Despite being labelled as one of the world’s finest batsman across formats in the last decade, Hashim Amla failed to find any takers in the Indian Premier League auctions not long ago.
As it the case with life, it doesn’t take long for a player to be stereotyped. For many years, despite the thousands of runs he has amassed, the South African was bracketed as someone who could never accelerate in the manner of, say, Brendon McCullum or Chris Gayle. It could also be the reason why the franchises weren’t involved in a bidding war whenever Amla’s name went under the hammer season after season. He might have still be struggling to find a place in the IPL, had Shaun Marsh not suffered an injury last year.
With the increasing demand for batsmen to have strike rates in excess of 130 and possess a wide range of shots (read 360 degree shotmaking), players with a textbook range of strokes are becoming susceptible in the shortest format of the game.
Cheteshwar Pujara still has a lot of convincing to do before franchise cricket takes him seriously as T20 batsman. Scoring runs quickly has now become a mantra that teams follow in five-day cricket as well. In the recent past, India skipper Virat Kohli revealed that he had asked Pujara to improve his strike rate.
It could perhaps not be a question of reputation at all. After all, the balance that players bring in to their respective teams is also of paramount importance. How else can one explain Martin Guptill not finding a team previously, despite being one of the most dangerous batsman in white-ball cricket?
Amla’s mastery in T20s
The last year has been significant for the 34-year-old in T20s, having brought up five scores in excess of 50 in international cricket. During this period, he also notched up his highest score – a rollicking unbeaten 97 against a formidable Australia bowling attack.
Having played crucial roles in the two Kings XI Punjab victories at the start of the IPL, there were signs of Amla notching up a quality knock. While Mumbai Indians struggled to find any sort of rhythm with the ball, Amla was in supreme control of his wristwork.
It is the Protea’s flexible writs that has helped him become ever so dangerous with his drives and flicks. With Lasith Malinga struggling for pace so far, the Sri Lankan was treated with utmost disdain all around the wicket. Brute force never came with so much finesse. IPL’s all-time highest wicket-taker was picked apart for 51 runs from just 16 balls by Amla.
Having ironed out a lean patch in Test cricket, stemming from a disastrous tour of India in 2015, Amla has steadily got back to his run-scoring ways, showing why he has had an average in excess of 50 in two formats for much of the recent past.
The tales of classic batsmen in IPL
Just like Amla, New Zealand skipper Kane Williamson also had a tough beginning in the IPL. The Sunrisers Hyderabad side, brimming with quality talent, overlooked Williamson initially.
But Williamson pounced on the first opportunity he got in some style, when he played against the misfiring Delhi Daredevils and slammed 89 from just 51 balls. There were no unorthodox shots that would resonate with the AB de Villiers or Glenn Maxwell school of batting. It was nothing close to David Warner’s belligerence or Virat Kohli’s flamboyance. But it was just as entertaining.
So much for ‘proper batsmen’ failing to get quick runs in the format.
Not the main man? No problem
It comes as no surprise that it is batsmen who are under pressure to dominate proceedings from the first ball who have struggled the most in the tournament’s history. Maxwell, currently enjoying a fine run with the bat, was all at sea last season.
Rohit Sharma also went through a string of poor scores at the start of the season. Even the 10,000-run man, Chris Gayle failed to inspire things at the top of the order in the first few games for Royal Challengers Bangalore, before regularly sending the ball to the top tier against Gujarat Lions.
Be it Amla or Williamson, they are happy to play second fiddle and hand the strike back to their partners. For all the hits over the ropes, Amla brought up 24 singles in his 104.
There is no one set template that constitutes into a batsman becoming a great. Amla, just like Williamson, proved that touch artists can cause as much mayhem than the ones looking to muscle the ball out of the park.