It was only a couple of days ago that the IPL schedule for the 12th season was announced. Predictably, fans have started to discuss and involve themselves in familiar light-hearted banter on different platforms. The excitement is reaching its peak too.
After all, it is that time of the year when the best cricketers in the world assemble at one place, players from the same country become opponents and fans from the same nation become rivals.
Current stars like Jasprit Bumrah, Sanju Samson, Rishabh Pant, Jofra Archer and Rashid Khan all became overnight sensations only after good performances in the IPL.
The effect of the IPL has been so far-reaching that the likes of AB de Villiers and Quinton de Kock have even rated the franchise tournament as more prestigious than the World Cup. On March 29th this year, the IPL could turnaround several lives once again.
Going in with the same level of excitement, let us look at one player to watch out from each of the eight franchises in the form of a two-part series. Franchises from Mumbai, Chennai, Delhi and Hyderabad are up in this first part.
Mumbai Indians – 4/1
Quinton de Kock – Let us start off with the 2019 IPL Champions Mumbai Indians and their star wicket-keeper Quinton de Kock. With de Kock finishing as Mumbai’s leading scorer last season with 529 runs, some may be surprised that he has been nominated as a player to watch out for. However, de Kock could perform even better this year and could even take the IPL by storm.
After finishing as the highest run-getter in the T20I series against India last year, the newly-appointed Proteas skipper has been enjoying a purple patch against England in all the three formats. This could come as an ominous sign for the other seven franchises as an already strong Mumbai line-up could be unbeatable with the current version of de Kock.
Given how the 2019 IPL triumph resonated within him as it has been the only major trophy that he has lifted so far, it is evident how much de Kock feels at home while playing for the Mumbai Indians. Combine this aspect of belonging to a team with the kind of form he has found himself in, Mumbai wouldn’t need to fret about their opening partnerships. While the southpaw will as usual love the pace and bounce offered by the Wankhede square, his improved gameplay against spin bowling could result in long and aggressive knocks. So, don’t be surprised if de Kock is competing for the ‘Orange Cap’ by the end of the upcoming IPL season.
Chennai Super Kings – 9/2
Josh Hazlewood – Next up would be the runner-ups of the 2019 IPL season, Chennai Super Kings who missed out on their fourth and second consecutive title against Mumbai Indians by a slender margin. Although CSK did well to reach the final and such a feat will mostly be appreciated, there was still a feeling that the 3-time IPL champions had areas to improve upon.
A relatively big weakness was their overseas fast bowling contingent and they strengthened it by signing Josh Hazlewood. He will be key to Chennai’s hopes especially while playing in places like Mumbai and Mohali. The Australian seamer is lethal with the new-ball as he tends to get the right amount of seam and swing to trouble even the best of batsmen. Even after not playing a BBL game for six years, Hazlewood showed he can be an asset even in T20s while playing for Sydney Sixers earlier this year. The lanky seamer went onto pick up five wickets in as many games at an economy rate of 6.22. If Hazlewood could break a game during the powerplay overs which is the phase that MS Dhoni would mostly use him for, CSK will be very difficult to beat even during away fixtures.
Delhi Capitals – 6/1
Shimron Hetmyer – The third best team in the IPL last year, Delhi Capitals have built a formidable young team over the past couple of years under Shreyas Iyer’s able leadership. During the IPL Auction, Delhi strengthened their squad even more by recruiting the likes of Jason Roy, Marcus Stoinis, Chris Woakes, Alex Carey and Shimron Hetmyer.
While all those above-mentioned players are quality players, none is more exciting than the young Shimron Hetmyer. Even after having an underwhelming 2019 IPL campaign for RCB, Delhi still invested a mammoth 7.75 Crore to acquire Hetmyer’s services and the price tag shows how teams still rate his ability. It was perhaps due to the uncertainty over his batting position that didn’t see Hetmyer at his best for RCB but the Guyanese batsman did leave the tournament on a superb note as he hammered 75 runs off just 47 balls against Sunrisers Hyderabad in the final league phase game.
Just like he did before the last season, Hetmyer once again starred for the West Indies during their tour of India last year. His performances in that series played a huge part in teams battling out for his services ahead of the 2020 IPL campaign. After batting superbly to come up with 120 runs in the T20I series, Hetmyer stunned everyone with his cracking 139-knock in the 1st ODI at Chennai.
In terms of his role in the Delhi Capitals side, Hetmyer could hold a key responsibility to bat aggressively during the middle overs. Overs 6-16 will be a phase when spinners will operate and this will play into Hetmyer’s hands. Last season, Delhi entrusted Colin Ingram with the same role without ever getting positive returns and this is why Shimron Hetmyer will be massive upgrade this season.
Sunrisers Hyderabad – 4/1
Abdul Samad – Let alone Abdul Samad being anywhere near as popular as the above-mentioned names, many might not know who he is in the first place. After all, Sunrisers Hyderabad went for a low-profile Rs 20 Lakh bid on a Jammu & Kashmir all-rounder who was just trying to make a name for himself in domestic cricket.
Scouted by former Indian all-rounder Irfan Pathan, this 18-year-old batting all-rounder is definitely one to watch out for. While the likes of Virat Singh and Priyam Garg look more likely to start for Hyderabad, Abdul Samad could be a terrific surprise package if he gets a chance to play. The lanky middle-order batsman is known for his big-hitting against both spin and pace bowling and his scores in the Vijay Hazare and Ranji Trophy tournaments reflect his attacking intent. Samad has been on fire especially in the Ranji Trophy with his 547 runs in 9 matches coming at a strike-rate of 116.13.
If his potential with the bat isn’t enough, Samad also bowls handy leg-spin and he even took a five-wicket haul against Odisha in the Vinoo Mankad Trophy a couple of years ago. With the middle-order being the biggest reason for SRH’s relatively poor show last season, a lot of focus will be on the youngsters and this includes Abdul Samad’s untapped potential too.
