There was a time when the appearance of an Englishman in the Indian Premier League was akin to a rare artefact. Indeed, in those parts, they used to say that only mad dogs and Englishmen go out in the midday sun. Well, in the early days of the tournament you’d have to be wild from too much heat to sign an Englishman.
Not anymore. England are the coming force in limited overs cricket. And this year there is a healthy crop of the best English talent. Indeed, Ben Stokes and Tymal Mills were so expensive in the auction that you wouldn’t have got much change from five million quid.
The pair are joined by Jos Buttler, Eoin Morgan, the limited overs captain, Sam Billings, Chris Woakes and Chris Jordan. They could be available for the whole shebang. It just depends on whether England takes seriously the visit of Ireland in early May. Mills definitely will be okay for the whole tournament as he plays only T20.
Paddy Power have decided to capitalize on this English interest by offering odds on who will be the top runscorer out of the lot of them and we reckon there is some standout value.
But before we reveal who it is, ask yourself some questions? Which batting position scores most runs in T20? Which position gets the opportunity to bat for longest, big total in first innings or small total in a chase? Which position gets a guaranteed go at the powerplay overs when cheap runs are available?
The answer you should come back with is the openers. So how green listed bookmaker have made Buttler the 3 jolly is anyone’s guess. It is more perplexing still that Stokes is the second favourite at 3.75. Neither of these men are slated to open for their franchises.
Buttler, who had a hugely disappointing season last year, is expected to bat at No 4. And that’s if Lendl Simmons doesn’t force his way into the side. A natural opener, he is likely to be kept out by Parthiv Patel and Rohit Sharma.
Stokes is down at No 5 and it would be a major surprise if he batted higher than No 4. Simply put, these chaps are not expected to do the bulk of the runscoring in their teams and will not even get that opportunity. They are two bad prices.
But Roy is expected to get the bulk of the runs for Gujarat Lions. And he will get the opportunity. He is 4.5 and he should be the favourite here instead of Buttler. It’s almost guaranteed that he will face more deliveries.
Morgan is not a bad shout at 5.5 but we’re not too sure how many games he will be starting for Kings XI Punjab. He goes up against David Miller and the owners may feel Miller, who was skip last year, is more their sort to do their bidding for them.
Billings at 7 is far from a shabby shout thanks to Delhi’s injury problems. His stock has risen without lifting a bat in anger. The loss of JP Duminy and the probable absence of Quinton de Kock, who has a finger problem, could see him catapulted him into the opener’s slot.
Calculators
