The world has come to a standstill due to the spread of coronavirus. The outbreak of the virus has forced all the vital events in the world to be suspended. The government has announced lockdowns to most parts of the world and has advised maintaining social distancing. The disease has taken over 15,000 lives worldwide.
Due to the spread of corona virus many scheduled sports event has been called off including IPL. The cash rich Indian Premier League has been postponed to April 15 and BCCI hints IPL may cancelled if it cross April 20. On March 24 IPL owners had a conference call with BCCI and comes out with a final decision.
Many Indian players awaits to show their form in IPL 2020 to get their slot in upcoming T20 world cup. Many senior players stand in their last leg to get into International squad. Australia is scheduled to organize T20 World Cup 2020 after IPL. So the league remains a golden opportunity for many of the cricketers to throw their names on the desk of the selectors.
4. Sanju Samson
The young wicket-keeper Sanju Samson has been in the spotlight for a long time. He has terrific numbers in the domestic tournaments. The selector gave a clear message to Rishabh Pant by picking Samson in the final T20Is against New Zealand. However, the Kerela batsman could not impress the selectors with his performance.
It is well known that Pant and KL Rahul stands ahead of the 25-year-old wicket-keeper batsman for the T20 World Cup. But the continues poor form of Pant has put his position in doubts. And Samson still has a chance to turn things around if he delivers well with bat and gloves in the upcoming IPL edition.
However, if the league gets cancelled, it is well-understood that Samson might lose up his spot for the T20 World Cup 2020.
3. Dinesh Karthik
Dinesh Karthik played a very famous knock against Bangladesh in Nidahas Trophy in 2018 final. He hit last-ball six to save men in blue from an upset. Since then he was a regular name in the Indian T20I side. He was also named as the backup wicketkeeper for World Cup 2019 and he played at No. 5 in the semi-final of that tournament.
The Tamil Nadu cricketer has not played for the national side since India’s poor World Cup snub. However, he has continued to impress in the domestic circuit. He scored 301 runs at an average of 33.44 in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy and 418 runs at an average of 59.71 and a strike-rate of 121.15 in the Vijay Hazare tournament.
Since his absence from the team, Shreyas Iyer and Manish Pandey have played in the middle order. But the fans felt that the team requires someone more experience in the lower order. Manish Pandey struggled to score quick runs at the death overs, which the 34-year-old cricketer can do with ease. This is what makes Karthik a perfect choice for the finisher role.
So IPL 2020 is a very good opportunity for the wicket-keeper batsman to prove his worth again. He can seal a T20 World Cup spot and turn over his fate. But if the cash league gets called off, it is almost over for the cricketer.
2. Kuldeep Yadav
Kuldeep Yadav has been on a horrible run since the start of IPL 2019. He was India’s premium bowler in white-ball cricket but now he is only a backup bowler. He was also dropped by his franchise Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) in middle of the league. In IPL 2019, the chinaman could pick only 4 wickets in 9 games and gave away runs at an economy of 8.66.
Kuldeep Yadav recently expressed his feeling on how much India miss MS Dhoni. And also praised KL Rahul for his impressive performance.
Since the World Cup in England, the spinner has played only 3 T20Is picking 4 wickets. Yuzvendra Chahal and Ravindra Jadeja are being given more preference than the Uttar Pradesh spinner.
The 25-year-old cricketer has a chance to get his rhyme and confidence back in IPL 2020. It would have helped him in winning a spot in T20 World Cup squad. But the things have gone bad for the spinner as the IPL is under dark clouds of the virus. If the league gets cancelled, he might end up losing his spot for the mega event.
1. MS Dhoni
The India legendary wicket-keeper, MS Dhoni, has not played any competitive cricket since India’s world cup exit. He made himself unavailable after the mega-event and his name hits media when BCCI released central contract players list without MS Dhoni’s name. When many fans doubted his participation in IPL 2020, Chennai Super Kings (CSK) came forward to confirm their skipper’s participation.
Dhoni reached Chennai on March 2 where he received a roaring reception from Chennai franchise. Dhoni also joined his franchise training session in March to prepare for the tournament. Dhoni’s training video with team players went viral specially Dhoni’s five sixes in five consecutive balls. But later the league had to be postponed due to the outbreak of the virus.
It is also no secret that IPL 2020 is the only platform for the former skipper to walk back into the national team. India’s head coach Ravi Shastri and newly elected selectors also mentioned that Dhoni’s performance in the IPL will decide his future.
But if the cash-rich league gets cancelled, nobody is gonna hit more than the CSK skipper. This might put an end to his international career forever.
