Basil Thampi

A few years ago, Basil Thampi was just another Keralite with dreams about supplementing his family income with a job in the Gulf - a common thing in the southern state of Kerala. A heartfelt talk with the captain of his club team and then a job at Chemplast - a cricket nursery in Tamil Nadu and Basil Thampi abandoned his plans of settling into a mundane job and put his heart and soul back into the game he loved.

IPL through the years

Thampi's tryst with destiny came weeks before the 2017 IPL auction. His ability to consistently bowl at speeds exceeding 140 kmph caught the attention of the franchises during the televised games of South Zone's Syed Mushtaq Ali T20 tournament. The result was a 85 lakh rupees bid by Gujarat Lions - a price that turned out to be a priceless bargain by the end of the tournament. Thampi started as an understudy and finished the tournament as the Lions' main bowler - with 11 wickets and the emerging player trophy to boot.

Having made his first-class debut in 2014, just out of his teens, Basil's CV at the IPL had Chris Gayle, Virat Kohli, MS Dhoni, Kieron Pollard and Hashim Amla as his scalps. He missed out on a few games in the 2017-18 Ranji season and completely missed the Vijay Hazare Trophy which followed the four-day tournament. But SRH showed faith in him and pocketed him for 95 lakhs ahead of the eleventh edition. Thampi had a forgettable 2018 season as he struggled for consistency and became the owner of an embarrassing record which is the most expensive figures by an Indian bowler in a T20 game; also, the most runs conceded by a bowler in IPL.