IPL 2019: One bowler from each team who can be used as a pinch hitter

#5 Kings XI Punjab: Ravichandran Ashwin

Ravichandran Ashwin might have a surprise in store

From the start of the tournament, Ravichandran Ashwin has been the talk of the town. Infamous Mankad incident in the team's first game, making some shocking changes in the second game, handing debuts for Hardus Viljoen and Varun Chakravarthy and bringing in Murugan Ashwin in the third game were some of the experiments that he made so far.

Considering the attitude of Ashwin to go for a win at any cost, there is a possibility for us to see himself promoting up the order to open the innings if and when Gayle decides to take some much needed time off the field. He might even prefer coming in no.3 or 4, which he has tried once in the last IPL season.

Ashwin is definitely not new to the role since he has played at the top order in the domestic tournaments in the past. Although his strike rate of 106.96 will be a bit of worry, he is someone who can improve it by playing some good cricketing shots at the top.

#6 Delhi Capitals: Harshal Patel

A proven customer at the domestic level

Incidentally, Harshal Patel has finally got his first game of this season while I was writing down this article. He finished his job with the ball picking 2 crucial wickets at the top. Now that he is back into the XI and looks likely to be persisted for a while, we are looking at him as a possible attacking option with the bat for the team if the need arises.

His ability with the bat was clearly visible during the domestic tournaments where he played a more of an all-rounder role for his team. In the match against Chennai Super Kings last year, Harshal Patel came into bat when his team was in trouble reeling at 97-5. He ended up playing a match-winning knock of 36 from 16 balls comprising 4 huge sixes.

With Ganguly and Ponting at the helm, don’t be surprised if he is promoted to the top order at some point. He could be the right person to score some quick runs and kill the bowler's momentum at the top.

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