5 unexpected stars from the Syed Mushtaq Ali Group Stage
With the group stages of the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy 2016 being done with, the Super League stage now awaits for the eight teams that have qualified for the knockouts, namely- Delhi, Baroda, Vidarbha, Gujarat, Mumbai, Kerala, Jharkhand and Uttar Pradesh.Throughout the group stages, we witnessed several superlative performances, wherein the players broke stereotypes and set new standards for themselves, besides laying claims for a spot in the national side for the upcoming World T20 in March.In this slideshow, we focus on five players whose performances were largely unexpected, either because it was felt that they were well beyond their prime, or because they were too young and inexperienced to put up an impressive performance.
#1 Nathu Singh
Perhaps the most hopeful of the takeaways from the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy is the young Rajasthan fast bowler, Nathu Singh. It isn’t just because of his age that it has been said so, but because of his intent to bowl fast, backed up by his performances, and recommendations from greats such as Rahul Dravid and Gautam Gambhir.
With 15 wickets from 6 matches, Singh has done justice to their accolades, with 4/25 against Tripura and 4/13 against Kerala being the standout performances. In the process, he has also presented his case for the ICC World T20 2016 set to commence in March.