The rise of Deepak Hooda: IPL has always been known for scouting young talents, harnessing them and evolving them into full-blown talents that would later reap handsome dividends for the country in the offing.
However, there have been occasions where promising prospects have lost themselves in the wild after a decent start to their IPL career while there have been instances where individuals, despite not being as big as others for just one season have managed to hang in and deliver consistently for seasons after seasons.
One name that would proudly belong to the latter category is that of Deepak Hooda. One of the finest strikers of the cherry in the domestic circuit of India has proven his worth time and time again. So far in the ongoing edition of the tournament, despite a couple of failures with the willow, in the two games where he has come all guns blazing, have seen him posting a couple of rollicking half-centuries.
Lucknow Super Giants has been more reliant on a collective display than a one-man show. This is why it is important for them that all the not-so-big monikers of the sport actually contribute. Deepak Hooda has been an absolute hero for them.
In this story, we will take a look at three reasons why Deepak Hooda should be considered for the national side for the upcoming T20 World Cup that will need the very finest of India to end their ICC trophy drought.
#1 Maturity
Despite not getting the limelight that he deserves, his last few displays have shown that Deepak Hooda is slowly coming of age. He played a couple of valuable knocks against the West Indies, one of which saw him putting up an exceptionally resilient display that helped India steady a rocked ship. The other encounter in the series saw Hooda just being himself, bringing out the big guns fearlessly.
Deepak Hooda also played a fine knock of 21 against Sri Lanka in the last T20I of the series. So far, he has been a driving force for the Lucknow Super Giants in their first four games. In the face of an imminent landslide, he managed to pull off a seraphic display that saw him score 55. Once again, when the Capitals came knocking, he played out another half-century, stitching together a brilliant 51. If there is one thing that has so far been a constant with Hooda, that has been his fearlessness.
#2 Deepak Hooda is a very effective all-rounder
With Hardik Pandya slowly getting into the crosshairs of the selection committee unless he performs in the ongoing IPL, there will be a hunt for an all-rounder who can actually deliver in the middle of the innings. Somehow, India’s bowling options have run short in the death and despite Bumrah’s discipline at one end, the other end has seen runs flow like a cascade. If Hooda can prise out a couple of overs in the middle, maybe Rohit will have an additional option, in the end, to make things count.
#3 Experience
Deepak Hooda is not new to the shortest format of the game. He is an explosive striker of the cherry and can be a nightmare for the bowlers if he manages to get going. His numbers in the format are the most perfect indicator of his enriching experience. He has played 148 T20 matches that have seen him rack up 2323 runs at a fine average of 24 plus. He has 15 half-centuries and he strikes at a staggering rate of 138.6. He has also managed to bag 18 T20 wickets at an economy rate of 7.89 which for a part-time bowler seems to be gold.
