IPL 2024: 5 Overseas Batsmen To Watch Out For In The Tournament. The first game of IPL 2024 will be played on March 22 at the Chepauk stadium between Chennai Super Kings vs Royal Challengers Bangalore. The beginning twenty-one (21) matches have been scheduled albeit no dates for the rest of them have been announced yet.
This is because of upcoming Lok Sabha elections in India scheduled to take place between April and May. The board has decided not to release IPL’s 17th edition schedule until after election dates are officially announced. According to Dhumal, just a fortnight program shall be published first with others being determined later after general election dates’ announcement.
This tactic is akin to previous examples such as the entire tournament South Africa-hosted 2009 edition and UAE-hosted half part 2014 event due to the General Election. Despite political urgency, the Indian Premier League has usually structured its fixtures synchronously with democratic processes within the country.
Also Read: IPL 2024: 5 Indian Batsmen To Watch Out For In The Tournament
IPL 2024: 5 Overseas Batsmen To Watch Out For In The Tournament
1.Rachin Ravindra
Rachin Ravindra, a Kiwi Batsman, was bought by the Chennai Super Kings at the IPL auction in Dubai for Rs 1.8 crore. Delhi Capitals and Chennai Super Kings initiated the bidding war on Ravindra with Punjab joining later at Rs.1.1 crore each but Chennai Super Kings emerged winners. Ravindra came into the limelight during the 2023 ODI World Cup held in India where he bagged 578 runs in ten innings, earning him fourth place on the top run-getters list of that tournament.
Additionally, in his 20 matches for New Zealand’s T20 team, Rachin has aggregated 214 runs at an average of 16.46 and a strike rate of 133.78 which stands as his best performance so far. It is worth noting that he bowls with his left-hand finger spin and is also good to bat lower down the order if needed thus making him versatile enough while playing
2.Travis Head
The Sunrisers Hyderabad in the IPL 2024 auction in Dubai successfully bought Australian batsman Travis Head for a huge sum of 6.8 crore rupees after a heated bidding battle with Chennai Super Kings. SRH began their bid for Head as the first bidder following his outstanding performance during the World Cup semi-finals and finals which earned him Player of The Match.
Last year, even though he was left unsold for a base price of Rs 2 Crore when sold, Head’s World Cup performance caused a craze among teams that wanted to buy him. Earlier on, he had played for Royal Challengers Bangalore in the IPL during the years of 2016 and 2017, getting only 205 runs from ten matches at an average of 29.29 and thereby recording a strike rate of 138.51.
3.Daryl Mitchell
In the IPL 2024 auction held in Dubai, Chennai Super Kings purchased New Zealand all-rounder Daryl Mitchell for a whopping Rs. 14 crore. At first, Delhi Capitals and Punjab Kings were in a fierce bidding war which ended when Delhi withdrew. Afterwards, Punjab Kings fought fiercely against CSK before being overpowered by them.
Nevertheless, he has only scored just 33 runs for Rajasthan Royals from 2 matches and hasn’t picked any wickets yet as well. He is yet to score any fifties or hundreds but the season is still prospects are high.
Also Read: World Test Championship (WTC) Points Table 2023-25 (Updated) After IND vs ENG 4th Test
4.Rilee Rossouw
During the 2024 auction of IPL, Punjab Kings won the bidding war with Delhi Capitals on South African cricketer Rilee Rossouw. At Rs 2 crores, which was his base price, Rossouw had not been purchased before but in the end, he has found his home with Punjab Kings after triumphing over various offers from Delhi-based team.
Rilee Rossouw has played in 14 games only throughout his career that gave him 262 runs, with the highest score at 82 not out. The average is 21.83 while the strike rate is 136.4. Only once have they reached half-centuries while they have recorded a total of 20 boundaries and 14 sixes.
5.Rovman Powell
The IPL’s first player was sold during the 2024 Dubai auction and this time it was Rovman Powell who made history. He was bought by Rajasthan Royals for Rs. 7.4 crores, which is a huge amount in my opinion. Kolkata Knight Riders had been previously in competition with Rajasthan Royals for his services and ultimately they won the bidding war that preceded his move from Delhi Capitals to Kolkata Knight Riders at IPL level.
Rovman Powell has scored 257 runs from 17 games in their career with an unbroken highest score of sixty-seven runs. Their batting average is 19.77 while maintaining a strike rate of 146.02 which is considered admirable. Only fifty-plus scores have been attained by them apart from 11 boundaries, and 22 sixes hit.
