5 IPL stars to watch out for in BBL 2016-17

Cricket Australia’s coveted franchise tournament Big Bash League (BBL) will enter its 6th edition when the defending champions Sydney Thunder take on Sydney Sixers on December 20th. BBL has attracted tremendous crowd attention since its inception in the year 2011 and is perhaps the second most popular franchise T20 tournament after the Indian Premier League (IPL).

Just like every other league around the world, BBL has produced plenty of talented domestic players who have made it to the Australian national team. The league has also witnessed some terrific performances from overseas players which adds to the value of the tournament and promote it over the cricketing fraternity.

There are several players that have made a mark in the IPL in the past who will be in action in the BBL 2016-17. Here are some of them to watch out for in the upcoming season:

1. Sunil Narine:

The mystery spinner from West Indies will be donning the colours of the Melbourne Renegades. The Renegades had failed to make it to the semi-finals in the last season and finished 5th on the points table. This year, they will hope to turn the fortunes around with the presence of Narine. He has played only once before in the league. In the second season, he represented Sydney Sixers in 5 matches.

The 28-year-old has been an integral part of the Kolkata Knight Riders in the IPL. He has an outstanding record in the IPL having 85 wickets in 66 matches with an economy rate of mere 6.2. Narine is very hard to score off at any stage of the innings given the amount of variations in his bowling. With minimal changes in action, he can turn the ball both ways which make it very difficult for the batsmen to pick him.