3 underrated overseas spinners IPL franchises should target
The developments for the players' auction ahead of the IPL 2020 season are already underway. Analyzing the requirements and necessities of the squads, the management of various franchises will lock horns in a bidding war to choose amongst the set of professional cricketers to go under the hammer.
Diving in the past, there've been numerous players who have missed out on bagging lucrative IPL contracts despite being specialist operators in the brisk-paced format.
Considering the characteristic dry nature of Indian pitches that offers grip and turn off the surface, multiple teams will try and strengthen their spin attack. A few unknown faces in the spin department may also be up for grabs and teams are presumed to shell out an enormous amount of money for them.
We take a look at three overseas spinners who can acquire fruitful IPL contracts this time around alongside mentioning the franchises who could opt for these individuals.
Chris Green
If you've watched Sydney Thunder in the last few years, chances are you'd have seen Chris Green ardently deliver zingy, fired-through off-spin. Having featured in Vitalist Blast, Pakistan Super League, Carribean Premie League and Global T20.
Boasting of tremendous experience at his fore, the rudimentary method of the talented off-spinner holds little mystery, chiefly relying on subtle variations and deceptive alterations of pace. Since the onset of the 2015-16 Big Bash League, his economy in overs one to six is 6.39, leaving him the second-tightest spinner in that period, rank between veterans Rashid Khan and Sunil Narine.
Green's remarkable prowess with the new ball during the fielding restrictions, incredible athleticism in the field, and his potential as a dynamic finisher has helped him forge a reputation on the international scene on the back of T20 performances alone. Unfortunately remaining unsold in the 2019 edition, Green's marvelous credentials usher him into the prime reckoning for a deserved IPL contract in the subsequent auction.
Delhi Capitals can opt for young Chris Green. The Durban-born spinner can prove immensely beneficial on the characteristic sluggish Kotla pitches.
Fabian Allen
A gem of a discovery for Caribbean cricket, Fabian Allen shot to limelight during the 2017 edition of the Caribbean Premier League with an absolute screamer of a catch at deep point.
Fizzing through batsmen with his quick left-arm darts, the multi-dimensional Jamaican spinner has presto escalated through the U-19 ranks to become a regular feature in the West Indies limited-overs squad.
Not a sharp turner of the ball, Allen constantly hits the right-channels to keep a tight lid on the batsman. The wiery tweaker possesses golden virtues of flight and drift synthesized with the ability to bowl along a disciplined line and length. In the domestic as well as international circuit, batsmen have found it tumultuous to score runs off his bowling and the same is evident from his competent T20 economy rate of 7.17.
Fawad Ahmed
A shrewd legspinner who played ten first-class matches in Pakistan, Fawad Ahmed fled to Australia in 2010 as an asylum seeker. Ahmed began playing for the Melbourne University club and soon turned into a regular net bowler to Australia's Test cricketers.
The specialist T20 operator has had a great time off late in the shortest format. Though age is catching up with him, his efficacy with the leather in hand hasn’t diminished by any stretch of the imagination. The formidable leg-spinner has played 52 T20s so far and has racked up 57 wickets with an astonishing economy rate of 6.78, which is undoubtedly commendable in a generation of rampant slam-bang cricket.
The 36-year-old concluded the CPL 2018 as the leading wicket-taker with 22 wickets from 13 matches, representing defending champions Trinbago Knight Riders (TKR). The clinical expertise of Fawad Ahmed over the art of bowling leg-spin against ferocious pinch hitters makes him a prime contender for an IPL contract.
Perennial underachievers Royal Challengers Bangalore can bank on Fawad Ahmed as a quality back-up option for stalwart Yuzvendra Chahal. Moreover, the talented leggie can be drafted into the playing eleven instead of Washington Sundar or Pawan Negi, against oppositions boasting of numerous potent right-handers.
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