VARUN CHAKRAVARTHY (KKR)
M: 13| WKTs: 17| BB: 5/20| ECO: 6.84
The best spinner in the IPL 2020 proved to be KKR’s Varun Chakravarthy as he earned the only five-wicket haul in the tournament. His spin was instrumental for KKR as Sunil Narine struggled with the ball and even had to sit out due to his action being called suspicious.
Instead, Chakravarthy did amazingly well being the leading spinner throughout the tournament for KKR and also earned a call-up for the Indian team on the T20I leg of the Australian tour. Unfortunately, a shoulder injury meant that he wouldn’t be traveling to Australia, but expect a better showing from the tweaker when IPL 2021 comes through, in India.
T NATARAJAN (SRH)
M: 16| WKTs: 16| BB: 2/24| ECO: 8.02
T Natarajan was a gem plucked by Kings XI Punjab from the Tamil Nadu Premier League in 2018 but didn’t give him enough chances to shine that season in the IPL. He was then bought by Sunrisers Hyderabad for the IPL 2019 but didn’t get a game due to the presence of Bhuvneshwar, Sandeep, and Siddharth in the bowling lineup.
AUS v IND 2020-21: David Warner congratulates his SRH teammate T Natarajan on maiden India call-up
However, with Bhuvneshwar suffering an injury in IPL 2020 and SRH turned towards Natarajan for the hard overs in the death and he delivered in style. His yorker to dismiss AB de Villiers in a crunch game can be called the ball of the tournament. He was rewarded with a maiden India call-up for the T20I series in Australia.
RAVI BISHNOI (KXIP)
M: 14| WKTs: 12| BB: 3/29| ECO: 7.37
Ravi Bishnoi is also one of the talents from the class of the Indian team of 2020 U19 World Cup and he had excelled in the whole tournament. The young leggie was picked up by Kings XI Punjab and played all the 14 games for the franchise and picked 12 wickets with a best of 3/29.
Though other spinners fared better in terms of showing, Bishnoi stood out for his aggression with the ball and always looked out for wickets not caring if he went for runs in the bargain. But his economy of 7.37 was mighty impressive for a spinner in IPL, where the batsmen always look to hit them out of the ground. Bishnoi proved to be a sure-fire talent to keep an eye out for in the future.
ARSHDEEP SINGH (KXIP)
M: 8| WKTs: 9| BB: 3/23| ECO: 8.77
The tall Sardar from Punjab, Arshdeep Singh came late into contention for a spot in the Kings XI Punjab playing XI, but in the 8 matches he played, he showed his mettle. Struggling to find a suitable fast bowler to support a raging Mohammad Shami, KXIP turned to the left-arm pacer and he delivered.
Arshdeep did mighty well with both the new ball and in death overs. Shami was then free to go for wickets, as Arshdeep created pressure at the other end and it helped the team find a properly balanced playing XI. He possibly has done enough to keep his place in the KXIP unit for the next IPL season in 2021.
COC Presents Uncapped Indian XI of IPL 2020:
Devdutt Padikkal (RCB), Ruturaj Gaikwad (CSK), Nitish Rana (KKR), Suryakumar Yadav (MI-C), Ishan Kishan (MI-WK), Rahul Tewatia, Kartik Tyagi (RR), Varun Chakravarthy (KKR), T Natarajan (SRH), Ravi Bishnoi (KXIP), Arshdeep Singh (KXIP)
