IPL 2020 is just around the corner as cricket fans gear up to witness a unique season of the Indian Premier League. All teams have equal strengths and weaknesses. Most importantly, all players have almost zero match practice ahead of this season.
Because of these reasons, even a few youngsters can surprise the fans this year, while the veteran players may fail to deliver. The importance of batsmen will be very high in the UAE because the pitch will assist the slower bowlers.
Only the quality batsmen will prevail in the Gulf nation and here are the predictions for which batsman could be their team’s leading run-getter.
#1 Rajasthan Royals – Jos Buttler
England’s right-handed wicket-keeper batsman Jos Buttler will open the innings for Rajasthan Royals. He might miss the team’s first game, but he will be available for the rest of the tournament. Buttler had been in sublime touch in IPL 2018 and 2019 at the top of the order.
#2 Kings XI Punjab – KL Rahul
Kings XI Punjab transferred Ravichandran Ashwin out to Delhi Capitals and appointed KL Rahul as their new captain. 2020 has been the year of KL Rahul as far as international cricket is concerned, the new KXIP skipper will look to lead his franchise from the front.
#3 Royal Challengers Bangalore – AB de Villiers
AB de Villiers has played much cricket in the UAE and has a decent record here. The right-handed batsman from South Africa might beat his teammate and close friend Virat Kohli in the race to become RCB’s highest run-getter in IPL 2020.
#4 Mumbai Indians – Quinton de Kock
Quinton de Kock was a key reason behind Mumbai Indians’ success in IPL 2019. The southpaw from South Africa will be keen to repeat the same performance this year and help Mumbai retain the title with some glorious performances.
#5 Chennai Super Kings – Suresh Raina
Suresh Raina shocked the world by announcing his retirement from international cricket on 15th August. The 2011 World Cup winner had a few more years of cricket left in him and he will be out there to prove a point of what the Indian team will miss after his retirement.
#6 Delhi Capitals – Rishabh Pant
Another player who will play IPL 2020 with a point to prove is Rishabh Pant. The southpaw had impressed many fans in IPL 2019 and he even earned a place in Indian World Cup squad after that performance. His consistency was under the scanner recently, but Pant will look to silence his doubters in IPL 2020.
#7 Sunrisers Hyderabad – David Warner
David Warner and Jonny Bairstow formed a terrific opening partnership in IPL 2019 for SRH. The two batsmen will be front runners to be SRH’s highest run-getter in IPL 2020, but the Australian batsman should edge his English teammate in this race because of his extraordinary record in the IPL.
#8 Kolkata Knight Riders – Shubman Gill
Young Shubman Gill has a golden opportunity to stake his claim in the Indian team by performing well in IPL 2020. If his aggregate of runs in IPL 2020 is extraordinary, he could earn a place in the national team. This thought may motivate him to bring his ‘A’ game to the table.