IPL's new power players have big shoes to fill | Cricket - Hindustan Times
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IPL's new power players have big shoes to fill

By, New Delhi
Mar 28, 2023 05:00 PM IST

With the retirements of Pollard, Bravo and Gayle, the onus will now be on a new generation to keep the big hits coming.

When IPL 2023 kicks off later this week, Kieron Pollard and Dwayne Bravo will be seated in the dugouts of Mumbai Indians and Chennai Super Kings respectively. Having retired after the 15th edition of IPL, Pollard has taken up the role of batting coach at Mumbai Indians while Bravo will assist the bowlers at Chennai Super Kings. Their retirements, in addition to Chris Gayle not featuring since the 2021 season, certainly mark the end of an era in IPL, one where these men thoroughly entertained crowds with their Caribbean charisma. For all the strategies and match-ups that the shortest format now harps on, T20 cricket essentially boils down to power-hitting and clearing the boundary at will. It is a skill that came effortlessly to the West Indian trio of Gayle, Pollard and Bravo, illustrated by a total of 646 sixes in 492 matches.

Dwayne Bravo and Kieron Pollard(Getty) PREMIUM
Dwayne Bravo and Kieron Pollard(Getty)

The enormous void left by their absence presents an opportunity for a newer crop to take centre stage as big hitters and live up to the tournament’s tagline of ‘talent meeting opportunity’. From Harry Brook at Sunrisers Hyderabad to Cameron Green at Mumbai Indians and Michael Bracewell at Royal Challengers Bangalore, there is certainly no shortage of fresh talent that is capable of employing the long handle to devastating effect.

The maximum eyeballs are likely to be grabbed by Brook at Sunrisers Hyderabad. Acquired for 13.25 crore in the IPL auction, the 24-year-old England batter is set to get his first taste of India. He has not only never experienced the glitz of IPL so far but is also yet to play an international game in the country. That should only amp up the anticipation among Indian audiences from a player who has taken international cricket by storm over the past 12 months. A key component of the ‘BazBall’ brand of cricket that the England set-up has unleashed under coach Brendon McCullum, Brook doesn’t distinguish in the way that he goes about his game. Whether it is a Test in Wellington or a T20 at Wankhede, Brook likes to give the ball a mighty whack and get the game moving.

A quick glance at the Sunrisers Hyderabad squad is enough to know that the 2016 champions will heavily bank on the Englishman for the big hits in the middle overs. Unlike say Pollard and Gayle, Brook doesn’t have an imposing build and a magnetic presence as yet, but what he does have in abundance is exquisite timing and a varied range of shots.

Interestingly, Brook attended a baseball training camp with Major League Baseball (MLB) team St Louis Cardinals earlier this month after being roped in as an ambassador. “I’m also excited to learn from how other professional sportspeople go about their game and see if there are any transferable skills between batting in baseball and cricket,” he told Major League Baseball (MLB).

On Saturday, SRH showed a teaser of what to expect from their costliest overseas recruit as Brook dispatched balls into the stands with disdain in his first practice session for the franchise. Expect more of the same come game time.

Similar fireworks can be expected from Cameron Green, another debutant who carries lofty expectations on his slender shoulders. At 17.5 crore, the lanky Australian was the second-most expensive pick at the auction as Mumbai Indians went all guns blazing in their bid to find a like-for-like replacement for Pollard.

Like Pollard, he will chip in with valuable overs as a seamer and be deadly on the field, but his big-hitting prowess is what Mumbai have paid the big bucks for. Though Green has shone brightest in Test cricket so far, he has the potential to be just as influential in limited-overs cricket. Glimpses of that were available when Australia toured India for a T20 series last year. In the first game of a three-match series, Green plundered 61 off just 30 balls to lead Australia to victory in a tall chase of 209.

A couple of games later, he took just 21 balls to smash 52. These knocks came at the top of the order, which also allows Mumbai to consider that opening role for the 23-year-old from Western Australia. With Tilak Varma and Tim David faring well in the middle-order last season, the five-time champions have the luxury of using Green’s explosive hitting ability in the powerplay overs.

While Brook and Green have been heralded as future superstars, Royal Challengers Bangalore all-rounder Michael Bracewell is unlikely to enjoy that exalted status given that he is a late bloomer in international cricket. He made his international debut for New Zealand in 2022 at the age of 31. He also went unsold in the IPL auction that was held in December.

But an injury to England’s Will Jacks has opened the door for a member of New Zealand’s famed Bracewell dynasty. The turning point for Bracewell was his 140 off 78 balls, laced with 12 fours and 10 sixes, against India in an ODI in Hyderabad in January. The New Zealanders were seemingly down and out at 131/6 in a run chase of 350, but the left-hander wasn’t going to go down without a fight. With support from Mitchell Santner, Bracewell launched a breathtaking assault that left them just 13 runs short of the target.

“To be honest, the way Bracewell was batting, we knew it was going to be a challenge. It was such clean striking,” India skipper Rohit Sharma said during the post-match presentation.

If the likes of Brook, Green and Bracewell can perform like they have shown us at the international level, they will be doing their bit to plug that vacuum left by Pollard, Bravo and Gayle.

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  • ABOUT THE AUTHOR
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    Vivek Krishnan is a sports journalist who enjoys covering cricket and football among other disciplines. He wanted to be a cricketer himself but has gladly settled for watching and writing on different sports.

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