4 Indian players who could be valuable additions to BBL sides

With the 2018 IPL being highlighted with performances from Indian cricketers and it oft happened that the uncapped locals outshone the overseas imports who the franchises spent so much from their purse to rope in. Even with India's success in the shortest format of the game in the international realm, the criticism about India not producing a lot of T20 specialist cricketers had always hovered.

Things turned around this year as the Indians dominated the scoring and wicket taking charts apart from the toppers, this sudden turn-around has its share of implications too. With reports emerging during the IPL about the possibility of the BCCI permitting Indian representation in the overseas franchise leagues. The next ICC World T20 will be held in 2020 in Australia and it would be an excellent opportunity for the Indian bench strength, as the national mainstays cannot participate due to their international fixtures, to partake in the Big Bash League and the imbibed experience can be of great help to their chances in the team as well as overall development as cricketers.

Here are four players whose involvement with particular BBL sides will make for exciting prospects.

---

Krunal Pandya- Perth Scorchers

The Baroda all-rounder has gone from strength to strength each year, while 2016 was his breakout year owing to his exploits with the bat, in the following two seasons he became an important part of the Mumbai Indians set up by serving both as a front-line spinner and a batsman for all occasions. Last year, he was the Man-of-the-Match in the finals while this time around he had this best season with the ball, 12 wickets at an average of 23.66 striking once almost every 20 balls.

Since the Scorchers will be moving to the newly constructed Optus Stadium this year, a spinner like Krunal who relies on accuracy will be crucial given the nature of the pitch there. With Ashton Agar now a regular member of the white ball sides, Krunal is an excellent replacement for him in all the facades Agar excels in.

Siddarth Kaul- Sydney Sixers

Kaul's potential inclusion in the magenta colours does not have as much to do with the venue he'll be playing at, it is more of a very specific personnel requirement. Few in the world have the skill and character to step into the retired Doug Bollinger's shoes, perhaps Shapoor Zadran from Afghanistan is the one who comes the closest after Kaul.

Fast swing bowling with the shining white ball, suffocating scoring restrictions via skillfully executed knuckle balls and searing yorkers at the back end of the innings, Sid Kaul, the man hardened by the rigors of domestic cricket before coming into IPL limelight, is the bowler you would want in your squad not just to get those all-important wickets, but to be the energetic core in the side to rev up everyone.

Oh, and the headband!

Rishabh Pant- Adelaide Strikers

In an ideal world, every overseas import a franchise signs to play at the Adelaide Oval is Virat Kohli. Sadly for the South Australia based franchise, Kohli has a very committing national contract and a demanding line of apparels to look after.

The man who lit up the IPL with his frustrating run out spree nonchalant hitting in an otherwise dimmed downside of Delhi Daredevils, Pant will be a very good asset to the Strikers in case Alex Carey has to turn out in the green and gold, the fast wicket of the refurbished Adelaide Oval and the opportunity to bat at the top of the order against the fast Aussie bowlers, all making it an excellent assignment for him. 2018 was an excellent season for Pant, fresh off from a 32-ball 100 in the Syed Mushtaq Trophy, he bettered his cumulative IPL stats of two seasons later in April and May.

His interaction with the Strikers coach Jason Gillespie is bound to bring out the huge potential for greatness he possesses as Gillespie is known for his knack of allowing his troops to express themselves in a way that befits them the most.

Ambati Rayudu- Melbourne Stars

The Stars have had the same woebegone tale every year since the inception of the BBL, making through to the semis without ever winning with and their campaign featuring Englishmen who are not exactly reliable on the big days, with Kevin Pietersen and Luke Wright gone after years of association, the Stars will need batsmen who can adapt to the multitude of the situations presented by the format. This is where Ambati Rayudu comes to the fore.

Rayudu always had the talent, in his ICL days, in his Mumbai Indians days, but it was not until 2018 that he unsheathed all of it into performances on the field and numbers on the chart. He readily became a floater for CSK and excelled wherever he was asked to bat at. Outscoring his previous best season aggregate by a whopping 207 runs, Rayudu was integral in CSK's title win. The MCG will suit his style of play as he likes to settle into the innings by means of steady accumulation and later changes gears by threading the gaps and believe me, there are a lot of those at the MCG.