IPL 2020: Top 3 super subs who helped teams with their fielding
Getting selected by an IPL franchise is hard. After showing promise in the domestic circuit, attracting the attention of franchise buyers, and finally getting picked up, it's a frustrating experience if you are not able to make it to the playing eleven. Though the environment of the dressing room plays a key role in the grooming of young players, the young crop also need to contribute to the team through their performances.
As teams are primarily focused on their batting and bowling prowess, rarely are players selected on the basis of their fielding performance, despite the fact that a dynamic fielder can save you ten runs on a good day. Given the level of competition in international and league cricket, those ten runs could be the difference between victory and loss.
The current edition of the IPL has sparked a new trend, however. Teams are permitted to name a 12th man for the squad who can play as a substitute fielder in case one of the original eleven undergoes an injury scare or a fatigue related issue.
Franchises this year have keenly exploited this loophole to squeeze in that one amazing fielder into the outfield, who could be an impactful substitute for that one ageing player in the squad. Save boundaries by his acrobatics, effect direct hits through bullet-throws, and hold on to tough chances on the boundary rope.
In this article, we go through three such players who have regularly impacted their team's performances through their stupendous fielding efforts.
Rinku Singh (KKR)
Though he had an uneventful lone game in the haphazard campaign of the Kolkata Knight Riders, Rinku Singh is a familiar face in the stadium when KKR is the fielding side. Apart from having a safe pair of hands, Rinku Singh is also athletic on the field, saving runs inside the thirty-yard circle as well as on the boundary ropes.
Given the fact that the team is teeming with local and international talent, Rinku will not find it easy to get another look-in into the playing eleven. However, teams are assured to see more of this 22-year-old if the Knight Riders make an entry into the IPL 2020 playoffs.