After months of speculation, the 13th edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL) is finally here. In about three weeks’ time, the tournament will kick off in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) across three different venues.
Year after year, there are players who stand up and perform and make some telling contributions. Some are from new players who are looking to break into the Indian side while some come from players who have been around the scene for a while but have been out of the side. Hence, we concentrate on the latter here and look at five players who will be aiming to make a comeback to Indian team on the back of good IPL performances.
Dinesh Karthik
Ever since the 2019 World Cup semi-final where Dinesh Karthik was sent out to bat at No. 5 out of the blue, he has been out of the Indian team. However, his ODI form was inconsistent but he was in good nick in T20s and was contributing consistently.
In 2018, Karthik averaged 60.33 and had a strike-rate of 152.10 in the 11 T20Is he played. In 2019, he got a proper chance to bat in only two games. Over the last couple of seasons in the IPL, Karthik has been very consistent and has been churning out runs for Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) in the middle-order. The Tamil Nadu wicket-keeper batsman has made 751 runs at an average of 41.72 with a strike-rate of 147.25. He performed well in the 2019-20 domestic season in India as well.
Thus, with India still in search of finishers, a good IPL season in 2020 might just see Karthik storm back into the T20I side at the very least.
Ravichandran Ashwin
It was back in 2017 that Ravichandran Ashwin last played white-ball cricket for India. While Ravindra Jadeja and Ashwin were ousted at the same time with India opting to play wrist-spinners in the shorter formats, the former has made a comeback and is an integral part of Indian side across all three formats. However, Ashwin hasn’t been able to make a comeback yet.
Ashwin is consistently playing domestic cricket whenever he gets the chance. Moreover, he has been performing decently in the IPL as well. With the IPL in UAE this season, Ashwin might have some assistance from the pitch as well. Hence, a good IPL might well boast his chances of making a comeback into the shorter formats for India.
Krunal Pandya
Over the last 18 months or so, Krunal Pandya has been in and around the Indian T20I set-up. However, after going wicketless in five successive games and with meagre returns with the bat, the senior Pandya was left out towards the fag end of last year. India played three T20Is against West Indies at home and five against New Zealand in New Zealand and Pandya was not even in the squad. He didn’t have a great run in the domestic circuit either in the 2019-20 season.
Thus, the left-arm spinning all-rounder will be itching to make a comeback with two T20 World Cups in the next two years. Pandya has been a consistent performer for Mumbai Indians (MI) over the last few years. He will be hoping to get back to his best with both bat and ball and stake a claim for the spinning all-rounder’s spot in the Indian T20I side once again.
Vijay Shankar
Vijay Shankar was a part of the 15-man squad that flew to England for the 2019 World Cup. However, midway through the tournament, he suffered an injury after the game against West Indies which ruled him out and since then, he hasn’t been anywhere near the Indian team.
However, Shankar made a stellar return to the domestic circuit. He scored runs consistently and was more than handy with the ball. In the Vijay Hazare Trophy, the Tamil Nadu all-rounder amassed 384 runs at an average of 54.85 along with four wickets. Meanwhile, in the Syed Mushtaq Ali tournament, Shankar made 210 runs at a strike-rate of 135.48 and also picked up six wickets.
It’s only been a couple of seasons since Shankar has become a regular member in the XI for his IPL teams. It will be no different this time around. He will be hoping to hit his straps as soon as possible and get back into the India selection fold.
Jaydev Unadkat
It was the 2017 IPL season which turned Jaydev Unadkat’s career upside down. He played for Rising Pune Supergiant (RPS) and picked up 24 wickets at an average of 13.42. Since then, his stocks have risen and he has been a hot property in the IPL auctions and has taken away hefty pay cheques as well. However, Unadkat hasn’t lived up to the expectation over the last couple of seasons in the IPL.
In 2018 and 2019 combined, the Saurashtra left-arm pacer has just 21 wickets to his name and economy-rate is 9.98. But he has come roaring back with strong performances in the 2019-20 Indian domestic season. Unadkat has picked up wickets consistently across all formats. In the Vijay Hazare Trophy, he took 15 wickets while he took 12 wickets in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy. He was also the leading wicket-taker in the 2019-20 Ranji Trophy as he returned with 67 wickets at a stunning average of 13.23 and a strike-rate of 28.2.
With India not having too many left-arm seamers around (barring Khaleel Ahmed), Unadkat may well have a good chance of making a comeback to the Indian squad. He last donned the Indian jersey back in March 2018.
