Jason Behrendorff

Jason Behrendorff (born 20 April 1990), a NSW born left-arm fast bowler is a promising young Australian quick. Having grown up in Canberra, he represented the Australian Capital Territory before switching to Western Australia to make his first-class debut in the 2011-12 season, picking up 13 wickets in his five Shield appearances. The following season saw him turn up for the Perth Scorchers in the Big Bash League.

Behrendorff came into his own in the 2013-14 season of the Sheffield Shield where he finished as the second highest wicket taker with 40 scalps at a miserly average of 22.70. He continued his good form into the BBL as well and played a key role in his team’s title triumph. He followed it up in the next season by picking 15 wickets in ten matches at an average of 16.73, driving his team to its second consecutive title. His performances saw him being voted as the ‘Domestic Player of the Year’ for the 2014-15 season.

Behrendorff continued to peg away in the domestic circuit with impressive performances and also shone for the Australia A side. With a formidable bunch of pacers playing in the national side, it was difficult for him to break into the squad although he had been touted to be a future superstar by everyone who had watched him bowl. It took a while before he was finally handed his international debut for Australia and it came on the tour to India in 2017 during the T20I series. He made an emphatic statement straightaway, snaring a 4-fer that removed the cream of the Indian top order to set up a convincing Australian victory.

Blessed with a tall frame, Behrendorff has the ability to extract bounce from any surface due to his height and also has the ability to swing the ball appreciably both ways. Add to this the variety of a left-armer and you know why he is a special talent. He is considered an all-format bowler due to the depth of his bowling repertoire. With Australia having a potent pace trio of Starc-Hazlewood-Cummins, it is a known fact that someone like Behrendorff will have to wait for his opportunities and also grab them whenever they do present themselves.

And that happened during the 2018-19 season with Starc and Hazlewood injured for a lengthy period. Behrendorff got a decent run in the white-ball squads and was a surprise pick for the 2019 World Cup, as he wasn't expected to be in the 15. However, the decision to leave out Hazlewood saw him get his maiden World Cup call up. He picked up his maiden fifer in a game against England in that World Cup.

IPL through the years

Behrendorff was first picked up by the Mumbai Indians in 2018 but was soon ruled out due to injury. His IPL debut came the following year but he failed to make a mark. In 2021, CSK signed him as a replacement to an injured Josh Hazlewood and he was picked up by RCB the following year in 2022. However, it was when he came back to Mumbai in 2023 that he found notable success. Given a long run of 12 games, Behrendorff did not disappoint as he returned 14 wickets at a SR of 18.

By Hariprasad Sadanandan