Michael Vaughan thinks Jonny Bairtstow has made a strong case for the IPL

Bairstow played a match-winning knock in the T10 League.

Published - 01 Dec 2018, 11:51 IST | Updated - 01 Dec 2018, 11:51 IST

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The T10 League at Sharjah Cricket Ground is currently underway and has already been a witness to some riveting knocks. From the likes of Hazratullah Zazai, Andre Fletcher to Mohammad Shahzad, batsmen have been able to take the bowlers to the cleaners with sheer authority. Yesterday, English wicketkeeper-batsman Jonny Bairstow also came to the party in the event.

He was roped in by the Kerala Knights, the defending champions, and yesterday, he played his first match in the tournament against Bengal Tigers. In the very encounter itself, he had a massive responsibility on his shoulders. The Tigers scored 123 runs in 10 runs courtesy of a fifty from Windies cricketer Sunil Narine, who scored 52 runs from 25 deliveries with the help of four boundaries and as many sixes.

Bairstow wields magic with the bat in hand

Bairstow came to bat after the Knights lost Paul Stirling and Eoin Morgan in the first two overs. Both wickets were taken by Afghanistan off-break bowler Mohammad Nabi. Thereafter, Bairstow threw the kitchen sink at everything and racked up 84 runs from 24 balls with six boundaries and eight humongous hits into the stands. Kerala won the match with eight balls to spare.

In the meantime, Michael Vaughan, the former English cricketer, was awestruck by Bairstow’s exhibition of strokes in the middle. He believes that the match-winning knock can earn him with a contract in the cash-rich Indian Premier League (IPL). The most-awaited auction are set to take place on December 18 in Jaipur and Bairstow is most likely to go under the hammer.

Last year, he was listed at a base price of INR 1.5 crore, but he found no buyers. Confident for the cricketer, Vaughan took to Twitter and wrote, “84 from 24 for Jonny Bairstow … Now that’s one way of getting an IPL gig … !!!! #Wallop,”