11 newbies to watch in IPL 2012

It’s IPL time, boss.

The time for colorful razzmatazz, dancing cheerleaders, local celeb spotting and pithy commentary is here –  and yes, you get to watch some high octane cricket too.

The fifth edition of IPL is bound to be more tightly contested than the previous edition, for the simple reason being that the Indian cricketers couldn’t have had a more contrasting build-up to this year’s IPL. Last year, they entered the tournament fatigued and emotionally spent after the World Cup win while this year, they will be itching to prove themselves after a couple of disappointing months on the international stage.  The favorites are the usual suspects: Chennai Super Kings, Mumbai Indians, Royal Challengers Bangalore and Kolkata Knight Riders. CSK will be looking for an unprecedented 3rd straight title, while the other three are still searching for their maiden triumphs. The other teams have a lesser shot, but can take hope from the campaigns of Rajasthan Royals in IPL1 and Deccan Chargers in IPL2, which showed that if you grab the opportune moments, glory is not impossible.

This year, there are quite a few international players who will be making their IPL debuts, and most of them are match-winners in their own right. While the likes of Pollard, Gayle, Kohli, Raina, Sehwag etc are proven IPL performers, it will be interesting to see if these players can make a name for themselves in the biggest domestic T20 tournament in the world. I present to you, the  Newbie XI to watch in IPL 2012:

Richard Levi

Country: South Africa

IPL team: Mumbai Indians

Role: Opening batsman

T20 stats: HS – 117, Avg – 30.87, SR – 149.69

As if the Mumbai Indians were not bursting at the seams with batting talent, they have added a new explosive batsman to the team. Levi is one of the most dangerous players in the South African domestic T20s and within 2 games of his international T20 debut, he made the world sit up and notice with a blistering 117 against the Kiwis when the Saffers were chasing 174. A player who is built and strikes like Pollard, is just one more headache for the opposition bowlers. Will he be the new star in IPL 2012?

Tamim Iqbal

Country: Bangladesh

IPL team: Pune Warriors

Role: Opening batsman

T20 stats: HS – 91, Avg – 19.57, SR – 107.15

Its really surprising that a man known for his audacious hitting and rapid fire starts has a modest record in T20s. All that could change, given his recent form and new found consistency. With the likes of Ganguly and Graeme Smith to mentor him, Iqbal would be learning from the best, and will be aiming to make his captain and his countrymen very proud.

Dinesh Chandimal

Country: Sri Lanka

IPL team: Rajasthan Royals

Role: Wicketkeeper-batsman

T20 stats: HS – 88, Avg – 33.89, SR – 126.18

Sri Lanka’s newest batting star is heading north as the Rajasthan Royals search for their second IPL triumph. A stylish batsman who has shown impressive consistency and maturity in his brief international career so far, he could be trusted to double up as a wicket-keeper as well. He has already shown his appetite for Indian bowling, and considering that he will be facing a lot of that in the next two months, it is safe to assume that he will relish the opportunities.

Michael Clarke

Country: Australia

IPL team: Pune Warriors

Role: Middle order batsman

T20 stats: HS – 67, Avg – 22.03, SR – 108.85

The Aussie Test captain is a late addition to IPL 5, thanks mainly due to Ganguly’s admiration over Clarke’s exploits over the summer. Clarke already has an interesting history with IPL despite not having played in it at any time, thanks to Lalit Modi who did not share the Aussie’s estimation that he was worth 2 million dollars. Times have changed; Modi is out and Clarke is in. In the recent ODI series down under, he showcased a new aggressive side to his batting; and with his sharp fielding and ability to bowl some tight overs, he could well end up making Saurav Ganguly a very happy skipper.

Marlon Samuels

Country: West Indies

IPL team: Pune Warriors

Role: Middle order bat/part-time spin

T20 stats: HS – 102, Avg – 32.88, SR – 120.81, BBI – 2/14, ER – 7.08

Samuels belongs to the Gayle school of cricket. Cool and casual on the outside; give him a bat and see him explode. A man with a colorful history which saw him banned for a short while, he could be the X-factor for the Warriors in the absence of Yuvraj Singh. Like Gayle, he can bowl some handy offspin as well.

Luke Wright

Country: England

IPL team: Pune Warriors

Role: All-rounder

T20 stats: HS – 117,  Avg – 25.05, SR – 146.22, BBI – 3/17, ER – 8.27

For a player who doesn’t feature prominently in England’s plans at the moment, Wright happens to be one of the rare Englishmen playing in this year’s IPL. He’s had somewhat of a hot streak in T20s right now, on the back of an impressive time at the BBL, where he was one of two centurions. He might be a poor man’s Shane Watson, but in the current form he is in, he could well turn out to be one of the crucial players for the Warriors.

Doug Bracewell

Country: New Zealand

IPL team: Delhi Daredevils

Role: All-rounder

T20 stats: HS – 37, Avg – 27.60, SR -139.39. BBI – 3/21, ER – 8.29

Bracewell comes from an illustrious cricketing family, and his talent was there for all to see, when he decimated the Australians in their last Test series. A muscular batsman who can also be a tough bowler to face, it will be interesting to see how he performs in front of raucous crowds and soaring temperatures, but given his impressive track record, he could well be one of the surprise stars of the tournament.

Andre Russell

Country: West Indies

IPL team: Delhi Daredevils

Role: Bowler/occasional batsman

T20 stats: HS – 58, Avg – 19.31, SR – 148.58, BBI – 4/35, ER – 8.04

West Indies are currently on a resurgent path, and Andre Russell is one of the players at the forefront of it. A typically athletic Caribbean player, he can be irresistible on his day, with bat or ball. Indian fans will not forget his heroics against them in the recent past, and the Daredevils will he hoping that he can maintain his fondness for Indian opposition for another two months atleast.

Stuart Broad

Country: England

IPL team: Kings XI Punjab

Role: Fast bowler

T20 stats: BBI – 3/13, ER – 6.68

Broad will be making his IPL debut a year after he was signed up by the Kings XI, as he missed IPL 4 due to injury. Being one of the few English players in the tournament, the England T20I captain will be eager to prove his mettle in subcontinental pitches, before the World T20 Championship in September. He might be forever remembered by Indian fans as the hapless bowler who Yuvraj tonked around for six 6s in an over, but Broad still remains as one of the best T20 bowlers in the world. Along with Ryan Harris and Praveen Kumar, he could form a pretty impressive pace attack for the Kings XI.

Sunil Narine

Country: West Indies

IPL team: Kolkata Knight Riders

Role: Off-spinner

T20 stats: BBI – 4/9, ER – 4.73

Sunil Narine has the potential to be the breakout star of IPL 5. He caught the eye of many during the last Champions League, where he befuddled many batsmen and almost single-handedly knocked out CSK from the tournament. Now, he has transferred that form to the international arena, where he has been bamboozling the Aussies recently. As the economy rate shows, he is not too generous with conceding runs and along with Iqbal Abdullah and Shakib al Hasan could form the most dangerous troika of spin in the IPL.

Marchant de Lange

Country: South Africa

IPL team: Kolkata Knight Riders

Role: Fast bowler

T20 stats: BBI – 2/36, ER – 9.75 (in 3 games)

Vernon Philander is the South African pace bowler who is hogging all the headlines right now, and with good reason; but lest it be forgotten, de Lange made an equally impressive entry when he grabbed a 5-fer on Test debut. A young strapping fast bowler built like a bull, he is capable of sending thunderbolts and can hurry up the batsmen with brute pace. Of course, as the IPL has shown, speed alone is not sufficient to impress, and it will be a big test for de Lange to show that he has got the brain to go along with the brawn.

Where Them Future Stars At

Peter Roebuck recently wrote an article on CricInfo, asking a simple question – ‘Who are cricket’s future greats?’. Unfortunately, apart from a statistical look at the modern greats and an expressed fear for the future, he didn’t really talk about any future stars in particular. So, I decided to make up a list of players from each Test playing nation, except Bangladesh, whose progress I am following and who I feel are more likely to be international cricketers of great caliber in the next ten years or so.

PS: I apologize in advance for the mangled statistics table!

KANE WILLIAMSON

Country: New Zealand

Age: 20 years

Mat	Inns	NO	Runs	HS	Ave	BF	SR	100	50	4s	6s	Ct	St

Tests	5	9	0	299	131	33.22	698	42.83	1	2	28	0	1	0
ODIs	15	14	2	352	108	29.33	514	68.48	1	0	22	3	3	0
First-class	29	49	2	1998	192	42.51	3732	53.53	6	9	242	12	27	0
List A	46	43	10	1537	108*	46.57	2054	74.82	4	7	105	15	18	0

I noticed Williamson for the first time during a nondescript tri-series in Sri Lanka last year. It was his debut series and he looked so out of depth at the international level that I wondered what the fuss was all about, as he was touted as the next big thing in New Zealand cricket by the experts; but it was during the Test series against India later, when I was won over. The way he tackled the spinners and batted with a calm assurance indicated a mature head, and while tours of South Africa and England will be challenging in their own right, I foresee a great future for him; I wouldn’t be too surprised if he is the Kiwi captain when the 2019 World Cup rolls around.

DINESH CHANDIMAL

Country: Sri Lanka

Age: 21 years

Mat	Inns	NO	Runs	HS	Ave	BF	SR	100	50	4s	6s	Ct	St

ODIs	4	4	2	143	111	71.50	168	85.11	1	0	9	5	4	1
T20Is	5	4	0	59	29	14.75	58	101.72	0	0	2	2	0	0
First-class	33	52	7	2733	244	60.73	3653	74.81	9	13	306	56	62	11
List A	42	41	5	1010	111	28.05	1266	79.77	1	8	73	25	35	2

Early last year, when India sent a weakened team to Zimbabwe under Suresh Raina for a pointless ODI tournament involving the host nation and Sri Lanka, they had their bottoms forcefully kicked by both teams. Apart from that, I remember the tri-series for a brilliant century by Chandimal against the Indians in just his second ODI innings. Later, I found that he has a stellar record in First class cricket, while there is scope for improvements in the short formats. Still, he has impressed many with his attitude and leadership skills right from the U-19 stage; and with the likelihood of Sri Lanka losing the services of stalwarts Sanga, Jayawardene and Dilshan in the next few years, the spotlight is going to be focused on him for the foreseeable future.

RILEE ROUSSOUW

Country: South Africa

Age: 21 years

Mat	Inns	NO	Runs	HS	Ave	BF	SR	100	50	4s	6s	Ct	St

First-class	39	69	1	2967	319	43.63	4675	63.46	9	13	431	22	45	0
List A	48	47	2	1656	131	36.80	1786	92.72	4	9	186	24	26	0

I have to admit that I have not seen much of his actual game, but in the few matches I have seen him play for his domestic team, he has looked the part of a quality player. I noticed him first during the 2008 U-19 World Cup where he turned in some decent performances, and then saw him again during the initial Champions League T20; and I came away with the feeling that he is steadily improving as a player. He could very well turn out to be a major batsman in Gary Kirsten’s new Proteas. Like the previous players in this list, he has every chance of becoming the future captain of his country.

BEN STOKES

Country: England

Age: 20 years

Mat	Inns	NO	Runs	HS	Ave	BF	SR	100	50	4s	6s	Ct	St

First-class	26	38	5	1541	185	46.69			5	5			16	0
List A	19	19	3	509	150*	31.81	540	94.25	1	2	40	14	5	0

Mat	Inns	Balls	Runs	Wkts	BBI	BBM	Ave	Econ	SR	4w	5w	10

First-class	26	32	1398	1046	28	6/68	7/145	37.35	4.48	49.9	2	1	0
List A	19	9	236	207	14	4/29	4/29	14.78	5.26	16.8	1	0	0

Stokes fulfills the first criteria to become an English player – He was born outside the country 🙂 …. specifically in New Zealand, where his father played rugby for the Kiwis. Once he moved to England and started playing cricket though, people started to take notice. Like most others in this list, I noticed him first during the last U-19 World Cup, where he scored a century against India. Apart from being an aggressive batsman, he is also more than a handy performer with the ball; he has already put in some eye-catching performances this season before a dislocated finger brought an early end to his season. Still, he looks to be the most promising young cricketer in England and it seems to be a matter of time before he makes his debut for the senior English team.

ABHINAV MUKUND

Country: India

Age: 21

Mat	Inns	NO	Runs	HS	Ave	BF	SR	100	50	4s	6s	Ct	St

First-class	40	61	3	3446	300*	59.41	6207	55.51	13	9	435	17	29	0
List A	28	28	1	1550	130	57.40	1869	82.93	5	10	151	10	16	0

Such is the strength of the Chennai Super Kings, that they could afford to leave out one of the best batsmen in the country from the playing XI throughout their victorious campaign. Mukund is well known throughout the domestic circuit for his gluttonous appetite for runs. Along with his opening partner Murali Vijay, he has decimated many a new ball attack in the country. For his consistent performances throughout the last two seasons, he has won himself a place in the Indian Test squad to the West Indies in the absence of Sehwag and Gambhir. Don’t be too surprised if he edges out Vijay for the third opener’s slot when the two return to take their places.

JAMES PATTINSON

Country: Australia

Age: 21 years

Mat	Inns	Balls	Runs	Wkts	BBI	BBM	Ave	Econ	SR	4w	5w	10

First-class	6	11	1156	560	19	4/52	5/76	29.47	2.90	60.8	2	0	0
List A	15	15	760	659	26	6/48	6/48	25.34	5.20	29.2	0	1	0

It would be an understatement to say that there are not enough quality bowlers out there today. It doesn’t look too bright for the future as well. One bowler who might prove to be the odd exception is James Pattinson. While his elder brother shot to prominence first with an infamous debut for England in 2008, it was always the younger Pattinson who was being talked up as a future star. With the gift of swing, he is slowly working his way up the ranks, from the U-19 side for his state, to the Australia U-19 to Australia A, and now to the senior squad. Even as Australia struggle to retain top position in the international rankings, they would do very well to look at a fresh crop of players, with none more promising than the young Pattinson.

JUNAID KHAN

Country: Pakistan

Age: 21 years

Mat	Inns	Balls	Runs	Wkts	BBI	BBM	Ave	Econ	SR	4w	5w	10

ODIs	7	7	288	223	9	4/12	4/12	24.77	4.64	32.0	1	0	0
T20Is	1	1	12	15	0	–	–	–	7.50	–	0	0	0
First-class	35	63	7110	3562	167	7/46	13/77	21.32	3.00	42.5	6	13	3
List A	34	34	1590	1279	46	4/12	4/12	27.80	4.82	34.5	3	0	0

Who else but a fast bowler would be the most promising young cricketer for Pakistan? While I would have normally gone for Mohammed Amir, I will settle for a less controversial choice in Junaid Khan. Like Amir, he is a left arm pace bowler who has been turning heads with his impressive ability for pace, swing and success in the domestic scene. Playing for the now famous province of Abbottabad, who are supposedly one of the weaker teams in Pakistan, he has built up an impressive reputation for himself. It was going to be only a matter of time before he made his debut for the senior side, and sure enough, he made his debut in ODI colors against West Indies a couple of months ago. His performance in that series indicate that with the right guidance and care, he can turn out to be one of the best fast bowlers in international cricket within the next few years. As long as Ijaz Butt and cronies don’t come up with an ingenious way to screw his career too.

DARREN BRAVO

Country: West Indies

Age: 22 years

Mat	Inns	NO	Runs	HS	Ave	BF	SR	100	50	4s	6s	Ct	St

Tests	5	8	1	313	80	44.71	767	40.80	0	4	30	6	1	0
ODIs	26	23	3	635	79	31.75	872	72.82	0	4	46	15	3	0
T20Is	3	3	0	83	42	27.66	75	110.66	0	0	9	2	0	0
First-class	23	35	2	1231	111	37.30			3	6			22	0
List A	48	44	6	1491	107*	39.23			2	10			10	0

Even if you have not been following West Indies cricket for the last year or so, you might be knowing that Darren Bravo bats like his famous relative Brian Lara. Fortunately for him, he has a decent record at both First class and Test level to back that fame…somewhat. While his half brother Dwayne has been an integral part of the senior side for a while now, Darren has earned a name for himself on the international scene only in the last two years. While his domestic records don’t scream run machine, his short stint in Tests and ODIs so far, indicate there is substance beneath the style. At the moment, he is not in the best of form, but for a team which comprises of batsmen who struggle to cope with quality international bowlers, his progress to a fully fledged champion batsman can’t come soon enough.