Despite T20 cricket being widely perceived as a format for young players, the ongoing season of the Indian Premier League has proven this stereotype wrong. In previous seasons, emerging young talent has often taken center stage, garnering attention and acclaim on the grandest stage. However, the 2023 edition of the IPL has been marked by a stark contrast, as the spotlight has shifted towards veterans making sensational comebacks. Forgotten stars of IPL’s past such as Mohit Sharma, Ishant Sharma, Amit Mishra, and Piyush Chawla are defying age and expectations, and performing exceedingly well for their respective teams.
Ishant, who has primarily been known as a red-ball specialist in recent times, showcased his skills in the T20 format during this season of the Indian Premier League. In a crucial match against defending champions Gujarat Giants, he successfully defended 12 runs in the last over, securing a five-run victory for his team, the Delhi Capitals. Although he initially missed out on a few games, Ishant’s performance led to his inclusion in Delhi’s XI midway through the season. Now, with the absence of Anrich Nortje, he has taken on the role of leading the pace attack for his team.
The 34-year-old Chawla made a sensational comeback this season and proved to everyone that he has still got it. Rohit Sharma banks heavily on the veteran leggie to provide crucial breakthroughs in the middle-order and he has been doing it incredibly well. Chawla is leading the wicket tally for MI this season with 17 scalps under his kitty.
Mishra might not look the fittest on the field but he still possesses the magic of bowling googlies and leg-spin deliveries. The fourth highest-wicket taker in IPL history is not looking to slow down and still doing the job for his team with the ball. He has claimed 6 wickets in as many matches this season. While we also saw him registering his highest IPL score 31 during the match against Royal Challengers Bangalore.
While without any shadow of a doubt, Mohit Sharma has been the comeback story of the season. The 34-year-old was the net bowler for Gujarat Titans last season but Ashish Nehra and the management bought him in the IPL 2023 mini-auction. Gujarat didn’t include him in the XI for the first few matches but he made his GT debut against Punjab Kings, claimed two wickets, and there is just no stopping for him after that.
He has been very calm and composed on his bowling as he is not showing any aggression on the field and focussing on bowling his disciplined line and length while mixing them well with his slower ones. He has claimed 12 wickets in 8 matches this season thus far at an economy rate of 6.96.
In a selected media interaction, one of the greatest pacers in Indian cricket history Jhulan Goswami replied to News18 Cricket a> xt’s query and gave her opinion on the veteran bowlers ruling the ongoing season of IPL. She said that all four bowlers have prepared well for the season and the results are in front of everybody.
“All the bowlers have bowled well. Not justified if you take one name because all of them are quality bowlers. They have performed for India and won the games for India whether its’ a One Day, T20I or Test cricket. Nobody underestimated their quality, the only concern was their injuries and availabilities. But this season they have prepared well, they played domestic cricket before joining the team," JioCinema’s Bengal Cricket Expert Jhulan Goswami replied to News18 CricketNext’s query.
Jhulan further hailed the veteran bowlers and pointed out that the comeback of Mohit Sharma has been the most impressive according to her.
“If you talk about Piyush Chawla, he did well for Gujarat and as well as in the local tournaments, he was playing. Mishra Ji was doing well, he is a quality bowler, and he knows how to set up the batter. Ishant Sharma is one of the quality bowlers India ever produced, he has played 100 Test matches for India. Everybody knows on a given day he can be a big threat. Most impressive has been Mohit Sharma, because nobody thought about him and when he made a comeback and perform for GT it was amazing to see," she concluded.
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