New Zealand tall pacer William O’Rourke grabbed everyone’s attention with a brilliant performance in the first Test match against India at the Chinnaswamy Stadium, Bengaluru. He led the New Zealand bowling attack that bowled India for just 46 runs in the first innings, taking four wickets. Furthermore, he added 3 more wickets to his kitty in the second innings.
Before this match, he had taken 19 wickets in four Tests. With the upcoming IPL auction, several teams would like to strengthen their squads by targeting O’Rourke. Let’s take a look at the teams that can target William O’Rourke in the auction.
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Bombay Indians
Mumbai Indians, who finished last last year, still have the best batting line-up in the IPL, however, their bowling, especially the foreign players, has been a weak point. They need to strengthen their bowling attack as only Jasprit Bumrah will remain in the bowling department for the upcoming season. Foreign bowlers like Coetzee, Mphaka and Untilhara performed below average last year, so MI had to depend entirely on Bumrah.
William O’Rourke could be a strong addition to MI. Wankhede’s delivery sometimes provides some support to the fast bowlers and gives them that extra bounce, which can benefit O’Rourke. Bringing him in could give MI the overseas bowling strength they lacked last season and ease the pressure on Bumrah.
Riders of the Knights of Calcutta
IPL 2024 champions Kolkata Knight Riders have a good all-round team with respect to batting, bowling and fielding. However, their overseas fast bowling remains one of the weak points as they only have Mitchell Starc in the lineup. Starc, who was bought for a whopping Rs 24.75 crore last season, got off to a slow start but performed exceptionally well in the playoffs.
It will be quite difficult for KKR to retain Starc at such a high price as they have also retained other key players. If they lose him, then KKR will have to turn to William O’Rourke for their team. Like Wankhede, Eden Gardens has become a pace-friendly ground, so O’Rourke could be a great addition to the team.
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Chennai Super Kings
Chennai Super Kings, who missed the playoffs last season, will look to make changes in the upcoming auction, especially to strengthen their bowling attack. Of the foreign players, Matheesha Pathirana is likely to be retained, along with Deepak Chahar from the Indian group. CSK could consider targeting someone like William O’Rourke to boost their pace department.
They had Mustafizur Rahman last season but he had to leave mid-way because the Bangladesh matches were scheduled and he is not the bowler he used to be. The other reason why O’Rourke could be a good fit is CSK’s tradition of signing New Zealanders. They already have Conway, Rachin Ravindra, Daryl Mitchell and Santner. Previously, many Kiwis played for them. With Stephen Fleming as coach, CSK could try to bring in O’Rourke.
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