Hyderabad: As the cash-rich IPL completes a decade of scandal and success, the flashy T20 competition this year will, however, miss some of the sheen with a few of the biggest stars missing out either partially or fully due to injuries.
The one name that every cricket fan will miss is the India and Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) skipper Virat Kohli, when the 2016 runner-ups take on defending champions Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) in the opener in Hyderabad, Wednesday.
They have also lost star batsman KL Rahul for the whole tournament owing to injury. In addition young batsman Sarfaraz Khan will most likely be unavailable for the entire season after hurting himself on the field during a practice match in Bangalore. Limited-over specialist AB de Villiers would also likely to miss first few matches.
As Kohli is likely to miss the first few matches in the tournament, the team has named Shane Watson as its captain in the interim.
RCB can still bank on flamboyant opener Chris Gayle and Watson. Kedar Jadhav can rise to the occasion. Australian T20 star Travis Head, Indian players Sachin Baby and Mandeep Singh are also valuable assets in the batting order.
RCB have few impressive bowlers in English paceman Tymal Mills and Yuzvendra Chahal. Leg-spinner Samuel Badree, pacers Adam Milne, Sreenath Aravind, Stuart Binny and Aniket Choudhary are also expected to help the team’s cause.
SRH, on the other hand, are determined to repeat last year’s magic to grab the title. Hyderabad has one of the most formidable batsmen in IPL in its skipper David Warner, who led from the front last season.
Shikhar Dhawan is keen to make a mark after losing his berth in the Indian side. The much-talked middle-order that includes Yuvraj Singh, Moises Henriques, Kane Williamson, Naman Ojha and Deepak Hooda, needs to raise the bar.
The SRH bowling consisting Ashish Nehra, Bhuvneshwar Kumar and limited over specialist Mustafizur Rahman and Barinder Sran, is considered one of the best in IPL. The team also have Rashid Khan, a unique leg-spinner from Afghanistan.
Agencies
