Some West Indian boys had solid season in IPL 2021

By Brandon Corlette

Champion Dwayne Bravo, captain Kieron Pollard, Evin Lewis, Shimron Hetmyer, Jason Holder and Sunil Narine were the standout West Indian players in the 2021 edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL).
In his 11 matches for Chennai Super Kings, Bravo claimed 14 wickets at an average of 18.78 and an economy rate of 7.81. During this season, Bravo also became the second highest wicket-taker in the history of IPL. He has a tally of 167 wickets, three behind Lasith Malinga.

Moreover, Bravo became the player with the most championships in T20 cricket with 16 titles, one behind Pollard.
West Indies captain Keiron Pollard also had a good IPL season with Mumbai Indians, scoring 245 runs (most among West Indians in IPL 2021) for Mumbai Indians in 13 innings.
During this IPL, Pollard became the first man to score 10,000 T20 runs and take 300 wickets. Important as he is, the player slammed a high-score of 87* and faced 165 balls in the tournament, striking at 148.4, an averaging 30.62. He also took important wickets with the ball.

Hetmyer finished the tournament with the highest batting strike-rate, and won the Super Striker Award. In his 13 innings, he scored 242 runs facing only 144 balls, and recorded an average of 34.57 and a high-score of 53.
The injury-prone Andre Russell did not have the impact he would have wanted for KKR, scoring 183 runs in nine innings, striking at 152 and averaging 26.14. Russell took 5-15, but ended with 11 wickets in eight innings.
Mystery man Sunil Narine was again outstanding with the ball, claiming 16 wickets in 14 matches at 22.5. He had a stellar economy rate of 6.44 and a best bowling figure of 4-21, playing an important role for the finalists, KKR.

10 innings 62 runs

The Universe Boss, who left the IPL bubble to focus on the T20 World Cup, scored 193 runs at 21.44, striking at 125. In his 10 innings, he had a high-score of 46.
Gayle’s Punjab Kings team mate Nicholas Pooran had an ordinary season, scoring 85 runs in 11 innings at an average of 7.72.

Fabian Allen pulled off some stunning catches, but he claimed one wicket in four matches.
The replacement player Lewis played five matches for Rajastan Royals, and scored 151 runs at 30.2, striking at 162 and a high-score of 58.

Holder was the man whose consistent performances for Sunrisers did all the talking. He picked up 16 wickets, (joint highest among West Indians in IPL 2021), his scalps coming at a top average of 15.43 and a solid economy rate of 7.75. He also played useful knocks with the bat.
With a mega-auction set for the 2022 IPL, these West Indian players and others would fancy their chances in the 2022 edition of the IPL.
Some of these players have added confidence with their IPL performances as the T20 World Cup looms.