Punjab Kings means serious business ahead of the restart of the 2021 edition of the Indian Premier League by naming a couple of changes to their overseas contingent focusing on their bowling attack.
The Anil Kumble coached team has signed up the experienced English spinner Adil Rashid and young Australian seamer Nathan Ellis to replace the Australian duo of Jhye Richardson and Riley Meredith for the remainder of the current IPL season.
The duo of Richardson and Meredith cost the Preity Zinta co-owned franchise more than Rs. 22 crores in the auction. The fast bowlers continuously under-delivered in the first half of IPL as Mohammed Shami and Arshdeep Singh rose as the team’s premier fast bowlers.
Experience comes in handy
The Punjab Kings bowling attack contains several young and unproven bowlers including the spin duo of Ravi Bishnoi and Murugan Ashwin. The left-arm seam duo of Arshdeep Singh and Ishan Porel along with left-arm spinner Harpreet Brar would need role models in the dressing room to observe and learn from them.
Rashid has years of experience playing for England and across the world in T20 leagues like the Big Bash League and the Bangladesh Premier League along with the Abu Dhabi T10 League as well.
Adil Rashid appealing for a wicket in the England jersey
The 33-year old wrist-spinner has taken 159 wickets for England in 112 ODIs and is the joint-second leading wicket-taker in the T20I format with 69 wickets taken at an economy rate of less than 7.50.
The experienced bowler scalped 12 wickets for Northern Superchargers in the recently concluded ‘The Hundred’ tournament and will be looking forward to making his debut in the IPL.
The slow and spin-friendly tracks in the U.A.E. offer Rashid a golden chance to make his mark in the cash-rich league and boost his price ahead of the mega auction before the start of the 2022 edition of the IPL.
The Promise & Fire of Youth
Nathan Ellis in a Hobart Hurricanes jersey
Punjab Kings direly needed a seamer to fill in for the departed Australian duo and the franchise dipped down south again to sign Big Bash League emerging star Nathan Ellis.
The 26-year old seamer took 20 wickets in only 14 league matches almost helping Hobart Hurricanes reach the knockout stages of the tournament. The fast-bowler also took a hat-trick on his international debut against Bangladesh ending the night with figures of 3/34 apart from taking 2/16 in the only other T20I he has played to date.
The late-bloomer has earned a call-up for the upcoming 2021 ICC World T20 but could only make up the reserves list behind the likes of Pat Cummins, Mitchell Starc, Josh Hazlewood, and Kane Richardson.
Also read: Australia announces 15-member squad for 2021 ICC World T20; Find Who Missed Out?
Punjab Kings currently has only 6 points in 8 matches and would need to win a minimum of 4 matches to stand a chance to make it to the IPL 2021 playoffs.