Robin Uthappa’s brilliant show in the last season of the IPL, came as a big surprise for all his fans. Bought at a meager price, Robin Uthappa showed why he was once considered as India’s next big thing. With a level of consistency which is barely found in T20 cricket, Robin Uthappa smashed his way to top the batting charts and win the Orange cap, ahead of the likes of explosive Glenn Maxwell, Suresh Raina and other T20 specialists. He was even awarded a place in the ODI team touring Bangladesh. But, unfortunately for Uthappa, he failed to convert the chance given by the selectors and struggled to score the runs in the series against Bangladesh. He flopped horribly, but because other batsmen failed too, he and all other batsmen got away.
Later, he was picked for the India A tour against Australia in Australia, and he failed there too, and this led to big question marks on his consistency. He didn’t show patience on the juicy wicket of Australia and his performance in the quadrangular series brought him back to ground after riding high on the IPL success. Where Uthappa failed to score runs, Sanju Samson played some brilliant innings and outperformed him in the quadrangular series. This took all the limelight away from Robin Uthappa and towards Sanju Samson. Later, Sanju Samson was picked for the ODI series againt England, and Uthappa was ignored.
Now, he is back to his familiar territory. The Champions League T20 2014 (CLT20 2014), is the ideal platform for Robin Uthappa to announce his comeback. Batting at the top of the order for Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR), Uthappa will have to grab the opportunity with both hands, if he wants to put any kind of pressure on the selectors, for the upcoming ODI series against West Indies.
Preparations for the all important Cricket World Cup 2015 have reached its final stage and the current form of players can be a crucial factor in the formation of the World Cup squad.
There’s uncertainty over Rohit Sharma’s availability after his injury for the series againt West Indies, and this might just open the doors for Uthappa, if he does something spectacular in the Champions League T20.
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