The most dynamic and vibrant battle between bat and bowl is all set to kick off with the 13th edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL) on 19 September in UAE. The best of cricket will finally take to the field, though the absence of spectators will certainly have a hitch on the game.
Despite conditions favouring spinners due to high temperature and dry pitches, likes of Ben Stokes, Jasprit Bumrah, Kagiso Rabada, Pat Cummins, Dale Steyn, Deepak Chahar and Trent Boult will have high expectations from their fans as well as respective franchises.
As the opening match is scheduled a night ahead, the defending champions Mumbai Indians seem to have one of the most lethal squads of fast bowlers combining Boult with Jasprit Bumrah, regarded as the most prolific pacer in world cricket and had the best season last year as he fetched 19 wickets. Also,bowlers like Mitchel McClenaghan and Hardik Pandya have experience and energy to boost the team’s chances.
Chennai Super Kings, with Deepak Chahar in their squad, will surely expect to give nightmares to mighty MI in the first match of this season. Chahar was amongst the top-notch bowlers of IPL 2019, and was shy of four wickets from winning the purple cap. He is expected to get decent support from Shardul Thakur who has been leading the attack for CSK, including Bravo and Shane Watson. CSK will try its best to restrict the opposing team at the low scores.
The runner up of last season, Delhi Capitals, has come a long way from settling at the bottom of the table to be- ing the top contenders, but it would have never been possible without the likes of Ishant Sharma, Kagiso Rabada, Mohit Sharma, Harshal Patel, and debutant Lalit Yadav. The team will heavily depend on Sharma, who has enough experience to be counted. Patel’s last year’s performance in the Syed Mushtaq Ali tournament draws eyes towards him as he clinched 19 wickets and scored more than 350 runs.
Bhubneshwar Kumar along with Sandeep Sharma, Khaleel Ahmad, and Siddharth Kaul will have a huge responsibility to rise above all and take the team to the end of the game. Kumar has been phenomenal for the team with his stunning Yorkers and economy but recently he has struggled a lot for his fitness and with his consistency. This season could be a game-changer for Bhubneshwar, as T20 World Cups are scheduled next year and if he performs well his prospect in the team could be considered.
The KKR’s franchise is riding on high notes with its vic- tory in the Caribbean Premier League but its poor consistency in the last three seasons of IPL will keep things on serious notes in the dugout.
Bowlers like Pat Cummins, Andre Russel, and Lockie Fergusen will have to bring their character in the ground. From providing breakthroughs to the team to be the guiding force for the talented and promising youngsters like Prasidh Krishna, Sandeep Warrier, and Sivam Manvi.
Russel and Pat Cummins, being foreigners and having enough game played will be key for the team, and the franchise will expect them to frequently adapt to the new environment in the UAE.
Kings X1 Punjab is the most underperformed team of the IPL, as they always looked good on paper but unfortunately, they failed to perform on the ground which led to their exclusion. Mohammad Shami will be leading the attack for the team with Sheldon Cortell, who can contribute with bat and ball both, James Neesham, Ravi Bishnoi, and Murugan Ashwin whose mystery is yet unsolved.
Might Ben Stokes along with Jofra Archer and Varun Aaron will lead the attack for Rajasthan Royals in the leadership of Steve Smith. The team’s pace bowling attack looks fierce with more pacers like Jayadev Unadkat, Mayank Markande, Oshane Thomas, Andrew Tye.
The team looks impressive with the set of bowlers they have in their kit but without a team effort and consistent effort from each player, it won’t matter a lot.
Inconsistent, no luck, and team crumbles in a pressure game, three terms to define the overall career of Royal Challengers Bangalore. The team is studded with star players in every department and at times they outperform their opposition in every department but as they reach close to finals or trophy they collapse like a pack of cards.
Bowlers like Chris Morris, Umesh Yadav, Dale Steyn, Md. Siraj will raise hopes for skippers and if they perform with consistency and as per the requirement they hold the capability to knock off any world-class batsmen in the world. These bowlers have pulled off games for the team and proved their worth but the team is yet to take a victory lap and hopefully, this could be the end of the drought for the franchise.