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Home » Cricket Home » News » IPL 2021: Raina From CSK, Chakravarthy From KKR - Ponting Picks One Standout Player From Each Franchise
IPL 2021: Raina From CSK, Chakravarthy From KKR - Ponting Picks One Standout Player From Each Franchise
Hardik Pandya has been the X-Factor for Mumbai Indians in the middle-order and he was Ponting's pick from the Mumbai Indians. Hardik has a strike rate of in excess of 185 (combined) in the last two editions of the competition.
- Cricketnext Staff
- Updated: April 9, 2021, 8:25 PM IST
Delhi Capitals coach Ricky Ponting has put his analyst cap on and picked one potentially dangerous game-changing player from each of the seven opposition franchises for the upcoming edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL). The tournament is underway in Chennai with the opening fixture featuring Mumbai Indians and Royal Challengers Bangalore.
The Capitals start their campaign against Chennai Super Kings on Saturday in Mumbai.
Ponting said Suresh Raina was the one to watch out for from the Chennai Super Kings. The left-hander missed the last edition but is the highest scorer for the franchise in the IPL and the second-highest overall.
“Suresh Raina is one of the leading run scorers in IPL history and he plays a really important role for Chennai Super Kings in the middle order. Just his experience and the partnerships that him and (MS) Dhoni and Faf (du Plessis) and a lot of their senior players have created has been a reason the Chennai Super Kings have been one of the really powerful teams in IPL history,” stated the former Australian captain.
Kolkata Knight Riders’ (KKR) leading wicket-taker in IPL 2020, mystery spinner Varun Chakravarthy was Ponting’s choice for the 2012 and 2014 IPL champions.
“He’s (Varun Chakravarthy) a classic mystery spinner. He bowls an off spinner, he bowls a googly, he bowls a leg-spinner and he bowls a carrom ball that he flicks out the front of his hand. So he’s got the variations on his deliveries, but he’s also got a lot of pace variations as well. So he’ll start in the mid-80s (kph) with his speed and he can push it up to 110 kph with the quicker one. He was a real find for them last year,” added Ponting.
Hardik Pandya has been the X-Factor for Mumbai Indians in the middle-order and he was Ponting’s pick from the Mumbai Indians. Hardik has a strike rate of in excess of 185 (combined) in the last two editions of the competition.
“He’s just an out-and-out power player now and he’s probably 75 kilos ringing wet, but he can bowl 140kph and he’s one of the best strikers of the cricket ball going around – he’s just a complete all-round package. I’m actually keeping my fingers crossed we get to see more of him at Test level,” stated Ponting.
He had a surprise selection from Punjab Kings – the talented West Indian Nicholas Pooran who has so far only given a glimpse of his destructive prowess with the bat in the tournament.
“He’s a very, very good player and someone that will be in huge demand for years to come in these T20 tournaments. Punjab Kings have done well this year, with him and their (recently added) fast bowlers Jhye Richardson and Riley Meredith both going there, it gives them a huge amount of firepower,” he added while speaking about Pooran.
Ponting’s pick for the Rajasthan Royals was maverick all-rounder, Rahul Tewatia who impressed last season with his ability to clear the field and restrictive leg spin bowling. He singled out Devdutt Padikkal from Royal Challengers Bangalore – the left-hander outscored both Kohli and AB in 2020 and was in prodigious form in the 2021 Vijay Hazare Trophy. T Natarjan – the yorker specialist who bagged 16 wickets last season was Ponting’s candidate from Sunrisers Hyderabad.
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