IPL 2018: 5 pinch hitting bowlers who can open the innings like Sunil Narine
India's most celebrated sports festival IPL is here and it is bigger than ever before. A thrilling encounter between MI and CSK followed by awe-inspiring batting performances by KL Rahul, 'opening batsman' Sunil Narine, Andre Russell, and Sam Billings have set the tone right for the rest of the tournament.
Last year Sunil Narine shocked everyone when he scored IPL's fastest 50 of 15 balls against RCB. This record was eventually broken by KL Rahul in this year's IPL. He scored a blistering 14-ball fifty against the Delhi Daredevils.
This year too, Sunil Narine has stormed into the tournament with his bat scoring 50 of 19 balls against Bangalore. Unlike Narine's bowling which is nothing less than a puzzle, his batting style is simple - see the ball, hit the ball.
He takes no time to take off and almost all the times gets his KKR side off to a flier. His performances with the bat are helping the KKR to register massive scores in the powerplays.
Let us see 5 such bowlers who can play a role like that of Sunil Narine.
#5 Liam Plunkett - Delhi Daredevils
English pacer Liam Plunkett is Kagiso Rabada's replacement for Delhi Daredevils. Plunkett started off his career as a skiddy bowler who can bowl fast. However, in just his second ODI he displayed his batting potential by scoring a half-century against Pakistan in tough batting conditions.
He also has a Test 50 to his name. Whenever Plunkett has got the opportunity to represent England in the limited overs format and while playing domestic cricket he has shown that he can hit a long ball.
He competes directly with Tom Curran (who is playing for KKR) for his place in the national side. Thus, IPL would be a great platform to prove his mettle and he would be willing to put in extra efforts with the bat and ball.
It was Gambhir who promoted Narine up the order when he captained the KKR side. While captaining DD too Gambhir may pick Liam Plunkett for the same role.