Saqib can move the new ball at pace and bowl decent yorkers at the death, making him a good prospect.
Saqib Mahmood came into the limelight with his sensational spell against India last night. He started it with three wickets in his maiden over, and while he was expensive later, Mahmood still did a decent job with the ball.
He is a skilled operator who bowls immaculate lines and lengths and provides value in each phase. Saqib can move the new ball at pace and bowl decent yorkers at the death, making him a good prospect.
We look at three teams who can rope Saqib Mahmood as a replacement player in IPL 2025.
Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) might be among the first teams who can bring in Saqib Mahmood in case of an injury. If we look at their overseas bowling options, RCB have Josh Hazlewood, Nuwan Thushara, and Lungi Ngidi, and they are all injury-prone. Most of them have already missed a lot of action in the last year or so, and RCB would be wary of their injuries.
Hence, they would want someone who can come in immediately and do the job. Most of their bought players will do precisely what Mahmood offers with the ball. Hence, RCB get a like-for-like replacement in case of an injury.
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It’s not that Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) already don’t have plenty of bowling options. However, Mitchell Marsh is injured, and even if he gets fit, Cricket Australia would want him to skip the tournament. Hence, LSG would need a replacement player, and while not a like-for-like replacement, Saqib Mahmood makes a case for his inclusion.
Most LSG pacers are highly injury-prone and can crumble at times. So, if the need arises, they should solidify the bowling department by bringing in a pacer instead of a batting all-rounder. That will at least strengthen one area and make their bowling world-class.
Rajasthan Royals (RR) have only six overseas options, and three are speedsters – Kwena Maphaka, Jofra Archer, and Fazalhaq Farooqi. However, they still have room for an additional overseas pacer for multiple reasons. Firstly, Jofra Archer is highly injury-prone, and even if he feels slight discomfort, the England Cricket Board (ECB) won’t allow him to feature in the competition.
Further, Kwena Maphaka is highly inexperienced and showed he can be expensive last season. So, RR would want more options to remain flexible and manage Archer’s workload in a long tournament. This is where Saqib Mahmood can come into the side, even if as a backup for Jofra Archer.
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