BPL 2016: 6 overseas players to watch out for

The 4^th edition of the Bangladesh Premier League is underway and it promises to offer yet another cracking season of T20 cricket. The previous edition, which took place after a gap of nearly 2 years, ended up being quite a success with Comilla Victorians taking home the crown in the final against Barisal Bulls.

While nearly all of the Bangladeshi national players are featuring in the tournament, the focus is likely to be on the exploits of the overseas players. Everybody expects the Gayles, the Bravos, the Sangakkaras and the Russells to fire but some of the lesser-known overseas names also have the ability to take the tournament by storm.

Here are 6 overseas players one would have to watch out for during the 2016 BPL:

#6 Nicholas Pooran

Young West Indian wicket-keeper batsman, Nicholas Pooran, is one of the most exciting young talents in world cricket at present. The swashbuckling southpaw has already shown his potential with the bat with some blistering knocks in the Caribbean Premier League.

Pooran made everyone stand up and take notice of his potential in the 2016 edition of the T20 tournament by scoring 217 runs at a thunderous strike rate of almost 200. His exploits managed to earn him a maiden call-up to the West Indies T20I team, although he has not been able to make his opportunities count so far.

The 2016 BPL provides Nicholas Pooran with an ideal platform to showcase his skills as he will be playing in conditions slightly different from what they are in his country. The 21-year old, who will play for Khulna Titans, is certainly one of the overseas players that we must keep an eye out for.

#5 Dawid Malan

Malan has been a regular in the England Lions squad

Dawid Malan is a highly experienced and talented batsman who plays his domestic cricket in England. The left-hander, who started playing his cricket in South Africa, has over 100 T20 games under his belt in which he has scored more than 3000 runs at a solid average of 34.59 and a couple of centuries to his name.

In this year’s edition of the NatWest T20 Blast, Malan was the highest run-scorer for Middlesex with 368 runs at a terrific strike rate of just under 148. The 29-year old also played in the inaugural edition of the Pakistan Super League as part of the Peshawar Zalmi side.

The 2016 BPL will see Dawid Malan in action for last year’s runners-up, Barisal Bulls, and will give company to the likes of Carlos Brathwaite and Thisara Perera as one of the team’s overseas players. A lesser-known fact about Malan is that he has played List-A cricket in Bangladesh before in the 2013/14 & 2014/15 seasons of the Dhaka Premier League.

#4 Tymal Mills

Tymal Mills is known for his ability to bowl really fast

Left-arm England pacer Tymal Mills has already made a name for himself despite having played just 1 T20I game so far. This is because he is among the fastest bowlers in his country’s domestic cricket and can generate speeds of over 90 mph with relative ease.

The 24-year old was Sussex’s highest wicket-taker in the 2016 NatWest T20 Blast with 15 scalps in 12 games. Mills’ overall record in T20 cricket has also been impressive as he has claimed 41 wickets in 35 games so far at a fine average of just over 21 and best figures of 4 for 22.

Tymal Mills will be one of the overseas players to look forward to in the 2016 edition of the Bangladesh Premier League. His raw pace and clever variations may prove to be a great asset for the Chittagong Vikings side.

#3 Rashid Khan

The teenager has been one of Afghanistan’s stars in international cricket

Afghan leg-spinner Rashid Khan has been going from strength to strength ever since he emerged on the international cricketing scene late in 2015. The 18-year old has shined for Afghanistan in both limited-overs formats so far and has also made a useful contribution with the bat.

Rashid has claimed 19 victims in 14 T20I matches so far at a fantastic average of 19.78 and an economy rate of under 7. His ODI figures are also highly impressive with 27 wickets in 16 matches including best figures of 4 for 21 in a match against Ireland.

The 2016 edition of the Bangladesh Premier League will see Rashid Khan in action for reigning champions Comilla Victorians. Considering his immense talent and the success of leg-spinners in the T20 format, the Afghanistan cricketer will surely be one of the overseas players to look out for.

#2 Evin Lewis

Lewis has a T20I century to his name already

Evin Lewis is the newest addition to West Indies’ long list of big-hitting batsmen but his exploits so far have helped him find his own place in the crowd. In just his 2^nd T20I match, the explosive left-hander pummeled the Indian bowlers into submission with a 49-ball century.

Lewis was the top run-scorer for St. Kitts and Nevis Patriots in the 2016 Caribbean Premier League with 247 runs in 9 innings at a brisk strike rate of 145.29. His overall T20 record has also been good as he has scored 1402 runs at an average of a little under 30 and 2 centuries to his name.

The Dhaka Dynamites have acquired the services of Evin Lewis in the 2016 BPL and he will play alongside fellow West Indians, Dwayne Bravo and Andre Russell. Lewis featured in the tournament last year and was part of the Barisal Bulls team.

#1 Mohammad Shahzad

Mohammad Shahzad has shown ample proof of how dangerous he can be

Wicket-keeper batsman Mohammad Shahzad is easily the best player to have emerged from Afghanistan so far. The stocky cricketer has won many admirers in recent times due to his ability to tear apart opposition bowling attacks with his skilful and aggressive batting.

Shahzad has appeared in 48 T20Is for his country so far and has a tally of 1367 runs at an average of 29.71. He has scored his runs at an impressive strike rate of 136.42 and recorded a top score of 118 not out in a T20I game against Zimbabwe earlier this year.

Mohammad Shahzad will be in action for the Rangpur Riders side in the ongoing BPL season and there are sure to be a lot of expectations from the Afghan superstar. This makes Shahzad one of the overseas cricketers to watch out for in the tournament.