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Is the IPL ready for Kesrick Williams' notebook and Sheldon Cottrell's salute?

Five exciting West Indies players who could make a splash at next week's auction

Deivarayan Muthu
12-Dec-2019
BCCI

BCCI

Around this time last year, a bunch of West Indies players, plucked out of the CPL, toured India and pressed on to bag IPL deals. One year later, West Indies are in India again, showcasing their T20 skills and smarts to IPL scouts as well as the rest of the world. With the IPL 2020 auction exactly a week away, ESPNcricinfo takes a closer look at how West Indies' IPL hopefuls fared against India in the three-match T20I series.
Three years after enjoying a breakout CPL season and attracting IPL attention, Williams is back on the international as well as IPL radar. Williams was particularly impressive with his pace and length variations against India, and his tussle with Virat Kohli jazzed up the three-match T20I series.
On a flat Wankhede track in the decider on Wednesday evening, Williams conceded 14 off his first three balls to India opener KL Rahul, but overcame that start and ended up conceding 37 in his four overs - pretty impressive given India made 240 - and taking the wicket of Rohit Sharma. Among bowlers from Test-playing nations with a minimum of 20 T20I wickets, Williams now has the fourth-best strike-rate (12.7) of all time.
By the time Williams was pinning Kohli down at the Wankhede, reports had emerged that he had belatedly elbowed his way into the IPL auction list.
Williams also has the reputation of being an entertainer like Dwayne Bravo and Darren Sammy. His signature notebook celebration, which Kohli recently mimicked, has gone viral on social media. His celebratory antics also include the selfiebration run, which became popular when he was part of Rajshahi Kings with Sammy in the Bangladesh Premier League.
Left-arm variety. Outstanding fielder. Entertainer. Crowd favourite. Cottrell makes for an exciting T20 package, and could well earn his maiden IPL gig come December 19. The white ball barely swings these days, but Cottrell found movement in the air in all three T20Is against India - although he couldn't quite control it in Thiruvananthapuram. Cottrell also has quite a few variations in his repertoire, including the slower bouncer and the offcutter, which has served him well in the end overs.
"Yes, I think he's been brilliant for the West Indies in both formats of white-ball cricket," West Indies coach Phil Simmons said of Cottrell. "He was brilliant with St Kitts [& Nevis Patriots], whom I was with three years ago. He knows his game, and exactly what he can do."
IPL, are you ready for Sheldon Cottrell's grand salute?
The player of the CPL 2018 final. A left-arm fingerspinner, Pierre has been Trinbago Knight Riders' go-to bowler in the CPL over the past two years, particularly in the powerplay. The step-up to international cricket hasn't been the smoothest, but he has shown that he can bowl defensively and squeeze the opposition, even in dewy conditions.
Overseas fingerspinners aren't usually in demand at IPL auctions, but will Kolkata Knight Riders management take a punt on him? Brendon McCullum and Carl Crowe, the head and spin-bowling coaches at TKR, are set to perform similar roles at KKR.
After lighting up CPL 2019 with his wrong'uns and electric fielding, Walsh Jr. is finding his feet at the international level. He leaked runs against Afghanistan, but tightened up against India and came close to dismissing Kohli both in Hyderabad and Thiruvananthapuram. Then, on an absolute belter in the series decider in Mumbai, Walsh Jr. held his own and returned figures of 0 for 38. Sure, he has the variations, but he showed he could also bowl defensively and contain the opposition in the second game.
The Guyana Amazon Warriors opening batsman, who was the find of CPL 2019 along with Walsh Jr., has been used as a floater in West Indies' line-up on this trip to India. He made a compact 39 on ODI debut against Afghanistan in Lucknow, but was bothered by slower bowlers in the following T20I series, managing scores of 4,12 and 1.
King then played a fine cameo in the series opener against India, but fell cheaply in the face of a steep chase in the decider. Ahead of the auction, King has one more chance in the first ODI in Chennai to boost his claims for an IPL deal.

Deivarayan Muthu is a sub-editor at ESPNcricinfo