SA20 League: Five top bowlers to keep an eye on with seven days left
The new highly anticipated franchise T20 league from South Africa - SA20 - kicks off on January 10, 2023, with six teams competing. Look out for these five top bowlers who will light up the venues in South Africa in SA20 2023
Kagiso RabadaKagiso Rabada (Mumbai Indians Cape Town):
Rabada needs no introduction in the cricketing world. He is ranked 42nd in the ICC rankings of men's T20 bowlers. However, he is a much better bowler than the rankings suggest.
Rabada is a big-match player and can change the match anytime. He bowls brilliant yorkers at the death overs and has a surprising bouncer as a weapon in his arsenal.
Rabada has taken 210 wickets in T20 cricket with an average of 22.47 and an economy rate of 7.96.
Tabraiz Shamsi (Paarl Royals):
The Paarl Royals have bought Tabraiz Shamsi. He is ranked sixth in the ICC Men's T20 Bowler Rankings and is one of the best bowlers in T20 cricket at the moment.
He has taken 237 wickets in this format at an average of 21.81 and an economy rate of 7.23.
Shamsi can spin the ball in either direction and has several variations up his sleeve. He can confuse both right-handed and left-handed batters.
Rashid Khan (Mumbai Indians Cape Town)
Rashid Khan is ranked second in the ICC Men's T20 bowlers rankings and is one of the best T20 bowlers in modern cricket.
He has taken 490 wickets in T20 cricket, at an average of 17.89 and an economy of 6.37. Rashid Khan is the first choice for franchises all over the world. He has won many titles for his franchises in IPL and other leagues, and his experience is unmatched in T20 cricket.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Just some of the stars set to play for MI Cape Town in the SA20 competition in January 🤯<br><br>Archer, Khan, Rabada and Curran in the same bowling attack! <a href="https://t.co/OG4dzj8Nr8">pic.twitter.com/OG4dzj8Nr8</a></p>— Wisden (@WisdenCricket) <a href="https://twitter.com/WisdenCricket/status/1595733310356987904?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 24, 2022</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
Maheesh Theekshana (Joburg Super Kings)
Sri Lankan Maheesh Theekshana is currently ranked 10th in the ICC rankings for men's T20 bowlers. He is a very effective spin bowler who can be used in the powerplay and the middle overs.
Theekshana has taken 98 wickets in T20 cricket at an average of 21.25 and an economy of 6.32, making him a precious player in T20 cricket as he frustrates batters and forces them to make mistakes.
Theekshana has won many matches in Sri Lanka, and his spells will also be displayed in SA20.
Josh Little (Pretoria Capitals)
This young bowler is in great form. He has been impressed with his talent to pick up wickets regularly in his short career.
He has taken 105 wickets in T20 cricket so far, at an average of 20.46 and an economy rate of 7.34.
The highlight of his career was the ICC Men's T20 World Cup, where he took a hat-trick against New Zealand and set the world stage on fire.
Josh Little bowls with great accuracy and only gives a little space to the batters to score free runs. He will surely be one of the best bowlers of SA20 2023.