IPL 2020: The much-awaited 13th season of the Indian Premier League is less than 20 days away and the excitement keeps on increasing as it comes closer. Even though there were doubts about the IPL, the BCCI President Sourav Ganguly said that the IPL will go ahead as per scheduled which is a piece of great news for all the cricket fans.
In the past 12 seasons of the IPL, there have been many occasions where some of the lower order batsmen are sent up the order as pinch hitters. Sunil Narine is one of the famous examples. All the teams want to maximize the advantage of the fielding restrictions and score as many runs as possible in the powerplay. The lower-order batsmen don’t get a chance to bat and so they are wasted down the order. It won’t matter even if they lose their wicket pretty quickly. So, let’s have a look at three bowlers who can be used as openers in IPL 2020.
- Shardul Thakur – CSK
Shardul Thakur might not be impressing with his primary skill which his bowling but many people are impressed with his hitting skills. Recently, whenever he has batted for India, he has shown his hitting skills.
In the third ODI against West Indies, he came in at a tricky situation and smashed 17 runs off just 6 balls. His batting strike-rate in the ODI format is 145.28 whereas in the shortest format it is 182.61. If he is allowed to open then he can make use of the fielding restrictions and score a quickfire 30 or 40.
MS Dhoni is known for his sharp cricketing brain and he might think of something different in IPL 2020 to disrupt the opposing team’s planning.
- Tom Curran – RR
Tom Curran was picked in the auction by the Rajasthan Royals. With four strong overseas players already in the squad, Curran would have found it difficult to make it in the XI, but now that Archer isn’t available for this IPL, he could find himself playing a majority of games.
Curran is not only a fantastic bowler but he has shown his ability with the bat. In the recently concluded BBL, Curran was smashing the bowlers to all the parts of the park. He has a long handle grip and can easily clear the fence.
If he opens the batting in IPL 2020, he can maximize the powerplay and the set up the innings for players like Smith and Samson who like to take their time. RR can think of using Curran at the top of the order in this season.
- Rashid Khan – SRH
Image source: IPLT20.com
Rashid Khan’s first scoring shot in the IPL and even in the BBL was a six. He has a strike rate of 147.83 in the IPL. He is currently one of the greats when to comes to bowling in this format but if he starts batting at the top of the order then he will double his value in the side.
Rashid Khan plays in only one gear and that’s exactly what is needed in this format. In this BBL, he single-handedly changed a few games with the bat. He plays unconventional strokes that surprise the bowlers.
SRH has two great openers in Warner and Bairstow but if one of them is out of touch then SRH can take a punt on the leg-spinner from Afghanistan.
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