বরিন্দর স্রান

There wasn't anything extraordinary about Barinder Sran's domestic numbers when he was thrown into the cauldron of international cricket in 2016. That came on the tour of Australia made it tougher for him but the left-arm pacer hailing from Haryana. His ability to surprise the batsmen with his hit-the-deck ploy and the left-armer's variety were the reasons he got picked for the national team. By his own admission back then, the dearth of left-arm pacers in the country helped his cause with no real competitors in sight. It was a training camp in Dubai where he caught the eyes of Rahul Dravid and consequently got an IPL contract with Rajasthan Royals albeit playing a solitary game.

Sran has only played a handful of games in white-ball cricket for the country although he remains the reckoning for India's steadily rising pace stocks. Sran has continued to have good exposure in the IPL, where he was part of the title-winning Sunrisers Hyderabad in 2016. In that tournament, he had to shoulder a major responsibility in the latter stages when veteran Ashish Nehra got hit by injury. Despite not producing stunning numbers, Sran was quietly effective, mostly picking vital wickets. Since his initial year in 2016, he hasn't played in national colors but the selectors definitely haven't forgotten him.

By Hariprasad Sadanandan