Josh Philippe is one of the rising talents in the shortest format and among those set of players who have the potential to carve a name for themselves in the future. He is one of the finest cricketers in the Australian domestic circuit whose consistent performances for the Big Bash League (BBL) franchise Sydney Sixers garnered him significant attention from the cricket fraternity.
Philippe was a part of the Sixers’ lineup that won the BBL trophy in the previous edition of the tournament.
As a result, the wicket-keeper batsman was roped by the Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) to compete in IPL 2020, where he played under Virat Kohli.
Philippe has been retained by RCB ahead of the mini auctions for IPL 2021 that is expected to take place in the month of February. It is likely that he would open the innings for the Bengaluru-based franchise and even don the wicket-keeper’s glove in the upcoming edition, relieving star cricketer AB de Villiers from additional duties.
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In a recent media interaction, Philippe spoke about his experience of playing under Virat Kohli in the mega T20 tournament and added how easy it was to approach the Indian cricketer outside the field.
“The camera never leaves him. It is amazing to see his intensity on the field, but then away from the field see how normal and humble he is. He was so easy to approach,” Josh Phillipe told Sydney Morning Herald.
I still have a lot to learn with four-day cricket, says Josh Philippe
The 23-year-old Subiaco-born shared his ultimate dream of playing Test cricket for Australia in the future. He added that there’s a lot for him to learn in four-day cricket.
“The dream is to play Test cricket. This year was a fascinating year. I had the chance to go to the IPL and because it was postponed, I missed Sheild cricket (with Western Australia) as a result. I still have a lot to learn with four-day cricket. But if you are consistently playing and doing well, you never know what happens,” Philippe concluded.
So far, Philippe has made 19 First-Class appearances and scored 988 runs at an average of 28.22, including a hundred and 7 fifties.
The right-hander batted on merely five instances in the previous edition of IPL held in UAE. Averaging just 19.00 at a strike rate of 101.30, he could amass only 78 runs with a top-score of 33(24) against Mumbai Indians (MI).
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When it comes to BBL, he has shone with his performances, having amassed 1239 runs in 44 matches to date, at an average and strike rate of 34.41 and 142.25 respectively, including 10 half-centuries and a personal best of 95 versus Melbourne Renegades.
And in the current edition of BBL, he is the second highest run-getter with 441 runs in 12 innings at an average of 36.75 and a strike rate of 150.00, including 3 half-centuries. With the form in his favor, he would be anticipated to clock up similar numbers for RCB in IPL 2021.
