Ashton Turner heroics make Rajasthan Royals hope for great things in IPL

CHENNAI: Ashton Turner was an unknown commodity to most of the cricketing world till Sunday night, but his brutal 84 off 43 balls — that helped Australia level the ODI series with India 2-2 — ensured that he would enjoy a bit of limelight in the coming days.
When Turner — playing only his second ODI — walked to the crease, Australia were 138 adrift of their target with 13 overs remaining in the chase.It was a situation tailor-made for the 26-year-old who has carved an identity for himself as one of the best finishers in the Big Bash League with Perth Scorchers.
The right-hander was the team’s leading scorer with 378 runs from 14 games in the recently-concluded BBL season. While Turner’s overall strike-rate stands at 132.63, the number zooms to 194.7 if one calculates his rate of scoring during overs 15-20 of a T20 game. This ability to go all guns blazing at the death not only won him accolades among teammates but also caught the attention of Rajasthan Royals. Rajasthan bagged Turner at his base price of Rs 50 lakh during the IPL auctions in December last year. Turner, along with Moises Henriques, were the only two Australians to be picked at the auctions. Turner himself was surprised at the time and had told an Australian newspaper, “I have no idea why they picked me.”
What made Royals bid for Turner? Rajasthan Royals’ coach Paddy Upton feels Turner’s presence in the batting order will give them the depth especially when the team is looking for quick runs during death overs. “Turner has had a good season with Perth Scorchers. Turner has shown that he can remain calm under pressure which is an important quality to have in any format of the game. Turner is someone who has shown great finishing skills and can give the side those extra 30-40 runs in the end overs. That’s not all. He is also a great fielder which is always a plus,” Upton told TOI.
While Turner’s clean-striking may have caught the attention of the fans, Australian coach Justin Langer — earlier this year — stated that the right-hander’s running between the wickets is second to none. In fact, Langer went on to compare Turner to Mike Hussey when it came to judging the ones and the twos. “When Mike (Hussey) came into Australian cricket, what almost got him a shot in the One-Day team was his running between the wickets. That might sound like the dumbest thing you’ve ever heard but his [Turner’s] running between the wickets is unbelievable. You see the way he finishes innings that he’s a good thinker and a really good leader,” Langer said.
Both Rajasthan Royals and Australia would hope that Turner keeps it going over the next few months so that the club and the country can reap the rewards in a season of non-stop cricket.