The Good, The Bad and The Ugly

Was IPL 2020 a success for West Indian franchise players?

Nov 19, 2020

As is always the case in every T20 league around the world, the West Indian batsmen led the six-hitting barrage in the 2020 edition of the IPL. Three of the tournament’s top 10 six hitters were West Indians - Nicholas Pooran, Chris Gayle and Kieron Pollard. However, it wasn’t all rosy for the Caribbean contingent as some surprising faces had a tournament to forget.

Caribbean Cricket Podcast explores where it went right and wrong for the West Indian franchise players.

Kieron Pollard (Mumbai Indians)

268 runs @ avg. 53.60 and S/R 191

Rating - 9/10

If there was any doubt about Pollard’s T20 credentials, it was already squashed in the CPL earlier this year. This IPL reaffirmed his status as one of the format’s all-time giants. The West Indies white ball captain had the highest strike rate in the season and maintained his golden run of form.

Coming in at the death alongside Hardik Pandya, the deadly duo powered MI to rapid finishes, making them the fastest scoring team in the last four overs. At times, with his experience and six hitting ability, it seemed impossible to beat MI in his presence as they surged towards their fifth title. From arresting collapses, to smashing middle overs spin to hammering missed yorkers at the death, he has done it all.

Pollard also filled in the role of the sixth bowler and captained the side in the absence of Rohit Sharma, extending his unbeaten run as skipper in T20 cricket. Going into a T20 World Cup year, West Indies will definitely benefit from his experience and win-at-any-cost mentality.

Nicholas Pooran (Kings XI Punjab)

353 runs @ avg. 35.30 and S/R 170

Rating - 8.5/10

Returning to the UAE, where he first announced himself with a massive hundred at the 2014 U-19 World Cup, Pooran had a cold start to the IPL. But unlike last year, when he was misused on the bench or as a finisher last season, Pooran got a consistent run at his favourite #4 position this edition. What followed was absolute fireworks.

Entering in the middle overs phase, Pooran blasted all forms of spin that came his way. Teams often fell in the trap of bowling their weaker bowlers to him after the fall of a wicket, but the tactic fell flat on their faces with Pooran going ballistic right from the outset.

The highlight of his tournament was the match against Sunrisers, where he hit the fastest 50 off the edition in just 17 balls. The knock included three 100+ metre sixes, the most for any player. It is of little doubt that Pooran will be KXIP’s franchise player for years to come given his long term upside.

The only reason not to give Pooran a rating of 9 or more is because his weakness against high quality pace remains a pain point. While he did show signs of solidifying his base, he still failed to play out the opposition’s lead seamers at times. This manifested itself in the two super overs as well, where he bagged ducks. If he works on that, he will be the ultimate T20 player, and he’s already close.

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Chris Gayle (Kings XI Punjab)

288 runs @ avg. 41.14 and S/R 137

Rating - 8/10

“I hope he never retires” - Mandeep Singh after Gayle’s man of the match knock vs KKR

After being dropped for KXIP’s initial campaign and battling out food poisoning, the evergreen Universe Boss looked like he never left. Having last played competitive cricket in January, Gayle turned his side’s fortunes immediately with his unrivalled six hitting ability and calm head.

Having been slotted at #3, a position he has almost never batted at in his career, Gayle took little time to settle by disrupting the opposition’s plans in the middle overs. With Pooran to follow, teams had nowhere to hide their spinners and Gayle feasted on it.

From hitting a six in the first ever “second super over” in T20 history to a monumental 99 against RR including a fearsome battle with Jofra Archer, Gayle was the central figure in KXIP’s five match winning streak. Besides his performance, he was crucial to building team culture and mentoring the youngsters in the team. There is no doubt that Gayle will return in 2021 in quest for his elusive maiden IPL title.

Jason Holder (Sunrisers Hyderabad)

66 runs @ avg. 33 and S/R 125

14 wickets @ avg. 17 and econ. 8.32

Rating - 7/10

Roped in as a replacement player for Mitchell Marsh, Holder punched well above his weight in his first proper run in the IPL. Despite T20 cricket being his weakest format, Holder was SRH’s banker in the powerplay and death in the second half of the season.

Coming into the XI in the second half of the season after SRH took the tough decision to drop the world class Jonny Bairstow, Holder grabbed his opportunity by taking crucial wickets when the team needed it. His extra bounce and consistency added some spice to the one dimensional seam attack he was part of.

Holder played two contrasting clutch innings with the bat in chases as well, showing his ability to take responsibility. With this showing, in addition to his performances for Barbados Tridents in CPL, Holder will be in serious talks for the T20 World Cup next year and can expect to feature in IPL 2021.

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Shimron Hetmyer (Delhi Capitals)

185 runs @ avg. 23.12 and S/R 148

Rating - 6/10

Unlike Pooran who took little time to find his feet in the IPL, Hetmyer continues to frustrate as his development slows down. For once, however, he isn’t the only one to blame. In fact, one could argue he finished with a respectable stat-line batting in the wholly unfamiliar finishers role

Delhi failed to recognize Hetmyer’s potential against spin and instead, used him in a pace hitter’s role. He didn’t do poorly as his strike rate suggests, but he struggled to come to terms with the volatility of such a role.

He made a couple of crucial 40s in different stages of the tournament, but his overall returns simply did not do justice to his talent. There are positives, however. Despite the lack of time at the crease, Hetmyer has worked on his base against high pace and has tried perfecting his pull shot with coach Ricky Ponting. Whether he will show these new upgrades in his game remains to be seen.

Sunil Narine (Kolkata Knight Riders)

121 runs @ avg. 13 and S/R 142

5 wickets @ avg. 60 and econ. 7.94

Rating - 5.5/10

There is a lot to dissect with Narine, but let us begin with the positives. In his toughest IPL season to date, he still delivered three match winning performances. Bowling at the death in a T20 game is no easy task, especially for a spinner and he pulled two games in KKR’s favor out of nowhere.

While he was largely disappointing with the bat, Narine played a massive innings against DC in the back end of the tournament as he turned KKR’s stuttering innings around with some scintillating hitting in the middle overs.

However, with his bowling action coming under the scanner yet again, Narine had to be benched for a few games mid-season, completely disrupting KKR’s plans. While he managed to get it cleared, his bowling looked toothless after that with his wicket taking ability falling to an all-time low.

Narine’s reputation still holds him in good stead as he’s respected by opposition batsmen, but one has to wonder how long that will be the case. This isn’t to say Narine is no longer a utility player in the format, but it remains to be seen how long KKR keep trust in him despite him being a potential liability going forward. One thing we know for sure is adversity is nothing new to him and Narine has come back stronger everytime.

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Sheldon Cottrell (Kings XI Punjab)

6 wickets @ avg. 29 and econ. 8.80

Rating - 5.5/10

Cottrell began his IPL with a bang with rapid inswingers catching batsmen off guard in the powerplay. However, KXIP began to realize how limited a bowler he is without the new ball at his disposal when he was plundered for four consecutive sixes at the death by Rahul Tewatia.

While Cottrell continued to be impressive in the powerplay, KXIP simply could not afford a liability at the death, their worst phase this tournament. As a result, he was swapped out for Chris Jordan mid-tournament and never regained his place.

With his huge price tag, it is unlikely that Cottrell will be retained. However, he showed enough promise for a more complete bowling attack than KXIP to pick him. He can still be lethal if used as a powerplay specialist, with new ball wickets being so valuable in T20.

Andre Russell (Kolkata Knight Riders)

117 runs @ avg. 13.00 and S/R 144

6 wickets @ avg. 31.83 and econ. 9.72

Rating - 4.5/10

In our IPL preview article, we mentioned that the only way Russell was not going to have another MVP season was if he gets injured. While the Jamaican superstar was admittedly not in his best form with the bat, he tore his hamstring mid-tournament to make things worse.

In KKR’s final group game, Russell roared a cry of anguish that could be heard off the stump mic after he miscued a length ball -- just when he was getting hot. It summed up his tournament in a way. The fact that he turned up in that game with a Grade 2 or 3 hamstring tear itself was a miracle, or rather a testament to his commitment.

Russell was excellent in the death overs with the ball in the early stages of the tournament. However, one has to wonder whether him continuing to bowl, no matter how good he is, just makes him a much bigger liability. KKR might have to be more careful managing him next year, because when he’s on, he’s still the best in the world.

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Dwayne Bravo (Chennai Super Kings)

6 wickets @ avg. 30 and econ. 8.57

Rating - 4/10

Dwayne Bravo played six matches for CSK, sandwiched between two injury layoffs. He missed the early stages of the tournament due to the injury he sustained in the CPL and then left mid-season with a groin injury.

When he played, Bravo was bankable but didn’t do anything spectacular with the ball. His experience is always of value to any side, but at this stage of his career, it is vital that he is at 100% fitness to add “value over replacement”. He got no time with the bat either to add to that.

With CSK mulling an overhaul next year, it is entirely possible that Bravo has played his last game for the franchise so close to his heart. If he is indeed released, it remains to be seen whether there will be any other takers. The IPL sets high standards for its overseas contingent and Bravo’s lack of game time as he recovers from injury could set him back.

The Benchwarmers

(Fabian Allen, Keemo Paul, Sherfane Rutherford, Oshane Thomas)

Among those who didn’t get a game, Fabian Allen and Keemo Paul would have reason to feel let down. After a solid season in 2019, Paul did not get a game despite Australian Daniel Sams playing three games and failing. Allen remained on the bench as well, despite Sunrisers being the worst batting team at the death -- an issue he could have easily fixed.

It is no surprise that Rutherford and Thomas got zero game time considering their poor CPL effort that preceded the IPL. It is up to them to perform in international cricket if they get opportunities and stake a claim if they want their contracts renewed.

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