Unusual circumstances led to a four-and-a-half-month gap between the two phases of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2021. The second wave of Coronavirus ravaged India, and like most sectors, sports also fell prey to it.
The second leg begins in the UAE. Injuries, the pressure of bio-bubbles, break from a busy playing schedule and recuperating from mental health issues have been the reasons for several players withdrawing from the cash-rich league.
One man’s loss is another man’s gain. The phrase holds in every sense, and here’s an opportunity for the new recruits to exhibit their calibre at the world’s biggest cricket league.
We look at the 15 new recruits as per their team standings in the IPL 2021 points table.
Ben Dwarshuis (Australia) | Team: Delhi Capitals (DC)
Dwarshuis, a 27-year-old New South Wales pacer, replaces Chris Woakes. Being a left-armer, he adds variety to Delhi’s already potent pace attack comprising Kagiso Rabada, Anrich Nortje, Ishant Sharma, Avesh Khan and Umesh Yadav.
Dwarshuis last played the Vitality Blast for Worcestershire, taking 15 wickets from 13 matches at under nine an over. He plays for Sydney Sixers in the BBL and is the sixth-highest wicket-taker in the tournament, with 85 wickets in 69 matches. He was the second-highest wicket-taker of BBL 2020/21.
Though he was a part of the Punjab Kings (then Kings XI Punjab) squad in 2018, he’s yet to make his IPL debut.
Kulwant Khejroliya (India) | Team: Delhi Capitals (DC)
Already a part of the Delhi contingent as a net bowler, Khejroliya, 29, replaces M. Sidharth. This left-arm pacer from Delhi has 17 wickets from 15 T20s and seven and a half an over. He has been a part of the Bangalore and Mumbai squads before, playing five IPL matches.
Wanindu Hasaranga (Sri Lanka) | Team: Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB)
One of the most exciting signings, the the leg-spinner all-rounder has been among the best Sri Lankan cricketers in the past two years. In T20Is in 2021, he averages 13 with the ball, going at five-and-a-half. Not only will he complement fellow leg-spinner Yuzvendra Chahal, he’s also a handy hard-hitter lower down the order.
In Hasaranga, RCB have the ideal replacement for Washington Sundar.
Tim David (Singapore) | Team: Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB)
Standing at six feet five, David, 25, has been among the most exciting T20 cricketers in recent times. Replacing Finn Allen, he is set to be the first player from Singapore to be a part of the IPL.
David was the third-highest scorer in the CPL, with 282 runs at a strike rate of 146. Apart from setting things alight in international cricket, David also had fruitful campaigns in BBL 2020/21 and PSL 2020. He boasts a phenomenal strike rate of 154 in the T20s.
Dushmantha Chameera (Sri Lanka) | Team: Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB)
Chameera, the 29-year-old wiry Sri Lankan, can clock good pace. He impressed during India’s limited-overs tour to Sri Lanka in July. He is handy at the death bowler, and his career T20 economy rate of 7.62 is a testimony to that. Coming in for Kane Richardson, he is likely to be used as a backup option.
George Garton (England) | Team: Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB)
Rising through the age groups in Sussex, 24-year-old Garton is a bowling all-rounder and among the most promising young English cricketers. Being a left-arm pacer, he adds variety to the RCB pace armoury. One of the stars for Southern Brave in their triumph in The Hundred, Garton also led the Sussex attack in the absence of Jofra Archer, taking 11 wickets at less than 16, going at just over seven an over.
Coming in for Daniel Sams, he will prove a steady backup for Kyle Jamieson.
Akash Deep (India) | Team: Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB)
Akash Deep, 24, has had an excellent start to his First-Class and T20 career for Bengal. In the 2020/21 Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy (SMAT), this right-arm medium pacer impressed with seven wickets at 19, going at seven and a half an over.
Evin Lewis (West Indies) | Team: Rajasthan Royals (RR)
Boasting a T20I career strike rate of 158, Lewis, 29, is one of the most destructive batters in the format. The Royals have made a good call by signing Lewis as a replacement for Jos Buttler. The Trinidadian has earlier played for the Mumbai camp.
With 426 runs runs at an incredible 163, Lewis was the second-highest run-getter in the recently concluded CPL. He will straight away walk into the XI.
Glenn Phillips (New Zealand) | Team: Rajasthan Royals (RR)
After playing for the Barbados Royals, Phillips’ selection for RR was more or less organic once slots opened up. An aggressive top-order wicketkeeper batter, the New Zealander had good outings in the Hundred and CPL. The 24-year-old has four centuries in T20s, with his T20I strike rate touching 150.
Tabraiz Shamsi (South Africa) | Team: Rajasthan Royals (RR)
Left-arm wrist spin is a rare commodity. Shamsi’s addition will benefit the Royals, who will be starting without their best bowler Archer. The top-ranked T20I bowler had a brilliant white-ball tour of Sri Lanka recently. In 2021, he averages under 13 in T20Is, going at five and a half an over. With no Buttler, Archer and Ben Stokes, Shamsi will be one of Rajasthan's key foreign players. He last played the IPL in 2016, where he turned out for RCB with little success.
Oshane Thomas (West Indies) | Team: Rajasthan Royals (RR)
Another player who comes in from the Barbados Royals, Thomas adds variety to the RR pace attack that primarily consists of medium pacers. The Jamaican can clock serious pace, and his strength lies in picking wickets. He had a good outing for the Royals in 2019, picking five wickets from four matches at 15.8, going under eight an over.
Aiden Markram (South Africa) | Team: Punjab Kings (PBKS)
Markram’s reputation as a T20 cricketer leapt volumes in 2021. The former South African captain has struck at 150 this year, and has also found success with his off-spin in the recent tour of Sri Lanka. Markram, 26, will be replacing Dawid Malan in the PBKS camp for his first IPL stint.
Adil Rashid (England) | Team: Punjab Kings (PBKS)
A World Cup-winner with England, 33-year-old Rashid is one of the finest leg-spinners in modern-day white-ball cricket. It was surprising that he has never played in IPL despite his reputation. A replacement for Jhye Richardson, this is Rashid’s chance to lead the Punjab spin attack that also comprises younger talents like Ravi Bishnoi, M. Ashwin and Harpreet Brar.
Nathan Ellis (Australia) | Team: Punjab Kings (PBKS)
August 2021 was a dream month for the 26-year-old Tasmanian pacer, Nathan Ellis. Not only did he become the first bowler to take a hat-trick on debut in Men’s T20Is, but he also secured a berth as a travelling reserve for Australia’s 2021 T20 World Cup squad. Then came another big call as he replaced countryman Riley Meredith in the Punjab squad. Earlier this year, Ellis finished as Hobart Hurricanes’ highest wicket-taker in the BBL, with 20 wickets at 22, going at 8.3 per over.
Sherfane Rutherford (West Indies) | Team: Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH)
Over the years, the young Guyanese Rutherford has been on the fringes for several T20 franchises. In 2021, he was among the stars for Peshawar Zalmi in PSL, with 276 runs at 153. More recently, he held the middle-order for St Kitts and Nevis Patriots in their maiden CPL triumph. Though a big-hitting middle-order batter, he comes in for Jonny Bairstow in a struggling SRH outfit.