It is noteworthy that during this edition of the Indian Premier League, many teams could not properly utilise their foreign players. However, whenever these players got a chance, they exhibited exhilarating performances and transformed their teams. KKR, Kings XI Punjab, and RCB being some examples of the teams laden to the teeth with the foreign arsenal.
The New Zealand speedster, Lockie Ferguson, has made a mark in the previous seasons of the IPL for his high speed and his bowling was a threat to the batsmen. But this time when KKR put him against Sunrisers Hyderabad, he took SRH by surprise by scalping the wickets of ace batsmen like Kane Williamson, Priyam Garg, and Manish Pandey. Similarly, Kings XI Punjab had also made a habit of losing.
They had won only one out of the seven matches, but as soon as Chris Gayle was included in the team, the team was in luck. Playing three matches, Chris Gayle scored a half-century in one match, scored 29 runs at a strike rate above 200 in the second, and also a crucial 24-run innings in the third. This team won three matches in a row since Gayle’s arrival, despite reaching the lowest rung earlier.
The third player is Chris Morris of RCB. A player who came into his avatar as soon as he got a chance. The all-rounder’s bowling, in particular, changed RCB’s fortunes. Morris’ tight and pressure inflicting bowling also makes it easier for others to get wickets at the other end. In this team, Yajuvendra Chahal and Washington Sundar were already bowling tight. The arrival of Morris makes it challenging for the opposition team to score big runs against RCB. Moreover, Imran Tahir’s charm has been a watch-worthy stint.
The player who got the purple cap for scalping 26 wickets in the last season of the IPL, was left by the Chennai Super Kings to grace the bench. One can call it the stubbornness of the team management to continue losing matches but not trying Tahir. South Africa’s Imran Tahir is undoubtedly one of the best spinners right now in the elite cricketing horizon. His timely arrival could have rejuvenated the team.
Today, if this team is at the lowest position, the main reason for this is ‘Imran Tahir on the bench’. One hopes better sense prevails and some of these match-winners get a chance to showcase their skill and class.