The Indian Premier League in 2008 ushered in a revolution of sorts in world cricket. It has unearthed some tremendous talents over the years and has been a great platform for players to make their mark on the big stage. Every year, a talent comes up that takes the world by surprise. Also, the democratic nature of the competition does not discriminate based on nationalities and follows a rule of backing a talent from every country in the world, making it a spectacle to behold.
The 2022 T20 World Cup in Australia has reassured us that there is no dearth of quality in world cricket with the lesser-fancied teams putting up strong performances against some Test-playing nations. With the IPL Auction for the 2023 season around the corner, it would be interesting to see which players make their way into the marquee tournament for the first time.
Here is the list of five players that can be picked for the first time in IPL 2023
● Cameron Green
Cameron Green is one of those rare genuine seam-bowling all-rounders in the world who can be a match-winner both with the bat and ball in hand. The young cricketer can bowl at over 140 kph and can whack the ball all around the park as he showed during a series against India for Australia. Along with these abilities, he is an accomplished Test cricketer for Australia now, which shows the kind of quality and potential, the young all-rounder has.
He is already touted as the next big thing in Australian cricket and has all the potential to rule the cricketing world across formats with his all-around skills. The fact that he made two swashbuckling half-centuries against India on Indian soil will also go in his favor and we can expect quite a few franchises to bid for this young Australian all-rounder.
● Sikandar Raza
Sikandar Raza has been a long servant for Zimbabwe cricket and has played for various franchises around the world. Raza though has not been able to break into IPL so far but it seems that the time has come for the 36-year-old to make his way into the biggest T20 league of the world. Raza’s performance in 2022 has been magical as he has almost single-handedly scripted Zimbabwe’s revival in the cricketing world. He has been one of the biggest reasons for the success of Zimbabwe in 2022 where they not only qualified for the 2022 World Cup by winning the qualifier but also managed to beat Pakistan in the Super 12 stage of the competition.
Raza with his all-around skills and his ability to perform under pressure when the chips are down can be a big asset in the IPL. The age might not be on his side but his fitness and never-say-die attitude are second to none. Raza can bat anywhere in the batting order and also can choke the batting line-ups with his disciplined spin bowling. So, expect Sikandar Raza to be one of the hottest properties in the IPL auction for the 2023 season.
● Harry Brook
Harry Brook is one of the most exciting talents to emerge from English cricket in recent times. He has scored tons of runs in the English domestic circuit in the last few years and also had a successful stint in PSL where he smashed a stunning century. In the 2021 T20 Blast, Brook was the fourth-highest run scorer of the tournament with 486 runs at a strike rate of 149.08.
Brook has also made his mark at the international level and managed to break into the playing XI of a strong English batting line-up in the 2022 World Cup consistently. The former England U-19 captain has all the ingredients to become a future superstar and the time is ripe now to invest in this young batter for some long-term benefits.
● Taskin Ahmed
Taskin Ahmed is a right-arm fast bowler from Bangladesh who has displayed the ability to bowl with a lot of fire in the recent past. He has troubled the best batters in the world in the last year or so and has become a premier fast bowler for Bangladesh.
His ability to swing the new ball and use his height and pace to his advantage made him the player of the series in the ODI series against South Africa where the Bangla Tigers managed to beat the Proteas on their home soil for the very first time. Taskin was also all set to replace Mark Wood in the Lucknow Super Giants squad ahead for the 2021 season but he could not get the NOC from Bangladesh Cricket Board at that time. He has performed superbly for Bangladesh in the 2022 T20 World Cup in Australia and we might see Lucknow and a few other franchises bidding for him in the auction for the 2023 season.
● Joshua Little
Joshua Little is a young left-arm fast bowler from Ireland who has been on the rise for the last few years now. He has done exceptionally well for Ireland in recent times and was the leading wicket-taker for Ireland with 11 wickets in the 2022 T20 World Cup, which included a hat-trick against New Zealand. Little can swing the new ball both ways and can notch up good speeds over 140 kph consistently. The fact that, along with Powerplay, Little can be equally effective at death makes him a complete package.
His left-arm angle and ever-increasing repertoire make him quite an exciting prospect, and we might just see the Irish donning a jersey of an IPL team in the 16th edition of the league.
Wrap Up
These are the five players that most likely would be picked to play in the IPL for the first time. All of these players have done exceptionally well for their countries and they might do wonders in the IPL too if given opportunities. The presence of players from countries like Zimbabwe, Bangladesh, and Ireland can only help in increasing the reach and popularity of the league along with making it a more democratic and inclusive competition.
