IPL Newbies : Keiron Pollard, Shane Bond, Wayne Parnell, Justin Kemp

The stage is all set and it’s back to India. IPL is just round the corner and the cyber world is being flooded with discourses regarding this cricket carnival, and how can Sportskeeda be far behind. In this bandwagon lead by Aditya Ramesh, (way to go bro), am hopping on this caravan with an article apropos the high profile debutants of IPL; the newest signings.

Keiron Pollard

Keiron Pollard – The Costliest player in the small history of IPL, a whooping $2.75 millions. This Caribbean superstar will don the blues of Mumbai Indians alongside The Master Blaster Sachin Tendulkar and his West Indian counterpart, Dwayne Bravo. Recently he played in the KFC big bash down under and was very influential in the South Australian Red backs fairy tale saga, both with the bat and ball, moreover none of us would have forgotten his blistering 18 ball 54 against New South Wales in Champions League, 2009.This is exactly what he would be expected to do for Mumbai Indians and improve their standings as against previous two years. Despite the likes of Tendulkar, Jayasurya, Shikhar Dhawan and JP Duminy in the team, MI has always missed a genuine power hitter in the later part of the innings. It has always been up to either Abhishek Nayyar or Dwayne bravo to hammer on the scoring, and now with pollard they have got a perfect dynamite. Even with the ball he has the knack of slowing down the scoring rate, he uses his height and high arm action along with medium pace to good effect employing ample variations. It will be tough for batsmen to score of him easily.

Shane Bond –The second most expensive player in the auctions, this ageless fast bowler never had the lady luck shining one him, but when this guy is on song the batters might well wish the luck to be on their side. He will be the Knight spearheading the Kolkata bowling attack. He is a complete bowler with the right temperament and utmost skill. What makes him more fearful is the fact that he is not just about sheer pace but it’s about a player who understands the game and plays it accordingly Kolkata are a team with maximum number of bowlers in their squad, clearly rendering a picture of uncertainty in the bowling department. With Ishant not enjoying a good run, it will be up to Charles Langeveldt, Ashok Dinda and Agarkar to whirl around Bond and accord a decent bowling attack and hope to improve their positions from the incessant black hole to an optimistic purple patch.

Kemar Roach – A typical under-19 find. This Barbadian fast bowler burst into the seen in the 2006 Under 19 world cup with a hat trick in the warm up game. Debuted for an under strength Caribbean team against Australia, he impressed one and all with his sheer pace. Chargers have roped him in, and alongside an astute Ryan Harris, they will definitely make a potent opening bowling pair. Last year Chargers had the services of slinger Fidel Edwards and he proved to be a quintessential member of the Chargers revival process. Edwards out with an injury gives an opportunity for 21 year old Kemar Roach to justify his credentials and fill in the boots of Fidel Edwards. He has two baleful weapons up his sleeves, one a toe crushing Yorker another lethal bouncer, a typical fast bowler. But he would be aware of the Indian pitches and with the likes of Sehwag, Jayasurya, McCullum and Hayden, pace might not matter that much, it will be his temperament, effectiveness and execution of his sinister weapons which might make him more impingement in this edition of the IPL.

Wayne Parnell – He is not express pace nor he seems to be an intimidating character, yet what make this 20 year old so special that Daredevils shelled out $6, 10,000 for his services speaks for the caliber he posses. The biggest strength for him in the IPL might not be his bowling prowess, but his mental strength. He is no alien to pressure, by the time he reached the age of 12, he captained the U 13 Eastern province team and went on to lead the South African colts in the under 19 world cup, 2008 finals where his team was eventually defeated by the Indians lead by Virat Kohli, though on a personal basis the seamer finished as the highest wicket taker of the tournament showing his wicket taking abilities. Subsequently in the ICC World Twenty20, he ended up taking nine scalps with an impressive economy of under 6. He is more of a line and length bowler with a very effective in swinger. It will be interesting to see how may matches he is able to play taking into consideration that Delhi does have a number of foreign imports in the form of Dirk Nnnes, David Warner, T.Dilsan, AB De Villers and of course former knight rider Moises Henriques.

Justin Kemp – Popularly known as kempie, standing tall at 6’4 he is an imposing human structure, a power hitter to the core but fallen into the obscurities despite the raw talent. He never was able to make any remarkable impact in the international arena, but with Kent Spitfires he revived his career somewhat. A part of ICL rebel league, He played a pivotal role in the success of Hyderbad Heroes. In IPL 2010 he is flying south to reign as the SuperKing. The Chennai outfit has been the most consistent team in the IPL and will bank on the array of big hitters they have got in their team in the form of Matthew Hayden, Suresh Raina, MSD, Albie Morkel, Thissara Perera and Justin kemp a due replacement for injured Jacob Oram. But the interesting fact is that, in Twety20s it’s been Kemp’s bowling which has been remarkable more than his hitting endowment. In the 59 Twenty20 matches he has played, he averages an impeccable 19 with the ball.

The other notable players will be

1. Eion Morgan – Only player in history to score a hundred for two countries, England put him in the squad for his late innings prowess and Royal Banglaore Challengers will be expecting the same from him

2. Adam Voges – A fielder par excellence, played a lot for Western Warriors in Australian domestic circuit, handy slow bowler and can hit the ball a long way. He might not start in the playing eleven often for Rajasthan but his fielding efficiency will be utilized as a substitute.

3. Damien Martyn – This 38 year old Australian veteran was a surprise player in the auction, taken in by buddy Shane Warne he will be more of a support staff rather than a player for Rajasthan Royals.

4.Yusuf Abdulla – Predominantly in the South African domestic circuit, a freak accident to Jerome Taylor lead Kings XI Punjab to sign him as a replacement in IPL 2009 and he proved to be a tough costumer to handle in death overs. His role in this edition of IPL will not change a bit.

5. Mitchell Marsh –Find of the Under 19 world cup, 2010, this Australian opening bat is as explosive as his father Geoff Marsh and technically sound as his brother Shaun Marsh. He is with the Deccan Chargers.

NOTE: All these big names does sound fascinating but the fact of the matter is that these heavyweights will only be available in IPL for very short durations, 1 week, 4 or 5 matches due to international commitments.