IPL 2019: One unexpected performer from each team

IPL 2019 was a tournament filled with many surprises, heartbreaks and joyous moments for the fans.There were many thrilling encounters and the seasoned star performers continued to shine while a few new ones made their appearance too.

Players like Jonny Bairstow, Sam Curran and Shubman Gill provided some quality performances while David Warner made a roaring comeback to the league.

That said, there were a few stars who initially weren't expected to be as successful as they ended up to be. Let's take a look at one such player from each team.

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Chennai Super Kings - Harbhajan Singh

Harbhajan Singh defied the odds to deliver a rousing performance this season. There were a lot of questions over the fact that CSK retained him after he failed to make much impact last season, but the off-spinner's response was stunning.

He picked up 16 wickets in 11 games with a tight economy rate of 7.09 and brilliant average of 19.50. This kind of performance was certainly not expected from Bhajji, but the veteran proved the doubters wrong as he rattled the RCB batting order in the very first game.

Whether he will be retained or not, Harbhajan helped his side a lot this season. His unexpected return to form was a welcome change for CSK.

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Delhi Capitals - Ishant Sharma

Ishant bowled a peach of a delivery to dismiss Joe Denly for a golden duck. (Image Courtesy: iplt20.com)

The Delhi Capitals had a dream run this season and made it to the playoffs with relative ease. Their star pace bowler Kagiso Rabada led the charge as he rattled the opposition batsmen to pick up 25 wickets. However, the overseas pacer wasn't the only bowler to make an impact.

Seasoned Indian pacer Ishant Sharma redeemed himself in the IPL after being unsold in the last auction. He picked up 13 wickets in 13 games at a good economy rate of 7.58, making a huge difference to the team.

Ishant's inclusion in the side raised eyebrows at first due to the fact that Delhi had three quality overseas pacers and talented Indian bowlers in Avesh Khan and Harshal Patel. But he proved that he was still a boss at handling the new ball and bowled a couple of astounding spells.

Kings XI Punjab - Mohammed Shami

Mohammed Shami (Image Courtesy: iplt20.com)

Mohammed Shami has scripted a dream turnaround in both international cricket and in the IPL.

The pacer was bought by Kings XI Punjab in the 2019 player auction for a huge sum of ₹4.8 crore despite his poor form in past IPL seasons. While a similar performance was expected from Shami, he emerged to be the highest wicket-taker for Punjab and managed to keep his economy in check.

He picked up 19 wickets from just 14 games at a decent economy of 8.48 and was unlucky not to get a few more. He was deadly with the new ball and did a good job in the death overs too, making up for Andrew Tye's poor form.

While Shami's resurgence in international cricket was an indicator that things were changing, his IPL performance took everyone by surprise.

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Kolkata Knight Riders - Andre Russell

Andre Russell (Image Courtesy: iplt20.com)

While this might seem like nonsense after what the man did, Andre Russell's performance this season was not on expected lines. The Caribbean all-rounder's fitness and form were in question ahead of the 2019 season.

The turnaround, however was obvious right from the first game as he led the side to victory with a blistering cameo of 49. That set his season on track, and he ended up scoring 510 runs in 13 innings averaging 56.66 at a strike-rate of 204.81.

Russell struck 52 sixes, the most by a single player this season, and swept away the MVP and Super Striker awards. He also picked up 11 wickets and proved to be a partnership breaker, though he was on the expensive side.

Russell's dream run will not be forgotten for a long time, but a performance of this level wasn't expected from him.

Mumbai Indians - Rahul Chahar

Rahul Chahar has been a revelation this season (Image Courtesy: iplt20.com)

Mumbai Indians players produced many surprises and stunning performances en route to lifting their 4th IPL title. While Alzarri Joseph's 6/12 took the whole cricketing fraternity by storm, it was in fact Rahul Chahar who was the unexpected performer for the side.

After being benched for the whole of last season, Chahar was expected to continue being on the sidelines due to Mayank Markande's presence. However, he grabbed his opportunity when Markande fell ill and refused to let go of it with brilliant spells of bowling.

Chahar picked up 13 wickets from 13 games at a very good economy rate of 6.55. He won the Game Changer of the Season award for his performances.

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Rajasthan Royals - Riyan Parag

Riyan Parag (Image Courtesy: iplt20.com)

Rajasthan Royals finished the season in the 7th place on the points table. The side, however had many positives to take home; while Shreyas Gopal's impressive run was one to savor, the advent of 17-year old Riyan Parag came as a surprise to everyone.

The all-rounder notched up 160 runs in just 5 innings. He batted responsibly and scored his runs at an average of 32.00 and a decent strike-rate of 126.98. He also picked up 2 wickets at an economy rate of 8.64, and is a talent to watch out for in the future.

Parag also became the youngest player to score a half-century in the IPL.

Royal Challengers Bangalore - Navdeep Saini

Navdeep Saini (Image Courtesy: iplt20.com)

Navdeep Saini was among the top uncapped players to watch out for ahead of the season. However, his performances as the leader of RCB's pace attack were completely unexpected.

The team's pace bowlers repeatedly let the side down as bowlers like Umesh Yadav and Mohammed Siraj were taken apart by the opposition batsmen. In such an environment, Saini picked up 11 wickets from 13 matches and was the second highest wicket-taker for the side.

He bowled with real pace and venom, constantly troubling the batsmen. In fact, he deserved more wickets than he actually got; the high rate of dropped catches off his bowling really hurt his stats.

Saini is certainly a strong prospect for the Indian national team in the future.

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Sunrisers Hyderabad - Khaleel Ahmed

Khaleel Ahmed (Image Courtesy: iplt20.com)

Khaleel Ahmed played only one game last season and was benched for a long time even this season. The left-arm pacer is a talented bowler, but the extent to which he performed was something which surprised everyone.

Khaleel picked up 19 wickets in only nine games and was the highest wicket-taker of the side ahead of players like Rashid Khan. He had a great bowling average of 15.10 and strike-rate of 11.00, and picked up a wicket almost every time he came on to bowl.

Khaleel's stint with the Indian team has made him a seasoned bowler, and his IPL performances indicate a bright future.