IPL 2018 : Lungi Ngidi Excited to Join Chennai Super Kings

Latest pace sensation for South Africa, Lungi Ngidi, could not hide his excitement to feature in this season of Indian Premier League (IPL) for the Chennai Super Kings (CSK).

Ngidi came into the limelight after his match-winning six-wicket haul against India in the second inning of the Cape Town Test.

The CSK franchise, headed by Stephen Fleming during the auction, bagged the services of Ngidi on Day 2 at his base price of INR 50 lakhs, right after his countrymen Morne Morkel went unsold.

The Chennai fan base is renowned for their fixation towards the ‘Lungi Dance’, a soundtrack compiled by Honey Singh in the movie Chennai Express starring Shahrukh Khan and Deepika Padukone.

The Indian cricketing community appeared bemused with this coincidence of a player named ‘Lungi’ in the CSK franchise. Ngidi, after hearing the news on Day 2 of the auction, instantly took to Twitter to reveal likening towards the ‘Lungi dance’. “Just listened to the #LungiDance song loving it already,” tweeted Ngidi.

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“I’ll all part of the experience. I guess I’m just lucky that my name is Lungi. But (I’m) not feeling any expectation, just looking forward to a great tournament. I love the energy of CSK,” said Ngidi on his first name similar to the popular Bollywood number.

Coupled with a deadly yorker, Ngidi has a nasty mix of short deliveries which can cause few troubles for the batsmen during the tournament. Ngidi would now join the likes of Mark Wood, Shane Watson, Dwayne Bravo, and Shardul Thakur to strengthen their pace attack.

“I couldn’t believe it… It was a dream come true and I just thanked God for such an amazing blessing, Looking forward to the IPL… I’ve been to India with the U-19 team, so I’ve experienced it (India) a little and really loved the passion for the game. I’m so very excited!” said Lungi Ngidi according to Chennai Super Kings’ official website.

“We identified Ngidi as a good prospect prior to his Test debut based on his performances in T20 cricket. We feel he will provide that extra bit with his pace and bounce both during Powerplay and in the death overs along with Wood who also bowls regularly at 140 kmph,” commented the CEO of Chennai Super Kings KS Viswanathan.

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