The Indian Premier League (IPL) 2020 is only a week away. After the tournament was postponed, after many hindrances and altercations, the IPL will begin on September 19 in UAE.
The fact that the tournament is in UAE, will bring an interesting element to every aspect of the game. However, most of the time under sub-continental conditions one thing remains constant, a free flow of runs! After all, cricket by many is termed as a batsman’s game.
Today we will name 10 batsmen who are contenders to win the orange cap. The orange cap is given to the highest run-scorer of the tournament. However, it signifies more than that. It’s a sign of consistency, performing several times across 14 games to retain that cap. Also, due to being in UAE, one may think the conditions to favor Indian batsmen. However, that might not be the case as IPL played in Indian conditions over the years, has made the international players accustomed as well.
Also, just having an orange cap does not necessarily mean that team will reach the playoffs. Last year Mumbai Indians didn’t have an orange or purple cap and yet went on to win the tournament.
Ambati Rayadu (CSK)
Rayadu is probably one of the most underrated cricketers in the Indian cricket. He’s probably the dark horse on this list. After getting a chance to open for Chennai Super Kings, he has been an integral part of their success since last two years. He also takes charge so that Shane Watson on the other end can set in. Rayadu prematurely retired last year, however he has a lot of cricket left in him.
Aaron Finch (RCB)
Finch will come into the IPL as the number 3 ranked T20 batsman in the world. He will most probably open the batting for Royal Challengers Bangalore. He will probably be accompanied by Parthiv Patel who will go guns blazing. This will give Finch some time to set himself up and will also have the cushion of Kohli and De Villiers at 3 and 4. Also, he will enter the IPL with some great form.
Johnny Bairstow (SRH)
Bairstow was a surprise addition among one of the highest run-getters of the tournament last year. He has had a great 2010 and even 2020 ever since. He has been in sublime form since World Cup 2019 to the England-Australia series in 2020. He will bring a lot of momentum into the IPL.
Glenn Maxwell (KXIP)
Maxwell became the first player in the history of the sport to take some time off of cricket due to mental/stress issues. He made a rejuvenated comeback and hasn’t looked back ever since. He went on to become the number 1 ranked all-rounder in T20 cricket. Just like Bairstow, he’s in great form as well and is coming off a series-winning hundred and Man of the Series award in the recent series against England.
Jos Buttler (RR)
Jos Buttler has evolved himself into a great T20 opener. He has always been amongst the runs for RR and has continued to do that to date in all three formats of the sport. This year he will be accompanied by the young and exciting Yashasvi Jaiswal who can provide him assistance as well.
Andre Russell (KKR)
Andre Russell is one of best all-rounders and most vicious batsmen in the world. KKR have got a change in management which has former NZ captain Brendan McCullum as their coach. McCullum is known for taking aggressive decisions both as a player and as a captain. He has decided to promote Russell at number 3. It will be interesting to see how Russell does at number 3.
Rohit Sharma (MI)
Sharma or rather Mumbai Indians have never been among the caps. But you can never count the ‘Hitman’ out. Sharma has been moving up and down the order due to team combination and responsibility issues. However, now that their middle-order issues are fairly resolved with Suryakumar Yadav and Ishan Kishan, Sharma can whole-heartedly focus on opening. He will have an equally dangerous Quinton de Kock with him.
David Warner (SRH)
The entire world is well aware of what David Warner can do, especially in the shorter format of the game. Warner can be a game changer and has evolved into a really good player of spin as well. He will enter the IPL in great form as well.
KL Rahul (KXIP)
Rahul has been the lone warrior for KXIP for the last two years. However, he has updated himself into a vicious T20 cricketer. Rahul finds himself at an impressive spot of number 2 on the T20 best batsman rankings. Despite moving around in the stacked Indian batting line up, the Karnataka cricketer has consistently delivered match-winning performances both in ODIs and T20s.
Virat Kohli (RCB)
Virat Kohli is hands down one of the best batsmen to grace a cricket pitch. The man is a legend irrespective of format, opposition, and conditions. He can play the bull and the matador. This year he is not only expected to score high but also lead RCB to their maiden IPL trophy ever.
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