IPL 2020: 3 overseas pacers to watch out for
The 13th edition of IPL is less than two months away. Even though widely considered as a batsmen's game, the bowlers play a huge part in a team's fate. The more potent a group’s bowling department is, the more are their chances of going all the way in the tournament.
It is the fast bowlers who have won the majority of the Purple Cap titles in past editions including Lasith Malinga, who is the most successful bowler in IPL and Pat Cummins, the most expensive bowler in the history of IPL On that note, let's look at the three overseas pacers to watch out for in this edition of IPL.
#3 Nathan Coulter-Nile
The 32-year old, Australian Pacer, Nathan Coulter-Nile was a part of the Mumbai Indians in 2013, Delhi Daredevils (2014-2016) and Kolkata Knight Riders( 2017). He has so far played 26 IPL games where he bagged 36 wickets with the best figures of 4 for 20. Nathan Coulter-Nile is among the five most expensive players of this year's auction. Defending champions Mumbai Indians bought him for a staggering amount of ₹8 crore to for the upcoming season of IPL.
The addition of Coulter-Nile will add more firepower to the MI bowling line-up. But it will be interesting to see Mumbai's plan for him since the team already has a long list of pacers to choose from.
#2 Sheldon Cottrell
The 30-year old, Jamaican fast bowler, Sheldon Cottrell is one of the key bowlers of current Windies squad across all formats of the game. Cottrell had a splendid outing in the 2019 World Cup in England as he had emerged as West Indies’ highest wicket-taker after picking up 12 wickets from 9 games.
Cottrell entered the IPL auction for a base price of INR 50 lakhs. He drew a bidding battle among Rajasthan Royals and KXIP earlier, then Delhi Capitals additionally joined the race, and it was Kings XI Punjab (KXIP) who bought him for a whopping ₹8.5 crore.
Also see – Ranji points table
Cottrell would be hoping to justify his price tag by delivering a good performance in his debut IPL season.
#1 Pat Cummins
Pat Cummins has become the most expensive overseas player in the IPL at the auction for the 2020 edition of the event, going for a jaw-dropping ₹15.5 Crore. When he first joined the IPL in 2014, Cummins becomes tipped as one of the most promising bowlers. Over the last six years, he has grown into his potential and has become one of the quality rapid bowlers in the international scene.
In the IPL, Cummins represented Kolkata Knight Riders(2014-2015). In 2017, Cummins played for Delhi Daredevils, taking 15 wickets in 12 matches. Most recently, Pat Cummins claimed the Allan Border Medal after a superb showing in the 2019 Ashes series, finishing as the top wicket-taker with 29 wickets from five matches.
KKR look to have top-class players with plenty of strength within their team ranks, and so they could be one to go all the way up. Will Cummins be enough to bring KKR glory?