IPL debutants who set the stage ablaze in the league phase

The league stage of IPL 2017 has come to a halt. After almost 6 weeks of jam-packed action, four teams will progress through to the playoffs while the rest four disembark from the tournament. As many as 56 games were played in the league stages and Mumbai Indians have managed to be the No. 1 team after all these games. Rising Pune Supergiant, Sunrisers Hyderabad and Kolkata Knight Riders will be the rest three teams who will lock horns with each other to get their hands on the IPL trophy.

The stark contrast in this edition of the IPL was that the wickets were sporting and viewers witnessed a lot of low-scoring clashes. Spinners were less effective this year as the faster men have been amongst the wickets more often. Scores in the bracket of 150-170 were difficult to chase on a few occasions which made the cricket more interesting.

Every IPL provides young cricketers with a platform to express themselves and this year was no different. Franchises bided rigorously at the IPL auctions in February to acquire the players they thought will suit to their scheme of things. IPL 2017 saw a lot of players make their debut in the cash-rich tournament with some of them making a name for themselves in the first year itself.

We bring you a list of debutants who did well for their respective teams this year:

1. Ben Stokes

A lot had been spoken about Stokes when RPS succumbed to three defeats in their first four games this year. The all-rounder took his time to settle in but made sure that he was worth every penny spent on him. Stokes came in with a lot of reputation into the tournament and he did not disappoint.

Though he won’t play any further for RPS in the playoffs, Stokes did his bit to help his side qualify in the last four. The 26-year-old bowled exceptionally well throughout the tournament and gave his skipper Smith two overs in the death almost every game he played in. His economy rate of 7.18 in the 12 games he played is exceptionally good in today’s day and age. He picked 12 sticks in as many games, showing his arsenal variations in the middle overs.

Stokes was also expected to come good with the bat. After hitting a 32-ball fifty in his second appearance, Stokes largely struggled to vindicate the huge price tag he was carrying in the tournament. He turned it around by hitting a memorable match-winning 103* against Gujarat Lions to end speculations about his batting ability in this format. All in all, Stokes was heavily responsible for RPS’ revival in IPL 2017.