5 players who were selected in IPL solely based on their BBL performances

The Big Bash League (BBL) with its new version which saw it’s birth in 2011 has been one of the greatest cricketing festivals. It replaced the T20 Big Bash League that contained six state teams while the rejuvenated version came up with eight city-based franchises. The 2018-19 season of the tournament is set to commence from 19th December.

The Australian T20 League has witnessed some swashbuckling batsmen in the T20 arena. The tournament has also seen some of the records being torn apart. Their performances solely in the BBL have led them to snap a million dollar contracts at the Indian Premier League (IPL), which happens to be the biggest T20 league in terms of popularity and monetary value.

While some players may have fallen well below of their expectation, a handful of lesser-known players have received recognition in IPL only due to their heroics Down Under. We take a look at some players who were picked up by the IPL teams based on their exploits in BBL

5. Ben Laughlin

Ben Laughlin may not have been the most expensive buy or the best bowler. At the international circuit, he neither starred nor failed, however, what made him very effective in domestic circuit was his ability to bowl the slower ones and a sharp outswinger which restricted the batsmen relatively to shift gears against him.

The Victorian-born medium pace bowler is the highest wicket-taker overall in the BBL. He was part of Hobart Hurricanes from 2011-2014 and picked up the most number of wickets in the 2012-13 season. Since 2014, he has been part of the Adelaide Strikers, who are the current defending champions.

The 36-year old was picked up by the Chennai Super Kings for the 2013 season, however, ended his dismal season, having picked up a wicket in two matches. He received his next big IPL break in the last season when he was signed up by the Rajasthan Royals for a base price of Rs 50 lakhs.

Laughlin impressed with his deceptive changes, outsmarting the batsmen multiple times. He played in the initial stages of the season and picked up nine wickets in seven matches but had gradually fallen out of favour, with the return of Jofra Archer before being released by the franchise once again.