IPL 2020 auction: 3 hard-hitting batsmen from associate and new Test members that the franchises will keep an eye on

#1 Hazratullah Zazai (Afghanistan)

The 21-year-old Hazratullah Zazai has achieved some incredible feats for Afghanistan in a short T20 career, most notably smashing an unbeaten 162 from just 62 balls in the second T20 of the series against Ireland played at Dehradun earlier this year.

Zazai hit an incredible 16 sixes apart from 11 fours in the innings, which rocketed at a strike rate of 261.69. He featured in a mammoth 236-run opening stand with Usman Ghani, who contributed a comparatively sedate 73 from 48 balls.

Ireland utilised the services of as many as eight bowlers in the innings, but in vain. Afghanistan posted 278 for 3 and won the match by a comprehensive margin of 84 runs.

Zazai had taken a liking to Ireland’s bowling very early in his career. In only his second T20 game on 20 August 2018, he smashed 74 from 33 against the same opposition at Bready. Just a couple of days later he did an encore, this time blasting 82 from 54 balls, smashing seven sixes.

Zazai’s penchant for big hitting saw him become the third batsman in T20 cricket to hit six sixes in a over. He achieved the feat batting for Kabul Zwanan against Balkh Legends in the Afghanistan Premier League 2018, Abdullah Mazari being the unfortunate bowler.

During the course of the innings, he also equaled Yuvraj Singh and Chris Gayle’s record for fastest T20 fifty, reaching the landmark in 12 balls.

In 41 T20 games, Zazai has 1319 runs to his credit at a strike rate of 157.58 with two hundreds and six fifties.