IPL 2018: Zimbabwe cricketers that could have been part of this edition
Zimbabwean cricket is under crisis due to poor administration and country’s internal politics. Over the last few years, many cricketers have been suspended, banned and had premature retirements. Lack of financial support is also a major concern for its decline. Despite all this, Zimbabwe has managed to put up decent performances every now and then. They have managed to beat Sri Lanka in Sri Lanka 3-2 in the ODI series and almost won the one-off Test match.
When it comes to IPL, Tatenda Taibu is the only Zimbabwe cricketer to play in the IPL. He was picked up Kolkata Knight Riders in the inaugural edition and managed to feature in only 3 games. He couldn’t make much impact and went unsold in the next season. Similarly, Brendan Taylor was bought by Sunrisers as a backup for wicket-keeper Naman Ojha in the 2014 season but never got a chance to play. Even in this year’s auction none of the Zimbabwean players managed to attract the franchise owners.
However, there are 3 promising cricketers from the current national team that could have been part of this year’s IPL:
#3 Sean Williams
Sean Williams is one of the most experienced players in the current Zimbabwe team. The 31-year-old made his ODI debut in 2005 and since then he represented his country in 116 ODI’s with a decent average of 31 and a healthy strike-rate of 82. Predominantly considered to be a batting all-rounder, his slow left-arm spin has been of the valuable asset to his team.
His sole ODI century came against Afghanistan at home in a 5-match series. Chasing a target of 246 in the allocated 50 overs, Sean Williams stroked a masterful 102 of 124 balls. Despite this effort, Zimbabwe lost to Afghanistan by 73 runs.
In T20s, the all-rounder has been part of 24 games with a strike-rate of 122. With three 50s to his name, his notable contribution was against Pakistan when he scored 58 off 32 balls, helping his side to reach a solid total of 175. Although his team ended up on the losing end, he was praised by critics for his attacking stroke-play