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Harshal Patel played 18 IPL games in five seasons prior to 2021. The last time Avesh Khan took an IPL wicket was in 2018. If anything, no one expected these two right-arm pacers to dominate the race for the vaunted IPL 2021 Purple Cap in the highly competitive first half of IPL.
The T20 format and its biggest tournament has this distinct ability to make "decent players" stars - and vice-versa - overnight. Patel and Khan have been on the right side of the ledger so far and another underdog could do the same when the IPL schedule 2021 kicks off for its second part in the UAE in September.
In IPL 2020, held completely in the UAE, Kagiso Rabada's raw pace won him the Purple Cap, with Jasprit Bumrah, Trent Boult and Anrich Nortje tailing closely throughout the season. Significantly, out of these speedsters, only Boult has been able to make it to the top-10 of the wickets chart in IPL 2021. Among the spinners, three leggies found their place in the top-10 charts in IPL 2020 which changed to two this year.
This is because the slower pitches in India favored pacers who varied their pace, or got their cutters to grip the surface and those spinners who relied on turn more than bounce and variations. Now, with the UAE's mint-fresh tracks being tailormade to support seam movement and carry, one can expect the faster bowlers to take the initiative once again and the likes of Rabada, Bumrah and a few new candidates to give Patel and Khan a run for their money.
#1 Mohammed Siraj
Mohammed Siraj has gone from "Why is he still playing?" to "Why is he not playing?" in international cricket in a matter of months. He will come to IPL 2021 having scored four-fers and five-fers at the most storied of grounds and won matches for India in Australia and England.
One would love to believe that it's time for the Hyderabad lad to stand up to his potential for the Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) as well.
In the current IPL season, Siraj has picked up six wickets, half of which came in the match against the Rajasthan Royals (RCB) at the bouncy Wankhade track. Before the tournament was curtailed, he looked on course to pick up his customary 10-11 wickets of the season.
But he is now brimming with confidence, is no longer competing for a national berth and has the unwavering support of a captain who's seen him through most of his highs and lows.
Siraj could use the hard surfaces to bounce-out batsmen, in a way similar to how he did at the Gabba. He'll love the bigger boundaries in Dubai and Abu Dhabi and might even deploy his now-polished wobbled-seamers and slower-ones to trick the batsmen. Admittedly, the white-ball won't be half as helpful as the red cherry but Siraj has the pace to make up for it as well. A few wickets in the first couple of games and Siraj might catch up to his teammate Patel in no time.
Also see: Orange cap holder in IPL 2021
#2 Prasidh Krishna
With an Instagram username of 'skiddyy', Prasidh Krishna hasn't been coy in flaunting his bowling arsenal and won't do so in the post-intermission IPL 2021. Prasidh gleaned eight wickets in the season, second-best for the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) after Pat Cummins' nine scalps.
With Cummins most likely to be absent for the second half, Prasidh will now have the responsibility to lead the young pace bowling attack and rescue the team from seventh spot in the IPL standings.
Like Siraj, Prasidh too has seen a metoric rise in the international arena. He was touted as a "surprise package" option for the T20 World Cup by Virat Kohli last year and has since then played in three ODIs, picking up six wickets with a best of 4/54. That experience, combined with his ongoing learnings in England as a reserve bowler, might just be the push he needs to make a breakthrough IPL season.
#3 Lungi Ngidi
Chennai Super Kings (CSK)'s Lungi Ngidi is currently 25th in the list of this IPL's top wicket-takers but has all the ability in the world to don that Purple Cap before the season ends. With the performances they've had this season, CSK are all but certain to qualify for the knockouts, which will effectively mean more games for Ngidi.
In IPL 2020, MS Dhoni and co. struggled with their glut of spinners on the pacy UAE pitches. They have infused some more balance into the side this season and the results were for everyone to see. Ngidi can now join hands with Deepak Chahar to form a potent new-ball attack for the franchise, with the former hurrying the batters with his pace and the latter decieving them with swing.
Doing away with DJ Bravo won't be too difficult either as CSK have enough batting depth, with Ravindra Jadeja and Sam Curran flanking Dhoni in the lower-order.
Ngidi is in good form too. He pocketed three T20I wickets against Ireland at an average of 10.67 and five wickets from as many games against West Indies in a series before that. Overall, Ngidi has 25 wickets in his 14-match IPL career so far and it won't be a surprise if the right-arm pacer augments that list big time in September.
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