IPL 2019: 3 overseas debutants to watch out for

The 12th edition of IPL will begin on 23rd March and the excitement levels surrounding the competition are slowly rising. The first match will be played between the defending champions Chennai Super Kings and Royal Challengers Bangalore at the M.A. Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai.

IPL is the biggest T20 league in the world in terms of money, coverage and the entertainment it offers. It is a big platform for players to showcase their talents in the shortest format of the game. IPL has contributed to a lot of players in making it to international cricket. Many countries have started considering the IPL performances for team selection, especially in limited overs cricket.

Like every season, this year also, we have a bunch of exciting talents lined up to make their IPL debuts. Some of the talents who went unsold in the auction are James Overton, Kusal Perera, Jason Holder and Fabian Allen.

On that note, we will take a look at 3 overseas debutants to watch out for in this edition of IPL.

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#3 Sam Curran(Kings XI Punjab)

Curran had an excellent Test series against India

Sam Curran, 20-year-old, is one of the most exciting English all-rounders in recent times. He is a left-handed batsman and a left-arm medium pace bowler. At the age of 17, he made his first-class debut for Surrey. Till now he has picked up 133 wickets and has scored 1952 runs in 51 first-class matches.

He made his international debut in mid-2018 against Pakistan. But Curran truly came into the limelight when he was named England's Player of the Test Series against India. Curran made 272 runs and picked up 11 wickets in the series.

He was named Cricket Writers' Club Young Cricketer of the Year for his performances in the 2018 season.

He came into the IPL auction with the base price of ₹2 crores, with Kings XI Punjab ultimately buying him for ₹7.2 crores. He is expected to open the bowling for Punjab and will bat at the lower-middle order.

A tournament like the IPL is a great platform for Curran to exhibit his talents in the shorter format of the game. It will be interesting to see how he is going to perform in Indian conditions.

#2 Ashton Turner(Rajasthan Royals)

Turner scored 378 runs in the BBL at an average of 31.5

26-year-old Ashton Turner is a player from Western Australia. He is a right-handed batsman, who bats in the middle order and bowls off-spin.

Turner has represented Western Australia at U-15, U-17 and U-19 levels. He made his T20 international debut in 2017 against Sri Lanka, and although he couldn’t do much with the bat, he had a decent outing with the ball as he picked up 3 wickets.

In the recently concluded Big Bash League, Turner scored 378 runs for Perth Scorchers from 14 matches, averaging 31.50 with a strike rate of 132.63. So far in his T20 career, he has scored 1132 runs at a strike rate of 138.72 and has picked up 17 wickets.

Turner entered the IPL auction with a base price of ₹50 lakhs and was bought by Rajasthan Royals at that price. Turner is expected to make his IPL debut once the English players leave for their World Cup preparations.

#1 Shimron Hetmyer(Royal Challengers Bangalore)

Hetmyer is the youngest batsman to score a century in the CPL

22-year-old Shimron Hetmyer is an attacking batsman from Guyana. In 2018, ICC named Hetmyer as one of the five breakout stars in men's cricket. He was the captain of the West Indies U-19 team which won the World Cup in 2016.

He made his ODI debut against New Zealand in December 2017. One month later he made his T20I debut too. He averages 40.86 from 25 ODIs, striking at 110.30 and has scored 4 centuries and 2 fifties.

In 2018, he became the youngest batsman to score a century in the Caribbean Premier League when he made his 100 for Guyana Amazon Warriors against the Jamaica Tallawahs. He scored 440 runs in that edition of CPL to finish third in the run-scorers list.

He came into IPL auction with a base price of ₹50 lakhs and was bought by Royal Challengers Bangalore for ₹4.2 crores. He is expected to bat at number 4 for RCB.