Five-wicket hauls by uncapped players in Indian T20 League

It’s not everyday that you see a bowler take a five-wicket haul in the batting-friendly T20 format and it’s even rarer to see uncapped players achieve such a feat in cricket’s shortest format where bowlers are frequently at the mercy of batters and the conditions. 

However, a handful of uncapped bowlers have managed to claim five wickets in their quota of overs in the Indian T20 League over the years. 

Former India U-19 bowler Arshdeep Singh became the latest uncapped bowler to join this select list after finishing with figures of 5/32 for Punjab against Rajasthan in match 32 of Indian T20 League 2021 on Tuesday.

Unfortunately for Punjab, his spell went in vain as Rajasthan held their nerve to dramatically win the match in the last over. That said, Arshdeep can take solace and confidence from his five-wicket spell heading into the business end of the tournament.

Ankit Rajpoot was the first uncapped Indian bowler to take five wickets in an innings in 2018 when he finished with figures of 5/14 while playing for Punjab against Hyderabad. Coincidentally like Arshdeep, Ankit’s effort also came in a losing cause as Punjab fell short by 13 runs in the match.

Team Kolkata’s mystery spinner Varun Chakravarthy and Bangalore’s Harshal Patel are the other two uncapped players to have taken five wickets in an innings. 

Chakravarthy achieved the feat when he claimed five wickets against Delhi in 2020, while Harshal notched five scalps in an innings against Mumbai in 2021.

Overall, there have been a total of 24 five-wicket hauls claimed in the Indian T20 League across 13 seasons till date.

Uncapped bowlers with five-wicket hauls in Indian T20 League

Featured photo : Sajjad Hussain / AFP