6. YUSUF PATHAN (KKR)
In an interview given to our website earlier this month, the 33-year old all-rounder from Baroda said that he sees a different Yusuf Pathan in the mirror nowadays. No wonder he emerged as one of KKR skipper Gautam Gambhir’s biggest trump cards this season. Making rapid strides in the field of batsmanship, Pathan remained unbeaten eight times in IPL 9, compared to the 5 not outs he recorded last year. KKR’s top order, which saw the team throughseveral times in the germinal stages of the tournament, started to fade away as the tournament approached its back end. Shouldering the burden of a fragile middle order, he along with Andre Russell steadied the ship on numerous occasions by pulling their side out of deep waters.
All in all, the senior Pathande monstrated immense maturity in the recently concludedIPL which required him to sacrifice his aggressive instincts and assume a more sensible role, which worked quitewell for Kolkata Knight Riders.His knocks of 60* (29) against RCB at the Chinnaswamy Stadium, 37* (18) against RPS at the Eden Gardens and 52* (34) against SRH at the Eden again, played key roles in helping the Knights secure playoff berths.For a person who walks out to the crease at number 5 or 6 in majority of games, scoring 361 runs from 15 games at an average of 72.20 speaks volumes ofhis newfound confidence. His average of 72.20 is the second highest by any batsman (behind Kohli) and highest by any KKR player in IPL 2016.All those runs came at a strike rate of 145.56 which happens to be the 13th best strike for any player this season. Entrusted with the task of finishing games, his impressive track record also comprises of 13 sixes and it amply illustrates the kind of impact he had on specific situations. Despite boasting of encouraging stats in the bowling facet, Gambhir’s underutilisation of Pathan, the spinner baffled most experts. With Yusuf set to play for the Abahani Limited in the DPL in Bangladesh, he still harbours hopes of making a comeback into the Indian limited overs team.
Stats- Batting-Matches 15, Runs 361, HS 63*, N.O 8, Avg.- 72.20, S/R 145.56, 3 fifties.
Bowling- Overs 6, Wickets 1, Bowl. Avg.- 33, Eco.- 5.50.
