If IPL franchises did want to expand their recruitment drive beyond the Test nations, these players could make it.
Mohammed Shahzad (Afghanistan)
A combustible wicketkeeper who adores MS Dhoni – and does his best to mimic his batting style, particularly by way of his trademark helicopter shot.
Shahzad revels on the big stage, too. When Afghanistan played Pakistan for the first time in a one-day international at a packed Sharjah Cricket Stadium, he reverse swept Saeed Ajmal for six.
It was quite a come down for Ajmal, who was basking in the glow of a glorious Test series against England at the time.
He would bring plenty of extra eyeballs, too. Shahzad is a massive star in his native Afghanistan.
Paras Khadka (Nepal)
The wider international cricket community got its first glimpse of Nepal at the World Twenty20 in Bangladesh.
They will have liked what they saw.
Nepal beat Hong Kong and Afghanistan, and were in the game against Bangladesh, too.
Unsurprisingly for those who have followed the progress of the Himalayan side during their rise beyond the mainstream, Khadka was the central figure in their excellence.
He bowls seamers and off-spin, swallows catches, and can hit a long ball. He put one onto the roof of the main stand at Sharjah stadium in practice before the World T20.
Stephan Myburgh (Netherlands)
Nobody in the game – Test cartel or beyond – hits the ball harder than the left-handed Dutch opening batsman.
At the World Twenty20 in Bangladesh, he hit 13 sixes and scored at a rate of 154.48 per 100 balls.
His initial pyrotechnics were the basis for the Netherlands’ otherworldly run chase against Ireland in the preliminary round, when they qualified after chasing 193 in less than 14 overs in Sylhet.
If their innings had continued to its permitted 20 over duration, they were on course for 279. Any IPL franchise would be grateful for six-appeal like that.
Paul Stirling (Ireland)
Probably hits the ball marginally less hard than Kevin O’Brien, his Ireland colleague, but there cannot be much in it.
Plus, seeing as he gets to open the innings, Stirling gets more opportunities to advertise his wares in the power-play overs against the hard new ball.
Clearly he still has his doubters, given that he is not even a limited-overs regular at his county side, Middlesex, in the UK.
But he has been noticed beyond the Test sphere, as evidenced by the fact he was recruited by Sylhet in the Bangladesh Premier League.
Irfan Ahmed (Hong Kong)
Fair to say he fluffed his lines on his first appearance on the big stage. The Pakistan-born opener went into Hong Kong’s World Twenty20 debut last month in good form.
He had been one of the standout performers in the qualifying event for the 50-over version earlier in the year when Hong Kong secured full one-day international status.
Bangladesh proved a chastening experience, though, as he made successive first-ball ducks in the first two matches.
He did play a cameo role in the shock win over Bangladesh, but his star remains well hidden, so he would be a bargain price.
pradley@thenational.ae
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