Last Updated on 4 years by Charbel Coorey
CPL 2020 Review: 5 Unexpected Heroes from the Tournament. 5 players who defied expectations and performed well in CPL 2020.
After 24 days of sheer competitive cricket, the Caribbean Premier League (CPL) has finally come to an end. Trinbago Knight Riders (TKR) were crowned as the winner, becoming the first team to go through an entire CPL season unbeaten. While there were no crowds (and lost balls as a result), there were some fabulous individual performances, nail-biting finishes and smart tactics on the field.
Also, there were some cricketers who performed much better than the experts had expected from them. Thus, they emerged as the unexpected heroes in the tournament. In this article, I am going to name five of them. Here we go.
5. Kyle Mayers
Kyle Mayers was one of those rare shining lights for the Barbados Tridents in their disastrous campaign. The defending champions were able to win just three times, out of which Mayers played a crucial role in two of them. Except some matches in the latter half of the CPL, he was their premier batsman this season, having scored 222 runs including a match-winning knock of 85 runs from just 59 balls with three fours and six sixes. He was the top scorer for the Tridents amidst big names like Shai Hope, Corey Anderson etc.
4. Naveen-ul-Haq
Naveen-ul-haq is one of the rare fast bowlers who did extremely well in the CPL 2020; a tournament dominated mostly by the spinners. We were aware of the weakness in the fast bowling department of Guyana prior to the start of the tournament. It was not easy for a 20-year old to take the responsibility on his shoulders and perform brilliantly, which Naveen has done. The Afghan quick has emerged as the most successful fast bowler from the Guyana team by picking 11 wickets from 10 games at a good average of 19.09. His economy was below six on four occassions, bowling his full quota in almost all of them, which is quite phenomenal.
3. Glenn Phillips
Jamaica Tallawahs had great names like Russell, Rovman Powell and Carlos Brathwaite under their belt. But, the man who rocked the stage from their side was Glenn Phillips. The New Zealand keeper-batsman scored 316 runs at an average of over 35 with a good SR of almost 128. Also, Phillips is the only overseas batsman in the list of top five run getters in this CPL. He was consistent throughout the tournament and it seemed like the slowness of the surface in the latter half of the league didn’t affect his batting to a great extent unlike many other batsmen.
2. Akeal Hosein
If you ask me which youngster the West Indies should look up to basing on his performance in the CPL this year, I would say it’s Akeal Hosein. West Indies have a rich culture of producing quality seamers and powerful hitters, but Hosein belongs to the breed of orthodox spinners, which is something not naturally evolved from the West Indies.
He was prolific in the CPL this season having taken 10 wickets from seven games, including a game-changing spell of 3/14 from 4 overs in the crucial Semi Final clash against the Jamaica Tallawahs. Also, his economy of mere 5.56 signifies his smartness with the ball. He kept things tight, beat the batsman with his flight and thus appeared as a promising future prospect for the West Indies national side across formats. Amidst the big names of Narine, Bravo and Pollard, Hosein was the unexpected jewel to have shown his brilliance for TKR.
1. Scott Kuggeleijn
Before the start of the CPL, there was almost nothing to say about the St Lucia Zouks. They were thought to be the weakest team this year, and the experts had expected them to finish at the bottom of the points table. But, they went on to play the Final, proving every speculation wrong.
Scott Kuggeleijn was one of the chief architects of this glorious journey of the Zouks. The St. Lucia spearhead finished as the highest wicket-taker with 17 wickets from 11 games, at a terrific SR of 12.06. He used his variations to a great extent and bowled some noteworthy spells, including a fine 3/24 in his 4 overs against mighty Guyana Amazon Warriors. He emerged as the best bowler of the tournament despite guys like DJ Bravo, Imran Tahir and Rashid Khan participating. So, he is an ultimate name to be included in this list.
So, this is my list of five players who contributed much more than expected from them. Thus, they have emerged definitely as the unexpected heroes in the CPL this year. Does any other player come to mind? Have your say!
Thanks for reading!
Written by Debashish Sarangi. Follow Debashish on Twitter today.
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