IPL 2017: 5 unexpected performers in the first two weeks
For nearly a decade, the IPL has been the springboard for youngsters and little-known cricketers to prove their mettle on a large scale. The likes of Ravichandran Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, and more recently, KL Rahul and Axar Patel, have been products of the T20 league that continue to churn out jaw-dropping performances from obscure names.
Here are five unexpected performers from the first two weeks of IPL 2017:
#1 Rashid Khan
There is no sight that is better on a cricket field than the seductive and alluring spectacle of a leg spin bowler weaving his magic over the hapless batsmen, tying the hapless boot laces as it were, whilst purveying the most difficult art. An air of expectancy and joy engulfs the minds of cricket fans and pundits whenever a leggie arrives on the scene. An enabling and understanding skipper is an essential prerequisite for such lot to flourish.
One would have never imagined that such a practitioner would arise from war and strife-torn Afghanistan! To pursue the dream and to make a splendid impression with boundless enthusiasm and a run up like his role model Shahid Afridi has catapulted Rashid Khan to an elite league by the sheer weight of the scalps in the first fortnight of IPL 10. To not carry bags of nerves and to deliver the goods regularly inside the powerplay overs, calls for a big heart.
He is also at ease and confident despite an expensive price tag. To think he is all of 18 boggles the mind as his game awareness and his sense of conviction in his rare skill hides in its wake an old mature head.
Leg spinners are by nature profligate and can be guilty of bowling like millionaires for such is their art. But for young Rashid Khan to be miserly yet strike at dominant players with disguised googlies and ram rod accuracy, showcases a special talent.
Credit must also be placed with the Sunrisers think tank to have the foresight and the discerning, unerring eye to spot a talent and invest in him after his success in the 2016 T20 World Cup in India, when he garnered lots of wickets. It may not be easy in the years to come to emulate these tall standards, but one senses a willing and tireless learner in this young lad.