International Players Light Up the IPL and Bilateral Games

As the IPL gets going, players and staff will keep an eye on the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup in 2023 and the T20 World Cup in the USA and the West Indies in 2024.

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The Dominance of White-Ball Cricket in Today’s Cricketing World

With white-ball cricket getting a lot of attention in the cricket world, both at home and in a few international games, it’s important to know how the players on each national team sit during this time.

Elsewhere in world cricket

The two spots for the Cricket World Cup Qualifier were won by the USA and UAE at the Play-off event in Namibia.

The Emiratis are one of a number of Qualifier teams that will play a big role in April.

The team led by Muhammad Waseem goes to Nepal for the ACC Premier Cup. This is a 50-over tournament on the way to the Asia Cup. The event will also have teams from Oman.

Zimbabwe

Sikandar Raza is the only Zimbabwean international player in the event.

He has played three times for Punjab Kings and scored just 22 runs.

Raza was brought in to help his team’s chances against the Sunrisers Hyderabad when they were 63/4 in the ninth over.

However, he failed when he tried to run out India’s fast bowler Umran Malik.

West Indies

Even though they had a bad T20 World Cup and had to play in the Cricket World Cup Qualifier, West Indies players look like they are in good shape, at least on an individual level.

Nicholas Pooran’s Player of the Match 62 (19) helped Lucknow Super Giants beat Royal Challengers Bangalore in the last ball of the game.

The left-hander’s 141 runs in the event have come at a strike rate of 220.31. Kyle Mayers shares an IPL locker room with Pooran.

On his own, Mayers has a hit rate of 180.51.

Shimron Hetmyer is used as a late-over expert and has only been out once.

He has scored 97 runs at a strike rate of 176, and Alzarri Joseph has three two-wicket hauls.

Sri Lanka

The Sri Lankans didn’t have the best time on their tour of New Zealand.

They didn’t do well enough in the Super League series to dodge the Cricket World Cup Qualifier, but Charith Asalanka led them to victory in a Super Over match.

At the IPL, Bhanuka Rajapaksa has a fifty off 32 balls against KKR to show for his efforts.

However, he is in battle with other strong international players to stay in the Punjab Kings’ XI.

After the tour of New Zealand, Wanindu Hasaranga joined his RCB teammates. He is expected to play a major part.

South Africa

After playing the Netherlands in a make-up series and winning both games to end their Super League season, Proteas players have been taking it easy as they start their IPL season.

Aiden Markram took over as captain of Sunrisers after playing for his country. He made an amazing 37* (21 runs) to help his team beat Punjab Kings by seven wickets.

Sisanda Magala did 1/37 in his first IPL game, and Anrich Nortje did 2/39 in his first game for the Delhi Capitals against the Gujarat Titans.

Rilee Roussouw has only made 44 runs in three innings, while David Miller still hasn’t been out.

In two innings, Miller has made 33 runs from 19 balls, while Roussouw has only made 44 runs.

Wayne Parnell has only played one game for RCB so far. In that game, he got 3/51.

So far, Faf du Plessis has “retired” from international cricket, but he has been a key player for Royal Challengers Bangalore (175 runs in three games), and he seems to be open to a return to international play.

When asked on talkSPORT about a possible comeback, du Plessis said he was looking forward to talking about a possible future with the new Proteas white-ball coach Rob Walter, but he said “a lot of water needs to run through” before he could see himself in South African gear.

Pakistan

Pakistan tried out different T20I lineups in late March. For a recent match against Afghanistan, Shadab Khan took over as captain.

The team lost the series in UAE by a score of 2-1, but Ihsanullah’s nine wickets and runs from the temporary captain and Imad Wasim were both good signs.

The team will play a five-match series against New Zealand in both T20Is and ODIs. The T20I series will start on April 14.

New Zealand

Even though New Zealand beat Sri Lanka in both white-ball games, the news that Kane Williamson tore his ACL in the IPL took away some of the joy.

It seems likely that Williamson won’t be able to play in the World Cup later this year.

Overall, the event in India has not been good for the Kiwis, but Trent Boult’s work has been good.

He has taken five wickets at a cost of 7.33 runs per wicket.

Even though he turned down a central contract with New Zealand, the left-handed player is expected to be able to play in the Cricket World Cup later this year.

Tim Southee and Lockie Ferguson, two other quick bowlers, have both had expensive starts to their seasons.

On the other hand, Mitchell Santner has been steady for Chennai, taking 0/32, 1/21, and 2/28 in his first 12 overs.

Devon Conway has only got 48 runs with his bat in three innings for the Super Kings in 2023.

Ireland

Ireland’s trip to Bangladesh was a success, even though they only won one match.

They also pushed the Bangladeshis at times during the Test match.

Next month, all eyes will be on their Super League series against the same opponents.

However, they can only go straight to the Cricket World Cup 2023 if they win all three games and their net run rate is higher than South Africa’s.

Josh Little is representing Ireland in cricket by playing for Gujarat Titans in the IPL.

He has made three starts and taken two wickets in a total of 12 overs.

India

A good IPL is a great way for domestic players to show that they should be picked for the national team, and a number of players have already put their hands up.

Ruturaj Gaikwad’s 189 runs lead the Punjab Kings. Bhardwaj Sai Sudharsan’s early spell for Gujarat (137 runs) is also worth mentioning.

However, it would be wrong not to mention Rinku Singh’s final over five-six for KKR, which got the world’s attention in a last-ball win over the Titans.

Shikhar Dhawan hasn’t said he’s done with international cricket just yet, but the 37-year-old is already in the lead with 225 runs at a strike rate of 149 and has only been out of the game once so far.

Even so, veterans on the national team have also shown what they can do with the bat.

Virat Kohli has done well for RCB so far with two fifties in three games, and Shubman Gill has shown his worth with 116 runs.

Rohit Sharma also showed off his strength by making 65 runs off of 45 balls in Mumbai Indians’ win over Delhi.

On the bowling side, Yuzvendra Chahal is right behind Mark Wood in terms of scores, and Arshdeep Singh has already taken six wickets to show that he is in good form.

Mohammed Shami and Ravi Bishnoi both have six wickets to their names, though they have only played four games so far.

Ravichandran Ashwin keeps showing off his skill by getting four wickets in nine overs at a cost of 6.41 runs per over.

Ravindra Jadeja has a similar record, with four scalps at a cost of 6.88 runs per scalp.

Afghanistan

Afghanistan internationals have had a good start at the IPL. They beat Pakistan 2-1 in a T20I match in UAE.

Rahmanullah Gurbaz has had a strong start to his season with the Kolkata Knight Riders.

Against the Royal Challengers Bangalore, he scored 57 (44), and he also had two other scores in the double digits with good strike rates.

Fazalhaq Farooqi, on the other hand, keeps going strong on the local scene. In his first two matches, he has gotten three opening batters out.

Hardik Pandya is sick, so Rashid Khan is leading Gujarat Titans in his place.

In his first three games, he has taken eight wickets, including a hat-trick against Kolkata Knight Riders.

Rinku Singh’s five sixes in five balls at the end of the game shocked everyone because they were better than what he did.

Australia

David Warner’s future with the red ball has been put on hold for now.

The veteran is off to a good start with the Delhi Capitals, getting three fifties and a score of 37 (32).

His last score of 51 (47 runs) didn’t matter, though, because Cameron Green’s 17* (8) and Tim David’s 13* (11) helped the Mumbai Indians win at the Arun Jaitley Stadium with the last ball. In the same match, Jason Behrendorff won 3/23.

Marcus Stoinis, who only batted, was a key part of Lucknow Super Giants’ successful chase of 213 against Royal Challengers Bangalore.

He made 65 runs off 30 balls to help them beat Glenn Maxwell’s team, and Maxwell himself made 59 runs off 29 balls in a blistering performance.

Nathan Ellis has made a name for Punjab Kings by getting 4/30 against the Rajasthan Royals.

Mitchell Marsh is still getting used to bowling, as he only got 1/24 (3.1) in his one bowling stint so far.

Bangladesh

Bangladesh has put an emphasis on international play, playing Ireland in all three forms of the game.

The Tigers won the only Test match in Mirpur and the first two ODIs, but they lost the last T20I.

Next month, the international team will go to Chelmsford, England, to play against Ireland.

Litton Das should be able to help the team out, even though he has also joined the Kolkata Knight Riders group.

Mustafizur Rahman, on the other hand, played in the event for the first time when he returned 1/38 for the Delhi Capitals against the Mumbai Indians.

Taskin Ahmed will not be playing for Bangladesh in the next month because he has a side pain.

England

Jos Buttler has been consistent at the top of the order, hitting two half-centuries in his first three turns at a strike rate of over 180 for Rajasthan Royals.

Mark Wood is getting better and better. He has taken nine wickets in his first three matches, including 5/14 against the Delhi Capitals in his first match.

Jofra Archer, who is still getting back into his game after a lot of injuries, hasn’t been able to take a wicket in his only IPL performance so far.

Moeen Ali keeps showing how good he is on both sides. Against the Lucknow Super Giants, he got 4/26 and also helped the Chennai Super Kings bat.

IPL teammate Ben Stokes, meanwhile, is getting treatment for a foot issue, which will be handled by Super Kings staff.

The T20 World Cup 2022 Player of the Tournament Sam Curran’s IPL start has been a little pricey (9.60 runs per over), but he has contributed with the bat, scoring 49 runs at a strike rate of 144.

Reece Topley is out of the IPL because he dislocated his shoulder.