The ongoing edition of the Indian Premier League has been an absolute treat to witness so far as it has been producing some nail-biting contests, mostly high-scoring thrillers that are going right down to the wire. The breathtaking batting and bowling performances have kept us right at the edge of our seats and hooked to our television sets and streaming devices.
But, on looking past all these glorious performances, there have been some heartwarming stories of redemption as well that have made this season even more special. Some players who had started fading away into obscurity due to a dip in their performances over the years have redeemed themselves now with consistent and noteworthy performances in this IPL 2023 season, and here we shall take a look at them and how they have fared so far.
Ajinkya Rahane
The veteran India batter has been doing some unbelievable things this season. He is batting like a man possessed, in a way that nobody has seen him bat before. For instance, he has been playing in the IPL for 15 years now. The highest strike-rate he has ever recorded in a season is 137.89, which was in 2019. This year, Rahane has scored at a strike-rate of 189.83 over the course of seven matches. His aggressive avatar is something that has never been seen before.
Rahane's knock against KKR, where he smashed 71 from just 29 deliveries, showed the kind of form he is in right now. This is a great period for the 34-year-old who has endured some tough years. He has been playing as Test specialist for India for a long time now, but even his Test form took a hit that led to his ouster from the Indian squad last year. He was even stripped off from his position as vice-captain of the Indian Test side before that.
He had become an unwanted entity in the IPL as well. After encountering a tough season in 2020, when he amassed 113 runs at a poor average of 14.12, he featured in just nine matches over the next two seasons combined. His stint with KKR in 2022 wasn't successful either as he mustered only 133 runs at an average of 19.
However, joining CSK has brought about a change in his fortunes. He is averaging 52.25 in this season with more than 200 runs to his name and he has credited the CSK management and MS Dhoni for backing him.
"Mahi bhai's instruction was completely clear, just play with intent, back yourself, don't change anything else. If your intent is good, I have the shots that I can play at any ground so it was all about keeping it simple for me. I'm happy to bat anywhere. It's all about your mindset and what you want to do for your team," Rahane had said after his match-winning 61 against Mumbai Indians.
Mohit Sharma
Mohit Sharma has scripted yet another heartwarming story of redemption this season. The pacer used to wear the Indian jersey once and had even featured in the 2015 World Cup in Australia, where India made it to the semi-finals. He had also won the Purple Cap in IPL 2014. But his bowling form kept dipping after that and he became an unwanted asset in the IPL as well. 2020 was the last time he played an IPL game but a call from Ashish Nehra last year changed everything for Mohit again.
After recovering from a surgery, he played domestic cricket where he did well. Then, Nehra called him and asked him to be a net bowler for the Titans. Mohit could have taken it differently, but he was humble enough to consider it as a good opportunity.
"I have played domestic cricket in between. Last year I played domestic returning from a back surgery. Not many people knew I played domestic. Got a call from Ashu pa to stay with the team (Titans) after that," Mohit said after his match-winning spell against Punjab Kings on April 13.
"I thought it would be better than staying at home (about being a net bowler for GT last year). Being a net bowler is not a bad thing. Gives you a lot of exposure. The environment at GT is brilliant," the 34-year-old added.
Mohit has become a first-choice player for the Titans in the ongoing season of the IPL now. He has picked up six wickets in just five matches and has maintained a mean economy rate of 6.57 as well, while averaging only 15.33 runs per wicket.
Piyush Chawla
The 34-year-old wrist-spinner has featured regularly in the IPL since the inaugural edition. But his form had taken a hit in the last few seasons, more so when he joined CSK for a whopping amount of INR 6.75 crores after the IPL 2020 auction. He played seven games for CSK that season, picking up six wickets at an expensive economy rate of 9.09. Mumbai Indians acquired his services for INR 2.4 crores in the next season but he played just one game in 2021 and was released to the auction pool again.
Chawla's stocks took such a hit that he went unsold in the IPL 2022 auction. But fortunes changed this year as Mumbai bought him at his base price of INR t0 lakhs. Most pundits and fans weren't happy with his acquisition as he wasn't in form and MI didn't have any other experienced spinner in their lineup either. But Chawla has shut his critics up in a grand manner this time as he is Mumbai's highest wicket-taker in IPL 2023 right now.
The wrist-spinner has picked up 13 wickets in just eight games so far, going at 17.38 runs a piece. His economy rate of 7.29 also paints a pretty good picture of how well he has bowled. Chawla has given MI the wicket-taking threat they needed in the middle-overs, and it is working wonders for them right now.
Ishant Sharma
Ishant is another old workhorse who had lost his sting in between, but he is back now showing his experience at the biggest stage of T20 cricket again. A few years back, he used to be the leader of India's pace attack in Tests and he had established himself as an useful bowler in the IPL as well.
In the IPL 2019 season, Ishant played a pivotal role for Delhi Capitals, picking up 13 wickets in as many games, at a good economy rate of 7.58. But he started struggling with injuries after that, which resulted in loss in form and rhythm. The next period of two years, Ishant wasn't a first team player for his IPL side anymore and he also went on to lose his spot in the Indian Test side.
But the 34-year-old worked hard on his fitness and made a terrific comeback as an impact player in a match against KKR this season. Ishant bowled a match-winning spell in that game, registering figures of 2/19 in just four overs, which helped Delhi to end a losing streak of four games. He was also adjudged the Player of the Match for his excellent spell. Ishant has gone on to play two more games after that, and he has four wickets to his name at an excellent average of 17.00.
Venkatesh Iyer
2021 turned out to be a great year for Venkatesh Iyer as he made his mark as a top-order batter for Kolkata Knight Riders. Iyer smashed 370 runs at an average of 41.11 in that season, and played a pivotal role in KKR's run to the final. He scored plenty of runs in domestic cricket as well that year and it led to an Indian team call up for him as well. He went on to feature in nine T20Is and a couple of ODIs for India there on, but things turned upside down in the IPL 2022 season.
Iyer looked like a pale shadow of the player he was in 2021 as he mustered just 182 runs in IPL 2022 at a poor average of 16.55. His strike-rate of 107.69 wasn't on acceptable levels either. KKR had let Shubman Gill go in order to retain Iyer for a whopping sum of INR 8 crores, and these were definitely not the returns they were looking for.
The KKR fans also became unhappy as they saw Gill succeed with the Titans, and here was Iyer struggling with his own issues. He was regaining form in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy thereafter but a freak ankle injury put him on the sidelines once again. He spent six months in NCA for rehabilitation after that and, although it takes time to get back into rhythm as a player after recovery, Iyer didn't waste any time.
This IPL season has turned out to be an excellent one for him once again. He is averaging over 30 and has an overall strike-rate of 148.74 as well. That's not all, Iyer even scored KKR's first century since Brendon McCullum's memorable 158* in the inaugural edition of the IPL in 2008. It came against the Mumbai Indians and Iyer had also played another match-winning knock of 83 against the Gujarat Titans earlier in the season. Right now, he is KKR's highest run-scorer with 296 runs to his name in nine matches, and he will be eager to carry the good form forward.
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