IPL 2016: 5 surprise performers so far in this season
The beauty of the IPL lies in its unpredictability. With such a huge roster of players, the tournament keeps getting new heroes every day.
Every team has a set of marquee players, the star performers who become the face of the franchise and are expected to fire in every innings. However, despite a Kohli in Bangalore, or a Dhoni in Pune, an off-day for the stars gives lesser known players an opportunity to fill the missing pieces, or stereotyped cricketers the chance to break character and prove their worth in the shortest format.
Here’s a list of five unexpected performers from this IPL:
Krunal Pandya
The lesser known Pandya, along with brother Hardik, was introduced to the game by their cricket-fanatic father, and their rags to riches journey has been an inspiring story since.
Krunal, a limited over specialist, suffered from a labral tear in his shoulder which kept him out of the game for close to a year.
It was surprising, hence, when he was signed by the Mumbai franchise for an astonishing two crores, even though he hadn’t played a single first-class match.
Pandya’s crucial performances with the bat late in the innings has been one of the reasons for Mumbai Indians’ campaign revival this year. He has scored 111 runs at an average of over 55, and a strike rate close to 182.
His left arm spin has also been effective, with which he has scalped three wickets from seven matches and has helped stem the flow of runs in the middle overs.