IPL 2022: 3 uncapped overseas players to watch out for
The IPL 2022 Auction saw 204 players picked up by the 10 franchises on February 12 and 13 in Bengaluru. While 137 of the players bought were Indians, 67 were overseas personnel.
Not every franchise have filled their entire overseas roster, though. With a maximum of eight franchise players allowed per team, the likes of Delhi Capitals (DC), Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) and Punjab Kings (PBKS) settled for just seven.
Three uncapped overseas players in IPL 2022
Of the overseas players set to partake in IPL 2022, beginning March 26, three of them happen to be uncapped at the international level. It should be mentioned here that while Tim David registered himself for the auction as an uncapped Australian, he has represented Singapore at the international level.
Here, we take a look at three uncapped overseas players who will feature in IPL 2022:
#3 Noor Ahmad (Gujarat Titans)
Left-arm wrist-spinners are worth their weight in gold given how rare the commodity is. Among the most talented up-and-coming spinners in world cricket, Noor Ahmad could be the flagbearer of the left-arm wrist-spin syndicate in the years to come.
Gujarat Titans (GT) picked him up at the IPL 2022 Auction for his base price of ₹30 lakh. Noor will team up with fellow Afghan and ace spinner Rashid Khan at the Titans.
Noor is yet to play at the international level, but at just 17 years of age, he has had stints in the Big Bash League, the Pakistan Super League and the Lanka Premier League. He is not an unknown name on the global circuit, with his mystery elements, including a deceptive googly, well documented.
Noor turned out for Afghanistan in the recently-concluded ICC U19 Cricket World Cup and was one of their standout players. A decent contributor with the bat as well, Noor might find it difficult to get regular game time at GT.
But the prospect of Noor and Rashid Khan bowling in tandem, should the combination allow GT to do so, is as mouth-watering as they come.
#2 Benny Howell (Punjab Kings)
Benny Howell is quite the modern-day T20 cricketer. For someone with over a decade's experience in professional cricket, it's quite surprising that the world has just started to take note of his skillset.
An all-rounder who can hit the ball long in slog overs, Howell's variations with the ball are what make him an intriguing package. With 14 variants of the slower delivery up his sleeve as per his own admission, it is quite the task in tackling him if you're a batter.
The Punjab Kings (PBKS) pulled off quite a bargain at the IPL 2022 Auction by roping him in for just ₹40 lakh. Howell could initially serve as a backup for Odean Smith, but with a plethora of slower deliveries to work with, he could prove to be a handful on two-paced surfaces.
Howell is yet to represent England at international level. However, he has created sufficient ripples across leagues such as the Bangladesh Premier League, the Abu Dhabi T10 League and the Hundred.
A strong showing in IPL 2022 and who knows, the England dream could well be realized by Howell in a T20 World Cup year.
#1 Dewald Brevis
19-year old Dewald Brevis has been compared to an all-time great, won the Player of the Tournament at the U19 World Cup and has bagged a lucrative IPL deal.
"Baby AB," as he's called for an uncanny resemblance between his batting style and that of South African legend AB de Villiers, has seen it all in a short span of time. The precocious talent was signed up by Mumbai Indians (MI) for a sum of ₹3 crore at the IPL 2022 Auction, with the franchise staving off a bidding war from Chennai Super Kings (CSK).
Clearly, MI have picked him with one eye on the future, with the franchise having a knack for unleashing prodigies and turning them into finished products.
The signs point towards Brevis landing up at the right franchise - he was playing just the third of his nine T20 games at the time of the bidding war in Bengaluru.
For someone who's yet to play a first-class game, Brevis has already been touted for big things. With the ability to bowl useful leg-breaks as well, he's bound to be under keen watch should he get a good run come IPL 2022.
Also read: IPL 2022: 3 teams MI will be wary of in Group A