IPL 2019: 5 Overseas Players who could have a huge impact this year

It can be a very tricky task to select the right overseas players for a franchise. This is due to a lot of factors at play. Therefore, franchise owners have to very careful when purchasing overseas players. Moreover, these players come with a heavy price tag.

But if even one of these players performs well, it could be the difference between victory and defeat. Over the years, fans have witnessed a number of foreign players light up the tournament with their big hitting and impressive bowling skills. Players such as Chris Gayle, Lasith Malinga, AB de Villers, Adam Gilchrist and Dale Steyn have all done well in the IPL.

This year, just like every year, the overseas players will have a huge role to play for their respective teams. Some of these players are in good form at the moment and should carry the momentum into the IPL. Hence, I’ve put together a list of 5 overseas players who will have a huge impact this year.

If you feel that I’ve missed any player’s name, then please voice your opinion in the comments section below.

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#5 Lockie Ferguson (Kolkata Knight Riders)

Lockie Ferguson

Lockie Ferguson was picked up by Kolkata Knight Riders at the IPL auction for a price of ₹1.6 crores. Ferguson is one of those emerging cricketers from New Zealand who can bowl at a considerable amount of pace.

This will not be his first time in the IPL. The Kiwi bowler made his IPL debut back in 2017 for the Rising Pune Supergiants franchise. However, his debut season did not go as planned.

He was inconsistent with the ball and struggled to pick up wickets despite being economical. This year he will have a chance to redeem himself.

Recently, he has shown some good form for New Zealand and has already picked up 7 wickets from just 3 T20I games. He has managed to improve his consistency over the years.

KKR is a good team but they lack a proper pace attack. This is why I believe he could fit in perfectly with the Kolkata outfit and could spearhead their pace attack. With a lot of responsibilities riding on his shoulders, he will have to play a huge role for his franchise.

#4 Ashton Turner (Rajasthan Royals)

Ashton Turner

Ashton Turner is another name that has been making the rounds recently, thanks to his performances in the Big Bash League. At that tournament, he scored 378 runs in 14 matches with 3 half centuries at a strike-rate of 132.63.

Rajasthan Royals were smart to purchase him for a low price of just ₹50 lakhs before he came into good form. Soon after the auctions were over, Turner started unleashing his batting prowess to the world.

He played one of the best innings of his career just last month when he scored 69 runs to help his team defeat the Melbourne Stars. He isn’t a one-dimensional player and can also be quite useful with the ball.

As a middle-order batsman, Ashton Turner could be quite useful to RR considering the lack of consistency in their top order. Turner saved the Perth Scorchers a couple of times in the BBL this year with his batting and he will be expected to the same for the Royals, should their top order collapse.

#3 Shimron Hetmyer (Royal Challengers Bangalore)

Shimron Hetmyer

Shimron Hetmyer came into the limelight last year due to his performances against India when he scored a century and followed it up with a masterful 94 in the next match. Hetmyer is a middle-order batsman, who comes in at number 5 for West Indies.

He is best known for his explosive style of batting and can hit the ball long. Royal Challengers Bangalore saw a lot of value in him when they purchased him for ₹4.2 crores. Definitely, RCB have a role in mind for the young Caribbean batsman. For the past few years, RCB have really struggled in the middle order, especially after AB de Villiers' dismissals.

Hence, RCB will rely on Hetmyer to fill that void as he is used to batting at number 5. His batting style and power will suit RCB and he could even be used to help see the team through the innings. It looks like Hetmyer will be an impactful player for RCB this year and he is one of the players other franchises will study in the days leading up to the IPL.

#2 Rashid Khan (Sunrisers Hyderabad)

Rashid Khan

You can’t talk about T20 spinners without mentioning Rashid Khan. The Afghanistan leggie has been absolutely brilliant over the years and he only seems to be getting better every year.

His IPL career has been no different either. Ever since making his debut for the Sunrisers Hyderabad two years ago, he has been phenomenal with the ball and has played a pivotal role for them. The way he covers up his hand while bowling makes it even harder for batsmen to pick him up. Over the years, he has dismissed some of the world’s best batsmen - M.S. Dhoni, Virat Kohli, AB de Villiers and many more have fallen victim to this young leggie.

If his bowling wasn’t dangerous enough, he has now started working hard on his batting skills and has improved considerably over the years. He now manages to play small cameos for the teams he plays for.

This will also be very useful for SRH heading into the IPL. As I mentioned earlier, he only gets better every year and this could be Rashid Khan's best IPL season.

#1 Marcus Stoinis (Royal Challengers Bangalore)

Marcus Stoinis

Marcus Stoinis made his first impression in the IPL for the Kings XI Punjab in the 2016 edition of the tournament. However, he barely managed to contribute anything to his franchise.

Since they didn’t have much use for him, they decided to transfer him to Royal Challengers Bangalore this year. However, this could turn out to be a grave mistake on the part of the Kings XI Punjab. Stoinis is currently in the form of his life. In fact, he was the 3rd-highest run scorer in the Big Bash League this year.

Opening the batting for the Melbourne Stars, Stoinis dispatched bowlers to all parts of the ground on his way to scoring 4 half centuries. He finished the tournament with 533 runs in 13 matches.

This means that Stoinis could play a useful role for RCB as an opener. Since the departure of Gayle and KL Rahul, RCB have struggled with their opening combination. But if someone like Stoinis leads the charge, then Virat could come in at number 3, which will add a lot more depth to their batting lineup.

Given his current form, it would be a waste to not use him properly, and the RCB management should understand just how big of an impact Stoinis can have if he performs well.