10 Debutants who hogged the limelight in IPL 2016

The Indian Premier League is one of the biggest stages in the world of cricket. Every season sees new IPL debutants. For the players, as they all admit, it is a whole new competitive experience altogether. While some of the IPL debutants go on to make a big name for themselves not only in the tournament but also make it to their national teams, there are others who fade away with time. Nonetheless, here is a pick of 10 players who drew the most limelight this season in IPL 2016: 1. Jos Buttler – Mumbai Indians: Jos Buttler. (Photo Source: BCCI) Mumbai Indians roped in the services of English wicket keeper batsman Jos Buttler this season. Buttler rated the tournament as the best T20 league in the world. But with his performances, he couldn’t live up to his name. He lit the tournament with a quick 41 against Kolkata Knight Riders in his second match for the team. Barring that, he couldn’t play a handy innings after that. Another blitz of 29* came in the later part of the season against Royal Challengers Bangalore. In all, he played all the 14 matches for MI in the league stages and scored 255 runs at an average of 23.18. He had an impressive strike rate of 138.58 though. 2. Martin Guptill – Mumbai Indians: Martin Guptill (Photo Source: Twitter) Kiwi opener Martin Guptill was among the big names who missed out at being sold in the IPL auctions. However, an injury to Lendl Simmons saw Mumbai Indians calling in Martin Guptill. The Kiwi batter had been in a phenomenal form since he struck an ODI double century last year. He drew a lot of attention and everybody wanted to see him in action this season. He got just 3 opportunities, though. He was dismissed cheaply on his IPL debut against Sunrisers Hyderabad on 2. The next opportunity that he got, he scored a patient 48 off 42 balls against the Daredevils. Guptill didn’t look his usual self in the tournament though. 3. Adam Zampa – Rising Pune Supergiants: Adam Zampa. (Photo Source: BCCI) Adam Zampa, the young leg-spinner from Australia, impressed one and all in the limited opportunities he got. He was benched in the first half of the tournament as Murugan Ashwin was picked ahead of him. But when he arrived, he ensured he was there to stay. With 12 wickets in 5 matches, he had the best average (9.58), the best economy (6.76) and the best strike rate (8.5) among all the bowlers in the tournament. He picked up figures of 6/19 against the Sunrisers Hyderabad and became the first spinner to bag a 6 wicket haul in the history of the tournament. 4. Carlos Brathwaite – Delhi Daredevils: Carlos Brathwaite. (Photo Source: BCCI) The high bids for Carlos Brathwaite had raised a lot of eyebrows at the auctions, but his spectacular effort in the World Cup semifinals made the audiences excited about the next ‘big’ thing of West Indian cricket. Brathwaite was sensational with the bat, ball and was flying in the field too. Playing against the Kolkata Knight Riders, he blasted 34 off just 11 balls. He bagged 7 wickets in the 8 matches he played with a strike rate of just over 19. With the bat, he had the best strike among all the batsmen; he bludgeoned the bowling lineups at a strike rate of 212.90. 5. Usman Khawaja – Rising Pune Supergiants: Usman Khawaja. (Photo Source: BCCI) The Rising Pune Supergiants were plagued with injuries and their first replacement of the season was Australian opener Usman Khawaja. Khawaja entered the competition with a big reputation after having struck 2 centuries in the Big Bash League earlier this year. Moreover, he was the leading run-getter for Australia in Indian conditions in the World T20 too. But much to the dismay of the RPS fans, Khawaja didn’t come up good for them this season. He could score just 127 in the 6 matches he played with a top score of 30. His strike rate too was a touch below 130. 6. Hashim Amla – Kings XI Punjab: Hashim Amla. (Photo Source: BCCI) Hashim Amla made his IPL debut for Kings XI Punjab this season. He was one of the replacement players for the Kings this year. He started off on a horrendous note and was involved in a run out. However, he came up good against the Sunrisers Hyderabad in a must win match when he plundered 96 off 56 balls and missed out on a very well deserved century. His efforts weren’t enough as Punjab crashed out of the tournament. In the 6 matches that he played, Amla made 157 runs at an average of 26.16. 7. Sam Billings – Delhi Daredevils: New Delhi: Delhi Daredevils batsmen Sam Billings and Carlos Brathwaite during an IPL match between Delhi Daredevils and Kolkata Knight Riders at Feroz Shah Kotla in New Delhi on April 30, 2016. (Photo Source: Surjeet Yadav/IANS) Young English wicketkeeper Sam Billings was one of the highlights of the season for Delhi Daredevils. He couldn’t play all the matches due to the ‘horses for courses’ approach of the daredevils. After Richard Levi’s half-century on debut for Mumbai Indians against Chennai Superkings in 2012, Billings became the first man to score a half-century on IPL debut. He scored 54 off just 34 balls against the Kolkata Knight Riders on debut. He aggregated 88 runs in 5 matches and was handy in the field too. 8. Chris Jordan – Royal Challengers Bangalore: Chris Jordan. (Photo Source: BCCI) English bowler Chris Jordan came in as a replacement for Mitchell Starc in the RCB line-up. He started off on an expensive note with figures of 1/43 against the Rising Pune Supergiants on his debut. In the matches that followed, he was taken away for plenty, 0/52 and 0/37, against the Kings XI Punjab and Mumbai Indians. However, he came good in the next match against the Gujarat Lions and picked up 4/11. In the matches that followed, he picked up crucial wickets and sealed a spot in the playing XI. His 4/11 was his best effort in his T20 career. 9. Marcus Stoinis – Kings XI Punjab: Mohali: Kings XI Punjab celebrates fall of a wicket during an IPL match between Kings XI Punjab and Delhi Daredevils at Punjab Cricket Association IS Bindra Stadium in Mohali on May 7, 2016. (Photo Source: Surjeet Yadav/IANS) Marcus Stoinis was one of the leading performers for Kings XI Punjab in the tournament. His side finished at the bottom spot in the points table but he was effective on the personal front. He mustered 146 runs in 7 matches at an impressive average of 36.5. He had 8 wickets to his name to go with his batting heroics. He took a crucial 4/15 that helped the Kings thrash Mumbai Indians in the league stage. He was the star performer in the match against Delhi Daredevils when he scored 52 and later followed it up with 3/40. 10. Mustafizur Rahman – Sunrisers Hyderabad: Mustafizur Rahman (Photo Source: BCCI) The Bangladeshi pace sensation has been a revelation in the modern day bowling. With impeccable performances in the Asia Cup and the World T20, he made his debut for the Sunrisers Hyderabad in the IPL. He emerged as one of the most economical bowlers and many even tipped him as one of the best limited-overs bowlers. He formed a lethal bowling pair with Bhuvneshwar Kumar and the duo often choked the opposition with their accurate bowling. Fizz, as he is popularly known as picked up 17 wickets in 16 matches at an economy of 6.9 and best of 3/16.

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10 Debutants who hogged the limelight in IPL 2016

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