the Knight Riders visit Delhi.

#3 Batsman: Dinesh Karthik (KKR) | Bowler: Rashid Khan(SRH)

DK plays the paddle sweep

Next on the list are two fairly experienced players, who actually are orthodox players, but often improvise based on the situation.

Dinesh Karthik is one of the best and most experienced middle order batsmen in the current Indian set-up and is one of the many finishers in India's squad. DK has evolved as a batsman and he can now play all kinds of shots all around the park. He can score runs at the death playing all kinds of shots.

The right handed batsman has now started playing shots like the upper cut, the ramp shot, the shuffle across the off stump and the paddle shot. While DK isn't really an innovator of sorts, he is very versatile and can improvise according to the situation.

Rashid Khan is one of the world's best spinners and is primarily an orthodox leg-spinner but the batsman facing him finds it very hard to read him. He is one of the best at mixing up his grip and both his stock delivery and his googly are released from the same wrist position and attempts to read him have been futile.

This match-up with Dinesh Karthik is almost certain to occur as DK's the primary batsman in the KKR side and is a pivotal force in their middle order. Rashid will always be used against the opposition's best batsmen and the duo will surely meet when KKR visit Hyderabad on March 24.

#2 Batsman: Jos Buttler (RR) | Bowler: Mujeeb Ur Rahman (KXIP)

Mujeeb Ur Rahman

Jos Buttler set the league on fire last season with his five consecutive half-centuries after being promoted as an opener and propelled the Royals into the playoffs. Buttler is one of the best finishers in the world excels in his No.5 or 6 spot for England on the international stage. He is a great innovators and plays all kinds of shots and uses them to good effect too.

Buttler can play these shots in any situation and against any type of bowler. He plays a variety of shots like reverse sweep, switch hit, scoop and other shots all around the ground.

Mujeeb is the latest entry to the list of mystery spinners and even outfoxed Virat Kohli with a googly which spun miles to beat his cover drive and bowl him. He primarily is a leg-spinner who spins the ball with his fingers rather than with the wrist and has various types of releases which confuse the batsmen.

Mujeeb got the better of Buttler once last time out, while Buttler smashed the leggie in another encounter. We will get an opportunity to witness this clash on March 25 when Punjab visit Jaipur. However, it remains to be seen if Mujeeb will be a part of that encounter.

#1 Batsman: AB de Villiers (RCB) | Bowler: Sunil Narine (KKR)

Narine loading up to deliver

Let us now move on to the league's most experienced and highly rated innovator and mystery spinner- AB de Villiers and Sunil Narine.

de Villiers possesses a wide range of shots and can play them all across the ground and there is no part of the ground where he can't reach and is known as ' Mr. 360' for his ability. He has the ability to hit towering sixes even off unorthodox shots and plays the switch hit, reverse sweep and a variety of shots which go behind the stumps or straight above the keeper's head.

Sunil Narine was once the best bowler and mystery spinner in the league but due to an action change, the mystery element has declined to an extent. However, he still is a very effective bowler who does manage to confuse the batsmen.

Batsman are still unable to decipher how Narine's craft and his bowling action is one primary reason. He takes a straight run-up and his arm is almost perpendicular to his body during the release and this gives him easy control over what length he wants to bowl.

He is a very talented finger spinner and bowls the occasional carrom ball along with his usual drifters and off-spinners. He is very economical and continues to be one of the best bowlers in the league.

The premier clash between these IPL heavyweights can be witnessed on April 5 when KKR visit Bangalore.