The much awaited ninth edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL) will get under way on Saturday. Like the previous editions, this one promises to be even more spectacular and staggering, given the superlative performers each team boasts of. We saw the kind of support Chris Gayle got from Bengaluru’s M Chinnaswamy Stadium crowd and AB de Villiers from Mumbai’s Wankhede stadium fans during the recently concluded ICC World T20 2016. “India is a home away home”, some of these foreign players believe. The WT20 has reignited our love for T20 and the fans are all set to roar for their favourite cricketers. Here’s the list of foreign players who we all want to fire on all cylinders: Live Cricket Score: Mumbai Indians (MI) vs Rising Pune Supergiants (RPS), IPL 2016 Match 1 at Mumbai
Kevin Pietersen: The English batting stalwart will play for Rising Pune Supergiants (RPS) in this season of IPL. Popularly known as KP, Pietersen went all guns blazing in this year’s editions of Big Bash League (BBL), Ram Slam T20 Challenge and Pakistan Super League (PSL). In IPL so far, Pietersen has blazed 928 runs in 32 matches at a stunning average of 37.12 and even more outstanding strike-rate of 136.07. To add to the fire, he also has an unbeaten 103 to his name. Pietersen is well accustomed to Indian pitches and will be fascinating to see how captain MS Dhoni makes use of Pietersen’s batsmanship.
AB de Villiers: Every time, this South African steps onto the field, the crowd erupts in joy. The chants of “ABD, ABD, ABD” echoes the ground. Though the star batsman has not been at his rampant best lately, he will leave no stone unturned to go great guns. The batting maestro has two hundreds to his name in this T20 domestic spectacle. Overall, he has scored 2,570 runs, putting him second in list of most runs scored by a foreign batsman in IPL. Also known Mr. 360 degree, the IPL fans will expect some innovative stroke play from de Villiers.
Chris Gayle: The Caribbean marauder hit a record 49-ball century in World T20 last month. He has a number of records to his name in IPL. He has scored most runs by a foreign player. He has plundered 230 sixes in IPL, which is the most by any player. He has five centuries to his name, out of which one is the fastest by any batsmen. His unbeaten 175 is the highest individual score as well. Such is the dominance of Gayle in IPL! Also read: IPL 2016: Should Rohit Sharma open for Mumbai Indians in IPL 9?
Jos Buttler: This will be Buttler’s first stint in the cash-rich league. In IPL 2016 auction earlier this year, Buttler was bought by Mumbai Indians (MI) for 3.8 crores. Buttler has been England’s promising T20 player for the past one year and will try to make his mark in IPL as well.
Carlos Brathwaite: England vs West Indies final of ICC World T20 2016. 19 needed of the last over. Ben Stokes to Brathwaite. Brathwaite hits four consecutive sixes and West Indies emerge triumphant. Such is the power and temperament of Brathwaite in crunch situations. He’ll play for Delhi Daredevils under Zaheer Khan’s captaincy and will be fascinating to see how the 27-year-old belligerent all-rounder goes about his business in IPL.
Colin Munro: Munro has a reputation for herculean hitting. He can even execute the switch hit with the same power. He scythes the ball soaring over the boundary line. He’ll make his debut in IPL for KKR this year. No doubt he’ll be under captain Gautam Gambhir’s radar. Mind you, he has plundered 14-ball half-century, which is the second fastest in T20I.
Brendon McCullum: McCullum’s 73-ball 158 in the opener of IPL 1 at M Chinnaswamy Stadium back in 2008 is still etched in our memory. The Baz of New Zealand cricket recently retired from all forms of international cricket and will now feature for Gujarat Lions (GL). With the burden of international cricket is off his shoulders, he’ll go on a rampage, given the brand of cricket this aggressor follows.
Glenn Maxwell: Maxwell has the fastest centurion for Australia in One-Day Internationals (ODIs). He has been Kings XI Punjab’s (KXIP) most talismanic batsman for the past few years. He has the second best strike-rate of 166.44 in IPL. He was awarded the Player of Series in IPL 7. He’s a treat to watch when on a song. Nonetheless, he was not at his destructive best in the World T20, but his reputation for going great guns right from the word go will not hamper his cricketing approach.
Adam Zampa: World T20 evidenced the fact how lethal a leg-spinner can be in the shortest and fastest format of the game. Zampa will make his debut for RPS and will be led by Dhoni. Other than Amit Mishra, captain cool has not played enough leg-spinners in his team in the past. Hence, it will be interesting to see how Dhoni utilizes the young gun.
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(Kaustubh S. Mayekar, a reporter at CricketCountry, played cricket at U-16 level. Like his idol Rahul Dravid, he often shadow-practises cricket shots. His Twitter handle is @TheCricKnight.)
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