Rahul NareshHere’s our list of the top five overseas bowlers to look out for in the 2024 Indian Premier League (IPL) season.
Mitchell Starc
Australian fast bowler Mitchell Starc was the hottest prospect before the auction for the 2024 IPL season. It’s no surprise that he broke the all-time purchase record as he was picked up by the Kolkata Knight Riders for a whopping ?24.75 crore.
The left-arm quick has been out of the IPL since his two-year stint with the Royal Challengers Bangalore in 2014 and 2015. During his time with the RCB, Starc played 27 matches and picked up 34 wickets at an impressive economy of 7.17.
Starc is a much more accomplished bowler today and leads the attack for Australia across all formats of the game. The 34-year-old is likely to be tasked with bowling a few overs with the new ball and later to finish off at the death.
Rashid Khan
Few would leave out Rashid Khan’s name when discussing the Purple Cap before the start of an IPL season. Not only is the Afghani leg-spinner brilliant at stemming the run flow, he is also incredibly good at picking up wickets at regular intervals. Alongside Noor Ahmed for the Gujarat Titans, Khan will again be lethal this time out.
Last season, the 25-year-old went through his highest wicket-taking season in the IPL with 27 wickets. However, it was the first time his economy rate went beyond eight — a slight dent in an otherwise successful season. During the 2022 IPL edition, Khan managed an economy of 6.6 and snapped up 19 wickets.
Today, Khan is an integral player for Afghanistan across all formats and also plays a key role with the bat from time to time.
Trent Boult
Rajasthan Royals seamer Trent Boult is one of the biggest threats with the new ball in the shortest version of the game. The Kiwi fast bowler can swing the white ball both ways, which makes him a threatening proposition to deal with at the top of the order.
Last season, Boult picked up 13 wickets after playing 10 matches at an economy rate of 8.21. Overall, he has played 88 IPL matches, having represented multiple franchises, including the Mumbai Indians, the Kolkata Knight Riders, and the Delhi Capitals.
Expect the 34-year-old to be largely used during the powerplay overs.
Pat Cummins
Australian fast bowler Pat Cummins was picked up by the SunRisers Hyderabad in the auction ahead of the 2024 IPL season for a stunning ?20.5 crore.
With the price tag comes a fair bit of expectations, however, and the Aussie has failed to live up to his reputation in recent IPL seasons. During the 2022 season, Cummins picked up seven wickets in five matches at an economy of 10.69, marking his worst season in terms of runs conceded with respect to deliveries bowled.
That said, Cummins is an experienced player and an important asset of the Australian national setup, coming off an year where he led the Test side to World Test Championship glory while also delivering the World Cup with the ODI side.
Cummins has participated in 42 IPL matches since 2014. He can also come in handy with the bat with his strike rate of 152.21. With his stock higher than ever, this might well be the year we see Cummins properly arrive onto the IPL stage.
Noor Ahmed
The final player on this list is Afghani youngster Noor Ahmed. The 23-year-old enjoyed his breakout season with the Gujarat Titans last year as he snapped up an impressive 16 wickets in 13 matches at an economy rate of 7.82.
Since last IPL season, Ahmed has also cemented a place in the Afghanistan national team set-up, having played seven T20Is and 10 ODIs and picking up a total of 15 international wickets.
The Rashid Khan-Noor Ahmed leg-spin duo will once again be the bowling pair to watch out for this season.
