T20 cricket is mostly about young players and it remains true in case of IPL as well, but there are a few veterans who are still excelling in the shortest format of the game and are going to be vital for their respective teams in the upcoming season of the IPL.
Here are the 5 veterans who will hold the key for their respective teams in IPL 2020 –
#1 MS Dhoni
MS Dhoni is now 39 years of age and nobody knows if he will play another game for India. The last time he played any sort of competitive cricket, it was a year back in the ODI World Cup. However, he is still going to lead the Chennai Super Kings in IPL 2020 and will be their most important player with the bat.
Dhoni, even at 39, is one of the cleanest strikers of the ball in world cricket and if he finds his rhythm, he still holds the ability to win games from impossible situations.
#2 Lasith Malinga
Lasith Malinga has already retired from Test and ODI cricket and plays only T20 cricket these days and he has certainly lost a yard of pace, but that has not affected his bowling too much because he mixes his lengths up really well now.
Malinga will be the first choice overseas fast bowler for Mumbai Indians in IPL 2020.
#3 AB de Villiers
AB de Villiers also bid adieu to international cricket a couple of years back, but he continues to play in the IPL and continues to be one of the top performers for his team RCB as well.
De Villiers had scored 442 runs in 13 games in the last IPL season at an average of 44.20 and a strike rate of 154.01. He was only second to the RCB captain Virat Kohli in terms of his runs’ tally, but his average and strike rate was even better than Virat.
#4 Chris Gayle
Chris Gayle, although he has not officially announced his retirement, doesn’t play international cricket frequently for West Indies anymore. However, he is still going around smashing the bowlers to all corners in various T20 leagues across the globe.
Gayle had hit 34 sixes and 45 boundaries in the last season of the IPL for Kings XI Punjab and the Punjab management will hope that he is at his destructive best again in UAE.
#5 Robin Uthappa
Robin Uthappa is a bit younger than the above mentioned players, but he is still a veteran when it comes to the IPL as he has played in all the IPL seasons so far, right since the very beginning.
Uthappa had a great stint with Kolkata Knight Riders where he won two IPL titles in 2012 and 2014 respectively, but he is now a part of the Rajasthan Royals squad and his presence at the top of the order is certainly going to strengthen Rajasthan’s batting in the upcoming IPL.
