IPL 2017: 5 cricketers who surprised us with their performances this season
The IPL 2017 has finally come to an end as fans witnessed a nail-biting finish with the Mumbai Indians defeating the Rising Pune Supergiant in the final held in Hyderabad.
Every IPL, we witness a handful of players who surprise us with their performances on the field for their respective franchises. In 2016, we saw cricketers such as KL Rahul and Yuzvendra Chahal shine for RCB as they went on to play for the Indian cricket team as well.
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The 2017 edition too saw a lot of surprise performances both with the bat and the ball. So, let’s take a look at the top 5 surprise performers in IPL 2017.
#5 Sunil Narine
Ever Since Sunil Narine was forced to change his bowling action due to his faulty action a few years ago, he has not been nearly as effective as he used to be. His wicket-taking ability took a hit and so did his economy rate. Batsmen were able to figure him out and took him on with ease.
As the IPL 2017 began, he faced the same problem and was not able to pick up wickets with as much ease as before. However, Gambhir came up with a masterful tactic which worked wonders for the 28-year-old West Indian.
Narine was promoted up the order and made to open the innings along with Gautam Gambhir, in the absence of Chris Lynn. The tactic was used in the past in the BBL and CPL as well, but not to great effect.
On the other hand, Narine’s pinch hitting ability came to the fore in the IPL as he decimated the opposition bowlers on multiple occasions. His innings against RCB will go down in history as one of the best half centuries ever. We are sure to see a lot more of Narine at the top of the order in future T20 tournaments.