5 T20 stars from Pakistan who could have set the IPL on fire
The Pakistani cricket team is famous for its mercurial nature in the international circuit. While this may prove to be a shortcoming in Tests and ODIs, it provides them with an X-factor in the shortest format of the game. After losing a close encounter against India in the inaugural ICC World T20, they came back strongly, a couple of years later, to clinch the championship.
In recent times, Pakistani players have been making their mark in T20 leagues all over the world. Had it not been for the constant tension between New Delhi and Islamabad, the players of the neighbouring country were sure to play a major role in the IPL as well. In the first edition of the IPL, Sohail Tanvir bagged the Purple Cap to show that Pakistani players would be the ones to watch out for in the future. As luck would have it, no Pakistani player has featured in the IPL after 2008.
All the same, the fans crave as to what would have come about if Pakistani players were given an opportunity to rub shoulders in the IPL. Giving ground to this flight of fancy, the article presents 5 such Pakistani T20 stars who could have set the IPL on fire.
#5 Shadab Khan
Spinners, especially wrist spinners, have become the most sought-after commodity in T20 cricket. It is strange that a format which was vaunted as the death knell for the wrist spinners has proved to be their reviver. The proposition that Shadab Khan would have been a hot property in the IPL is evident from the fact that Rashid Khan, the Afghanistani leg-spinner, who is very similar to Shadab has been retained by Sunrisers Hyderabad at Rs 9 crore through their RTM card.
Shadab has a deceptive googly and bowls with subtle variations in his speed. Indian cricket fans would remember him for the manner in which he dismissed Yuvraj Singh in the final of the 2017 Champions Trophy. The leggie has proved in the Big Bash League that he is not only economical but a wicket taker as well.