5 pinch hitters like Sunil Narine who can be used by other teams in IPL10

Kolkata Knight Riders made an explosive start to the 10th edition of IPL when Chris Lynn took apart Gujarat Lions in the first game and chased down a score of 183 in just 14.5 overs. It seemed as if the new opening combination of Gambhir and Lynn was there to stay. But unfortunately, the Australian succumbed to a shoulder injury in the second match against Mumbai Indians and had to be pulled out of the side. It was almost certain that KKR will go in with their trusted opening combination of Gambhir and Uthappa after that. But to everyone’s surprise, Sunil Narine was seen entering the field alongside the skipper in the third match against Kings XI Punjab. The West Indian smacked 37 off just 18 balls 4 fours and 3 sixes and set the platform for a comfortable chase. Since then, he became a regular feature at that slot and had scores of 6, 42, 34 and 16, all in double quick time. More often than not, he provided the blistering starts that set the tone for either a big score while batting first or inflicting an easy chase. So far, the move has paid rich dividends and is one of the reasons why KKR is sitting pretty at the top of the points table. Narine goes after the bowling from the very first ball without worrying about losing his wicket. Although he doesn’t have the technique of an opening batsman but his job is very clear. He needs to go on the attack from the outset and if he gets out early in the process, a big batting line-up is there to rebuild. There is no harm in sending a batsman like him up the order because his hard hitting abilities are utilized to a great effect which otherwise are wasted down the order. KKR have shown the way how to make use of a pinch-hitter like him. There are several such batsmen in other teams who can do a similar job. The other teams can take a leaf out of KKR’s book and do the same with such players. Let’s have a look at the potential batsmen who can do a Narine. #1 Harbhajan Singh Harbhajan Singh (Photo Source: BCCI) The veteran Indian off-spinner is primarily known for his spin bowling but those who have followed his career closely would completely agree to the fact that he is no mug with the bat. He possesses the skills to send the ball out of the park at any stage of the game. If the ball is pitched in his half, the ball more often than lands into the crowd. In 2015, he scored a fifty off just 19 balls against Kings XI Punjab that was the fastest half-century for Mumbai Indians until Kieron Pollard surpassed it. He also has two centuries to his name in Test cricket which proves his abilities with the bat. Although the Mumbai side has a flurry of hard-hitting batsmen, yet if required, Bhajji could be a useful prospect as a pinch hitter up the order. #2 Axar Patel Axar Patel (Photo Source: BCCI) The left-arm spinner is popular for his miserly bowling that doesn’t allow the batsmen to score freely off him. He is currently the leading wicket-taker for Kings XI Punjab side with 8 scalps in 7 matches. But it’s not just the ball that he has contributed with but has shown tremendous fight with the bat too. Often he has found himself trying to bail the team out of trouble. Power hitting comes naturally to Axar and he is a killer of the left-arm spinners. The area between deep midwicket and long-off comes in his hitting arc for those massive sixes. He did bat at number 4 on a couple of occasions this season and has accounted for 122 runs so far at a strike rate of 132.61 that include 5 fours and 6 sixes. He can certainly be used as a floater in the line-up. #3 Ravindra Jadeja Ravindra Jadeja. (Photo Source: BCCI) The left-arm spinner is currently the number one ranked bowler in ICC Test rankings and has bowled beautifully over the course of past couple of years. He has been instrumental in India’s great home run where they defeated New Zealand, England, Bangladesh and Australia. But it wasn’t just the bowling that clicked but he played some useful knocks while batting down the order. There is no doubt about his batting skills and could be a handy batsman up the order while looking to go on the attack from the first ball. Jadeja has proved over and over again that he can play quickfire cameos but when it comes to batting in IPL, he has hardly ever contributed with the stick in hand. He remains highly unutilized while batting at number 7 or 8 and his batting at the top could even allow an additional bowler in the line-up for Gujarat Lions. #4 Mitchell Johnson Mitchell Johnson (Photo Source: Getty Images) The Australian pacer after his retirement is still pretty active in the shortest format of the game. He did well in the last season of the Big Bash League and was picked up by Mumbai Indians in this year’s player auction. His major contributions have come so far with fiery spells of fast bowling and the other aspect of his game remained unused. While playing for Australia, he scored 2065 runs in Tests having hit a century and 11 fifties. The left-hander had a strike rate of 114.74 in T20Is and is capable of hitting some lusty blows. Over the years, he played some useful innings down the order for the Aussies and there is no harm in experimenting with him up the order. #5 Stuart Binny Stuart Binny (Photo Source: BCCI) The Indian all-rounder has been a part of Royal Challengers Bangalore’s squad for a number of years. But he hasn’t been a certain prospect in the playing XI and has had a stop-start career. He bats down the order and not too often gets to complete his full quota of overs while bowling. He bowls mostly with the new ball and hardly ever is called upon at the death overs. Binny is certainly not the best bowler or the best batsman either but both aspects of his combined together make him a competent player. He can use the long handle and strike some big hits. The 32-year-old becomes more of a liability for the team if he is there to bowl just a couple of overs. His skills to play the big shots can be employed by sending him up the order once in a while.

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