The 17th edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL) will get underway with a marquee clash between the Chennai Super Kings (CSK) and the Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) on March 22 at the M.A Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai.
Post mini-auction analysis ahead of the season suggests a few teams are relying quite a bit on their overseas buys to make an impact to give themselves a chance at the trophy.
Here are the five overseas players who are likely to have the most impact in IPL 2024:
1) Mitchell Marsh - Delhi Capitals
The Australian all-rounder will play a massive role for Delhi Capitals, particularly with the bat. Since the last 12 months, Marsh has scored 474 runs in 17 innings at a strike rate of 158. Despite the majority of his runs coming in Australia, New Zealand, and South Africa, Mitchell Marsh will add value to the Delhi batting order. In the last one year, Marsh has batted 15 times inside PowerPlay and struck at more than 158 while averaging 30.66. He continues in the same vein through the middle overs with an increased average - 36.57. Marsh can chip in valuable overs with the ball too. He has bowled 26 overs in the past year, picking 14 wickets but more importantly has gone below eight runs an over.
2) Cameron Green - Royal Challengers Bengaluru
FILE PHOTO: Cameron Green, who played for Mumbai Indians last season in action. | Photo Credit: EMMANUAL YOGINI/ The Hindu
The new Royal Challengers Bangalore recruit made his IPL debut with Mumbai Indians last year, recording 452 runs in 16 innings at a strike rate of over 160 at an average of 50.22. This season, Cameron Green will be partnering up with his Australian teammate Glenn Maxwell in the middle order. With seven matches at M. Chinnaswamy Stadium at home, RCB would fancy Green having another stellar season at a high-scoring ground with not-so-large boundaries.
3) Gerald Coetzee - Mumbai Indians
FILE PHOTO: Gerald Coetzee of South Africa in action. | Photo Credit: Getty Images
The South African pacer has been quite impressive with his fast bowling abilities and it was not surprising that Mumbai Indians went for him as a replacement for Jofra Archer. Gerald Coetzee’s lower order batting ability is an added bonus. Coetzee’s ability to extract bounce off the surface will make him the ideal new ball partner with Jasprit Bumrah from the other end. The 40 times he has bowled in T20s, the 23-year-old has taken 60 wickets at an average of just over 19.
4) Heinrich Klaasen - SunRisers Hyderabad
FILE PHOTO: Sunrisers Hyderabad’s Heinrich Klaasen celebrates after scoring a century. | Photo Credit: NAGARA GOPAL/ The Hindu
Anyone who followed the recently held World Cup in India knows what the South African wicketkeeper-batter is capable of. Having been retained by Sunrisers Hyderabad this season, Heinrich Klaasen will play an important role in the middle order. In the last 12 months, he has 1119 runs in T20s at a strike rate of over 188. In the middle overs, Klaasen has struck at a strike rate more than 174.
5) Rahmanullah Gurbaz - Kolkata Knight Riders
FILE PHOTO: KKR’s Rahmanullah Gurbaz plays a shot. | Photo Credit: DEEPAK KR/ The Hindu
Kolkata Knight Riders will expect plenty from the Afghanistan wicketkeeper-batter this season. Given KKR’s lack of wicketkeeping options, Rahmanullah Gurbaz is the likely candidate to don the gloves; if he plays, he’ll open the innings. Gurbaz has a reputation of hitting pace and spin equally hard. He isn’t an accumulator; Gurbaz has a strike rate of over 141 and averages 22.65 - it’s telling of his intent of going for the hits right from the beginning. His quickfire knocks could set up the platform for his side.
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