D’Arcy Short to Lungi Ngidi: The debutant big guns of IPL

The much-anticipated action of the Indian Premier League is all set to thrill its fans in the eleventh edition slated to kick start on April 7.

The flamboyant tournament that has changed the face of cricket gets more promising every year.

This year many overseas players would be featuring in the IPL for the first time. Let’s have a look at five overseas players who might make IPL grander and better in their debut season:

Moeen Ali- Royal Challengers Bangalore

Moeen Ali, the English all-rounder has been a regular in the England team in all formats for than three years now. This year he decided to go under the hammer in the IPL auction and was picked by Royal Challengers Bangalore for 1.7 crores. Having initially started as a batsman, he later developed the art of finger spin.

The 30-year old has played 109 T20s and has scored 2139 runs, he has 69 scalps to his name at an average of 26.79. With an evidently impressive record, Moeen Ali would surely be worth watching.

ODI wkts Nos 52 & 53 for Moeen Ali and joins IPL high roller Ben Stokes in 26th spot on the all time England ODI wkt ladder #AUSvENG pic.twitter.com/KFRPwVFyXU

— ThreeLionWhip (@ThreeLionWhip) January 28, 2018

Lungi Ndigi- Chennai Super Kings

South Africa’s pace bowler, Lungi Ndigi ruffled feathers in his debut against India in Centurion. His 6-39 in the 2nd Test against India shifted him to the limelight and gained him a spot in Chennai Super Kings where the franchise bought him for 50 lakhs.

Statistics of 43 wickets in 39 T20s at an average of 19.21 and strike rate of 16 makes him a force to reckon.

https://twitter.com/OfficialMSDian/status/966729485964918784

Mitchell Santer- Chennai Super Kings:

Newzealand left-arm spinner Mitchell Santner couldn’t find a buyer in the last edition of Indian Premier League despite being a star performer in the ICC World T20 2016.

Santner topped the ICC T20 bowlers’ ranking this year and was bought by Chennai Super Kings for 50 lakhs. It was a steal deal for Chennai as the kiwi spinner has an ability to strangle batsmen and he might prove useful in the lower batting order for CSK.

Back to Back Super Finish by Santner!?@MitchellSantner @ChennaiIPL#SummerIsComing #PrideOf18 #WhistlePodu pic.twitter.com/C1MF8fYWnq

— WhistlePodu Army ® – CSK Fan Club (@CSKFansOfficial) February 28, 2018

D’Arcy Short- Rajasthan Royals:

Australia batsman D’Arcy Short earned some big bucks in the IPL bid where Rajasthan Royals bought him for a whopping 4 crores, a price 20 times more than his base price. He burst into the scene after playing impeccable knocks in the Big Bash league.

The left-handed batsman scored a staggering 196 runs in 5 matches at a strike rate of 149.62 in his debut series for Australia. He can also bowl some left-arm spins which makes him even more crucial for his franchise.

https://twitter.com/HareeshTweetz/status/964433785851994112

Evin Lewis- Mumbai Indians:

In absence of big names like Chris Gayle and Dwayne Bravo, Evin Lewis has become the backbone of West Indies’ batting in the recent past. The Trinidadian opener has played some of the match-winning knocks in his two-year-old international career.

He has played 14 T20Is for West Indies with an average of 36 at a strike rate of over 150 with two centuries. Mumbai Indians bought the 26-year old opening batsman for 3.8 crores. Lewis would surely try to prove himself in the upcoming edition of IPL.

Warming up for the VIVO IPL by scoring centuries! @siddhesshlad, Evin Lewis & @surya_14kumar have been in scintillating form in domestic tournaments.#CricketMeriJaan pic.twitter.com/ok6cduQkJ0

— Mumbai Indians (@mipaltan) February 7, 2018