IPL 2020: Five unsold bowlers who could return as replacements

A lot of money was spent on 19 December at Kolkata when the IPL Auction for the 13th season took place. A total of 62 players were bought by the eight different franchises and over ₹140 crores were spent on them.

As expected, Pat Cummins and a few more Australians were the picks of the lot. Like all seasons, this year too saw several big names being left out of the league. Given the nature of the cricketing schedule, several players get injured at key moments and IPL has seen quite a few iconic moments where unsold players after making a comeback as injury replacements have gone on to do incredible things and written themselves into the folklore of this incredible tournament.

On that note, let’s have a look at five bowlers who could be called back as replacements.

#5 Jhye Richardson - 1 CR

Jhye Richardson

An Australian bowler who loves to bowl quick, Jhye Richardson has come up the ranks pretty quickly and done well for most of the teams which he has played. Jhye Richardson was part of the World Cup squad which was supposed to travel to England but an injury didn’t allow him to go and Kane Richardson took his place in the squad.

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The 23-year-old pacer from Western Australia has picked up 24 wickets in 12 ODIs and he picked up the wicket of Virat Kohli twice in the three-match ODI series earlier this year. He is a young bowler who wants to make his mark at the highest level. He can even bat a bit and is a fantastic fielder as well. Although he hasn’t played in the IPL, the Aussie quick can offer a lot if picked by any of the sides as a replacement for the upcoming IPL season.

#4 Mark Wood - 50 Lakh

Mark Wood

The English quick bowler Mark Wood was part of the Chennai Super Kings squad in the 2018 season but played only one game. He played the opening game of the IPL season that year but couldn’t do anything special. He had a poor outing as he gave away 49 runs in his four overs without any wickets. Since then, however, he has been a different bowler.

He is a bowler who bowls with venom and loves to beat the batsman for pace. In the World Cup, all the talk was about Jofra Archer but Wood was doing his job quietly. In the 2019 World Cup, he picked up 18 wickets in 10 games at an average of 25.72.

He can be a handy bowler on pitches that are fast and have bounce in them. Teams like KKR and MI might consider him as a replacement if any of their fast bowlers get injured.

#3 Hayden Walsh Jr. - 50 Lakh

Hayden Walsh Jr.

Hayden Walsh is an upcoming leg-spinner from the West Indies. He was born in the United States but chose to represent the West Indies. He made his debut in 2019 and was part of the recently concluded T20I series against India.

He bowled well in Indian conditions, and thus made a case for himself to be a part of an IPL franchise. The 27-year-old leg-spinner came into the limelight in this year’s Caribbean Premier League. He was the leading wicket-taker in the 2019 CPL as he picked up 22 wickets in just nine games leaving the likes of Imran Tahir and Jason Holder behind him.

He is a bowler who is ready to bowl the tough overs and more often than not delivers for his captain. Many teams don’t have an overseas wrist-spinner but teams like SRH, DC, and CSK who have wrist-spinners can consider him as a replacement option if required.

#2 Mustafizur Rahman - 1 CR

Mustafizur Rahman

Everybody knows the Bangladesh left-arm pacer, Mustafizur Rahman, as ‘The Fizz.’ He became famous when he picked up two five-wicket hauls against India in Bangladesh way back in 2015. In 2016, he was picked up by the SRH team and he had a fabulous IPL.

In the 2016 season, he picked up 17 wickets in 16 games at an economy rate of just 6.90. He was fantastic with his change of pace and Yorkers at the death. Later on, he suffered a shoulder injury which has caused a lot of problems in his bowling. Since his injury, we haven’t seen the old Mustafizur as he seems to have lost the Fizz. He still has those cutters which go across the right-hander and he used them well in the World Cup as he picked up 20 wickets in eight matches.

MI backed him in 2018 but he didn’t come good. With his IPL experience, he could be a handful on the slow pitches of Chennai or Delhi. Teams like CSK or DC can think of him as a replacement option if the need arises.

#1 Kesrick Williams - 50 Lakh

Kesrick Williams is known for his notebook celebration

The West Indian medium-pacer Kesrick Williams couldn't find a buyer in this year's auction. Before the auction, there was a lot of talk about Kesrick Williams and how he could be useful in the Indian conditions but to everybody’s surprise, no franchise showed interest in him.

The 29-year-old pacer from West Indies who is famously known for his ‘notebook’ celebration has picked up 41 wickets in his 24 T20 international games. He is a bowler who possesses a lot of variations and uses them well at the death. Kesrick Williams got hammered in the first T20I against India but he was brilliant in the second game as he picked up the wicket of Virat Kohli.

Kesrick Williams with all his experience will be on the top of the list when franchises are looking for replacement options for the upcoming IPL season.