The craftsmanship behind Murshid's Wiesedom
The wiesedom 37-year-old David Wiese brings to a franchise that hasn't inspired confidence in recent times
In the previous season of the Indian Premier League (IPL), after finishing as runner-ups in the 2021 season, a hard reset was done going into the 2022 season in the form of the mega auction, and the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) constructed a squad that was far from exciting and promising.
And this was reflected in the fashion they crashed out of the group stages, finishing 7th with only 6 wins from their 14 matches.
There certainly was a promising core to work from that 2022 squad, but it was evident that KKR had a lot of work to do heading into this season’s mini-auction to better complement that core.
But the approach they took even before the auction was quite unorthodox with the trades they made.
They first received Rahmanullah Gurbaz and Lockie Ferguson respectively from the defending champions Gujarat Titans for the prices the Titans bought them for in the mega auction: 50 lakh INR (approx. $63K USD) and 10 crores INR (approx. $1.3M USD) and then exchanged Aman Khan for Shardul Thakur from the Delhi Capitals for whom they spent 10.75 crores INR (approx. $1.35M USD).
Incurring the hefty price tags of Ferguson and Thakur respectively meant KKR had an extremely shoe-lace budget of 7.05 crore INR (approx. $853K USD) to fill up to 11 spots (minimum 4 spots), composed of 8 Indians and 3 overseas players.
This meant that all of their buys had to be budget-friendly, having to rely more than ever on their management to properly fill the remaining holes in their squad and procure high-quality steals to significantly change their fortunes for the coming season.
But it didn’t happen exactly, and the Knight Riders arguably more or less still find themselves at square one.
However, like in most cases of teams who have constructed a very flawed squad, a diamond in the rough can be found here and there.
And they perhaps did procure one, a diamond whose Wiesedom has cultivated a cult following of sorts post-pandemic: none other than David Wiese, for his base price of 1 crore INR (approx. $130K USD).
This will be Wiese’s first time being a part of an IPL franchise in 7 years, having first spent 2 seasons with the Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) from 2015-16 after they bought him for 2.8 crores INR (approx. $339K USD).
He represented RCB as a South African national, and this time around, he'll play as a Namibian national, after making his international debut for Namibia in 2021 in the T20 World Cup held in the United Arab Emirates, being the first player from the country to play in the IPL.
It isn’t too unheard of for a Full Member player to play for an Associate nation during their older years, typically after being out of contention for the former’s national side and mostly ends up with bang average returns, but Wiese’s story is different.
He is one of those players who have aged like fine wine as they have gotten older, or in his case, much more Wieser since he last played the IPL.
But a lot has happened in his career since he last represented RCB, events that have allowed him to grow in Wiesedom as a T20 player.
In 2017, he signed a three-year Kolpak contract with Sussex that effectively ended his international career with South Africa which wasn’t renewed in 2020 owing to Brexit, which abolished Kolpak.
A year earlier, in the Pakistan Super League (PSL), the Lahore Qalandars signed him as a partial replacement for the 2019 season after in 2018, arch-rivals Karachi Kings drafted him in the Silver category but released him after playing just one match for them.
For the Qalandars, he was mighty impressive as a finisher that year, scoring 136 runs averaging 45.3 striking at 144.7 across 7 matches, which was enough for them to retain him in the Diamond category ahead of the PSL5 draft.
And the 2020 season was officially when his Wiesedom began to ripen.
In KKR terminology, Wiese was the equivalent of Andre Russell for the Qalandars, regularly finishing off matches, a clutch player just like the man himself.
To stay in contention for the playoffs in PSL5, it was a must-win match for them against the Peshawar Zalmi, and Wiese came in to bat with 28 off 13 deliveries needed, and smashed a 6-ball 17 including 2 sixes striking at 283.33.
The Qalandars would go on to qualify for the playoffs for the first time in history, after finishing at the bottom of the table for the first 4 seasons.
Come Qualifier 2 against the Multan Sultans, the Qalandars needed his Wiesedom once again, and he delivered the goods.
He came in to bat with wickets tumbling at regular intervals, at over 14.3 with the Qalandars reeling at 111/5 after being put into bat, and he bludgeoned 48 off 21 deliveries striking at 228.57 along with 5 fours and 3 sixes that helped propelled the Qalandars to 182/6.
His Wiesedom was also on display with the ball, taking figures of 3-27 in his 4 overs that included the scalps of Adam Lyth (who was looking to take the game away right from the powerplay with a 29-ball 50), Ravi Bopara, and Sohail Tanvir.
The Sultans eventually lost by 25 runs after being all out for 157 with 5 balls to spare, and the Qalandars qualified for their first-ever final.
While they couldn’t win the final, his finishing abilities (or more specifically his ability to come in clutch very often) began to be recognized and revered by not just many PSL fans, but the Lahore Qalandars themselves.
Along with being retained as a Diamond player once again ahead of the 2021 season, they bestowed him with the nickname of Murshid (guru, teacher, spiritual guide) for the Wiese fashion in which he has singlehandedly pulled off heists with the bat as a finisher.
In spite of the Qalandars being unable to qualify for the playoffs that season, Wiese gave the fans something to remember in the form of a very memorable win against arch-rivals Karachi.
Chasing down a target of 187, Wiese arrived at the crease at 152/4, with the required run rate well above 12, with 35 runs needed off 16 deliveries.
And like the Wiese individual, he is, with utmost ease, he smashed a 9-ball 31 striking at 344.44, with 3 fours and just as many sixes included, and hit the winning six against Dan Christian, who had a revival of sorts that year in his T20 career.
But after the heartbreak of missing out on back-to-back playoffs due to net run rate, in the following season, his Wiesedom would truly radiate a bright light, showing why he has been nicknamed Murshid.
In Qualifier 2 against Islamabad United, he came in to bat with 8 balls left to post a total after choosing to bat first on a typical slow surface at Gaddafi Stadium (the Qalandars’ home ground) and only had 139/7 on the board.
But in the final over, he took Waqas Maqsood downtown, smacking him for 27 runs in the final over, and propelled the Qalandars to 168/7.
With only 8 needed off the final over but 2 wickets remaining, Murshid was given the ball to guide them through the end, and he certainly did.
He dismissed Waqas on the penultimate ball of the over and sealed their 2nd finals qualification with a 6-run thriller, taking figures of 1-20 in 2.4 overs, as Murshid comfortably guided the Qalandars through with both bat and ball, that too at a junction nailbiting for their fans.
Murshid also had some words of Wiesedom to share right before the final against the Sultans, words that would make fans of data-driven cricket like me shed tears of joy.
It was words that were akin to a teacher giving you a very comprehensive study guide for a particularly difficult exam, specifically emphasizing concepts that were the bulk of the exam. In this case, Murshid emphasized the key to the Sultans’ success, and how they needed to counter it, articulating his words in a daler tareen manner like one of the Knight Riders’ first-ever overseas players, Shoaib Akhtar.
And once more, Wiese showed his Wiesedom, with an 8-ball 28 striking at 350, hitting a four and 3 sixes, helped the Qalandars elevate their total from 137/5 with 21 balls remaining to post a total to 180/5 at the end of the innings.
With the ball, he also put the icing on the cake with the final wicket of Imran Tahir, bowling out the Sultans for 138 and Qalandars won their first-ever final by 42 runs, coming a long way from finishing at the bottom in the first 4 seasons of the league, with Murshid playing a significant role in guiding them to their first ever PSL title with his Wiesedom.
The Qalandars were able to defend their title this season most recently and become the first PSL team in history to do so, and though Wiese didn’t have much of a role with the bat, he was able to chip in with the ball a fair bit, taking 9 wickets averaging 31.77 at an economy rate of 7.33 with best figures of 3/17 across 13 matches.
Wiese’s Wiesedom hasn’t been limited to just the Qalandars however post-pandemic, he has spread the wisdom in the last two seasons of the Caribbean Premier League for the St Lucia Kings helping them play their second final in 2021 (including taking a fifer) and qualify for the playoffs the following season, and especially last year in the Men’s Hundred for the Northern Superchargers.
For the Superchargers, he was one of the very few standout performers, for most of their players severely underwhelmingly performed and were extremely reliant on his Wiesedom to close off games and to often give them a much-needed impetus towards the end of an inning when setting totals.
In 7 matches, he scored 150 runs averaging 25 striking at 182.92, including a fifty that was his season's top score that came against the Trent Rockets.
It was a 27-ball fifty that was the top score of the Superchargers innings after being put into bat first, striking at 185.18 and smacking 2 fours and 5 sixes that helped them go from 68/6 to 152/8.
Throughout the entire season, he hit more than double the sixes than fours: 14 sixes and 6 fours to be exact, yet another testament to his Wiesedom.
And overall post-pandemic, he has been one of the most prolific hitters at the death.
He is one of 7 batsmen to have faced at least 300 balls at the death since the pandemic, and he’s been able to maintain a very high strike rate of 185.92 whilst averaging 21.86.
Wiese is taller than Russell, 6' 5'' compared to 6' 1'', gifting Murshid with longer levers. However, unlike Russell and most hitters for that matter, he isn’t one to smash the ball with brute force and strike with his signature meaty blows to most regions of the park, he is more cool, calm, and collected when it comes to his hitting you could say.
Or more specifically, an “aggressive timer” of the ball. Wiese’s signature shot is more of an elegant lofted shot he often plays straight down the ground and towards the long-on and midwicket region, but he too has the ability to hit those herculean sixes that go quite the distance, but he is more about just clearing the boundary by relying on impeccable timing.
And while Russell has typically been a bowler to bowl his entire quota, Wiese is more of a sixth bowler, relying on his variations to get the job done and typically not that quick, though it’s not like Russell has been bowling 140+ like he has in the past either in recent times, but if need be, Wiese can certainly bowl a full 4 overs.
Speaking of Russell, that is who Wiese will be the backup option of, meaning he’ll likely be warming the bench for most of the season.
While the Knight Riders have a very crafty and reliable backup finisher in Wiese, it certainly doesn’t take away from the fact that it is still a squad that once again, isn’t the most promising.
The quality of the squad certainly isn’t up to par with both the league standards and what we have seen from them in recent years, and the injuries to skipper Shreyas Iyer and Ferguson before the season begins further diminish their quality and odds of making the playoffs before they even play their first ball.
But as the saying goes, “expect the unexpected” (as bizarre as it may sound in the context of KKR).
Certainly, funny things have happened in both the world and in cricket and as a team and a loyal supporter, irrespective of how bleak it may seem, you always have to create belief and latch on hope no matter how small it is.
And is something that Murshids are especially responsible for, particularly in a classroom setting when students are convinced they are just not good enough to solve a problem or have their self-worth significantly reduced after an abysmally poor test grade, or in the context of this KKR squad, at the receiving end of an abysmally poor thrashing as most people expect them to get throughout the season.
For all we know, with everything that is currently going on in the KKR setup with injuries and the quality of their squad, it just might take a Murshid with his Wiesedom to be a Gautam Gambhir-esque catalyst to instill belief and hope into a squad of whom most people’s expectations are lower than dirt itself.