de Villiers assures Benny Howell of participation in IPL: The Rangpur Riders all-rounder seems to have impressed AB de Villiers.
Uncapped England all-rounder Benny Howell, who has been playing county cricket since 2010, has given the impression of impressing former South Africa captain AB de Villiers to the extent that the latter has assured him of his name in IPL 2020 Auction.
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Howell, who has been representing Rangpur Riders in the Bangladesh Premier League for three seasons now, is a right-hand batsman and right-hand pacer, a combination which suits well with the T20 format of the tournament.
Howell might not have returned with the expected numbers in this season but it appears that his fourth T20 half-century banged the drums for him. In the first qualifier match against Comilla Victorians, Howell rescued his team with a determined innings and posted a respectable total on the board.
Coming in to bat at No. 6 (76-4) in the 13th over, Howell ended up scoring 53* (28) with the help of three fours and five sixes to aid Riders to score 165-5 in their allotted quota of 20 overs. While Riders lost the match, it spoke highly about Howell’s potential.
Talking about his bowling, Howell has picked up five wickets in seven matches at an average of 24.80, an economy rate of 5.63 and a strike rate of 26.4.
In a recent interview with Cric Frenzy, Howell opened up on how de Villiers likes his overall game. “He did [promised me regarding the IPL auction], yeah. He likes what I do. He said, next year he will put my name in the IPL.
“He likes what I do. I just got to keep doing it and perform with the bat and the bowl. Yeah, it’s pretty good to speak with him,” Howell was quoted as saying.
Hailing the Riders’ setup as ‘great’, Howell also opened up on the experience of playing alongside international cricketers. “I love it. Rangpur is great. It’s a great set up. Tom Moody runs the show pretty well and there is a lot of unbelievable players in the side. AB de Villiers, Chris Gayle, Alex Hales, Rilee Rossouw and Ravi Bopara, everyone. It’s has been a great experience,” he added.
