IPL 2019: 3 overseas debutants to watch out for
The 12th edition of IPL will begin on 23rd March and the excitement levels surrounding the competition are slowly rising. The first match will be played between the defending champions Chennai Super Kings and Royal Challengers Bangalore at the M.A. Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai.
IPL is the biggest T20 league in the world in terms of money, coverage and the entertainment it offers. It is a big platform for players to showcase their talents in the shortest format of the game. IPL has contributed to a lot of players in making it to international cricket. Many countries have started considering the IPL performances for team selection, especially in limited overs cricket.
Like every season, this year also, we have a bunch of exciting talents lined up to make their IPL debuts. Some of the talents who went unsold in the auction are James Overton, Kusal Perera, Jason Holder and Fabian Allen.
On that note, we will take a look at 3 overseas debutants to watch out for in this edition of IPL.
#3 Sam Curran(Kings XI Punjab)
Sam Curran, 20-year-old, is one of the most exciting English all-rounders in recent times. He is a left-handed batsman and a left-arm medium pace bowler. At the age of 17, he made his first-class debut for Surrey. Till now he has picked up 133 wickets and has scored 1952 runs in 51 first-class matches.
He made his international debut in mid-2018 against Pakistan. But Curran truly came into the limelight when he was named England's Player of the Test Series against India. Curran made 272 runs and picked up 11 wickets in the series.
He was named Cricket Writers' Club Young Cricketer of the Year for his performances in the 2018 season.
He came into the IPL auction with the base price of ₹2 crores, with Kings XI Punjab ultimately buying him for ₹7.2 crores. He is expected to open the bowling for Punjab and will bat at the lower-middle order.
A tournament like the IPL is a great platform for Curran to exhibit his talents in the shorter format of the game. It will be interesting to see how he is going to perform in Indian conditions.