IPL is technically still only a domestic tournament, but the quality of cricket that is being played in the IPL is, by no means, inferior to any international T20 tournament around the world.
Even some of the international players, who are otherwise renowned names for their respective countries, don’t always get the opportunity to play in the IPL. Here are some of the international players who will be making their debut in the IPL this year –
#1 Sheldon Cottrell
Sheldon Cottrell has got an ideal skill-set to be a white ball bowler. He swings the new ball early on and then when he comes for his second spell, he has also got a variety of slower deliveries in his repertoire. Since Cottrell is a left-arm bowler, the angle that he creates for the right-handers helps him as well.
Kings XI Punjab has signed Cottrell for IPL 2020 and he is most likely to be one of their first choice overseas players.
#2 Alex Carey
Alex Carey keeps wickets for Australia in both formats of white-ball cricket and while he is a very safe keeper, it’s his credentials with the bat which makes him special.
Carey is one of the cleanest strikers of the ball in the Australian set-up at the moment, but he is very versatile as well. He opens the batting in domestic cricket, but bats in the middle order for Australia and has been able to do an excellent job in both the roles so far.
Carey is a part of the Delhi Capitals Squad for IPL 2020. He might not get a playing opportunity straightaway, but the Capitals will definitely try him at some stage in the tournament.
#3 Tom Banton
Tom Banton is probably going to be the most hyped cricketer in the upcoming IPL and rightly so, given the kind of performances he has put on in the franchise-based T20 tournaments in various parts of the world.
Banton has not quite proven himself at the international stage yet, but there is hardly any T20 league in the world, barring IPL, where Banton has participated and failed. Wherever he has gone, the 22-year old has set the stage ablaze and has smashed the ball to all corners.
Kolkata Knight Riders have signed Banton as a replacement for Chris Lynn and he is likely to be in the first XI of KKR right at the start of the tournament.
#4 Josh Hazlewood
Josh Hazlewood is generally considered a Test specialist as he relies on the movement of the ball and the accuracy rather than variations and yorkers.
However, Chennai Super Kings have surprisingly signed Hazlewood for IPL 2020 and although he is their second choice overseas seamer, he will be in line to get into the XI in case one of the first choice seamers has a couple of bad games.
Hazlewood has been signed by Mumbai Indians before, but he never got the opportunity to play an IPL game. However, he is very likely to make his debut in IPL 2020. His height and his ability to hit the pitch might help him on sluggish UAE surfaces, however, he won’t get any lateral movement off the pitch.
