Basil Thampi

Basil Thampi is a right-arm fast bowler hailing from the same state as his idol, S Sreesanth. Bowling quick is his forte and that just adds him to the currently ever-growing list of fast bowlers. He started off as a footballer and a tennis-ball player but Tinu Yohannan's guidance helped him become a quality bowler. The youngster from Kerala impressed everyone with his consistency, bowling quick yorkers in the local T20 league. During one of the televised games of the inter-zonal T20 league, he caught the attention of Gujarat Lions’ performance coach, Monty Desai and Brad Hodge. They were impressed with his overall maturity and bought him for INR 85 lakh in the Indian T20 League auction.

Consistent injury issues hampered his career and he was forced to miss a few games in the 2017-18 Ranji season and completely missed the Vijay Hazare Trophy. Still, Hyderabad backed the young pacer and acquired him ahead of the 11th edition of the Indian T20 League.