5 Burning Questions Heading Into IPL 2020
|By Parshva Shah|
It’s hard to believe that the Indian Premier League is 12 years old. It wouldn’t be incorrect to say that this year has been the strangest of the 12 years so far. For the first time, crowds won’t be the 12th man in the game. Never has an IPL been played during the second half of the year.
Heading into this year’s IPL, a lot of questions need to be answered – some circling the tournament, while the others are focusing on the bigger picture with the future in mind.
Without stretching this article, let’s see what these five questions are and why they are so important.
Who will dominate the IPL Clasico?
IPL Clasico is the most significant tie in the Indian Premier League between two powerhouses, Mumbai Indians and Chennai Super Kings. They are the cricketing equivalent of Real Madrid and Barcelona (Spanish football clubs) when it comes to the IPL.
What makes the matchup interesting is the number of times they’ve faced off in the finals. In ten seasons (I’ve excluded two seasons during which CSK were serving their suspension), the two teams have played each other in four finals. CSK won one, while MI got the better of their arch-rivals three times. The intensity during the game is on a totally different level too.
Fans will be hoping that they can witness something similar this time. There won’t be supporters to lift the spirits of the teams. But one thing to be sure about is that the hopes and prayers of millions of fans will probably be enough to help these teams look at each other eye into the eye.
Chennai Super Kings and Mumbai Indians have retained a majority of their squad from last season. Still, there has hardly been an occasion where the change in personnel has influenced the overall dynamic of this beloved fixture.
There couldn’t be a better way to kick-off this year’s IPL. The first match on 19th September will be played between these supergiants.
Can RCB finally win this year’s IPL?
Given the sheer uncertainties that have plagued the year 2020, it wouldn’t be a stretch to imagine Royal Challengers Bangalore breaking the hoodoo and clinching their first-ever IPL title.
They have had a revamp of sorts after failing to qualify for the playoffs in each of the three seasons since 2016, where they finished runners-up behind Sunrisers Hyderabad.
Virat Kohli would be keen to put his captaincy woes behind, as he is yet to win a major trophy as captain (both in the IPL or internationally).
Who will be the first-choice wicket-keeper for India since MS Dhoni has announced retirement?
MS Dhoni, in the most typical of ways, announced his retirement from international cricket on 15th August 2020. All the fans (and I hope a few journalists) were heartbroken to see the legend hang up his boots without receiving a proper send-off. It’s a shame that the postponement of the T20 World Cup to next year convinced Dhoni that he needs to retire.
However, as is the principle of life, you got to move on. The IPL serves as a platform to spark a fresh wicket-keeping debate leading to the T20 World Cup to be staged in India.
KL Rahul’s new role as a middle-order batsman, a position he seems to have taken to like fish to water, had dispelled the wicket-keeping debate temporarily. Rishabh Pant’s inability to grab the opportunities by the scruff of its neck and Sanju Samson’s limited failures in limited opportunities meant that Rahul had to be groomed for a new role, and boy did he impress!
If Rishabh Pant can pile up the runs at the brisk rate he is known for, he will surely be one of the players in contention for the upcoming bilateral series in the build-up to the marquee event. Sanju Samson should do his talents some justice too, as he is probably a better wicket-keeper than Pant.
Will we see the best of Kamlesh Nagarkoti on his return from injury?
Ever since his exploits at the 2018 U-19 Cricket World Cup, Kamlesh Nagarkoti has been looked upon as the future of the Indian pace bowling department. His ability to hit 150 km/h consistently makes him a tantalizing prospect for any side in the world.
He has been unfortunate the last two IPLs due to two injuries, first a foot injury that ruled him out of IPL 2018, and then a back injury which kept him on the sidelines for a total 19 months.
Nagarkoti is a brilliant young prospect. His blistering pace makes him a rare breed of Indian bowlers who clock over 150 km/h. Jasprit Bumrah is the only bowler in the current squad. Ishant Sharma hit 150 km/h in the 2007-08 tour Down Under, making Ricky Ponting his bunny.
The presence of Pat Cummins will help Nagarkoti improve his bowling, and he will surely be one to watch out for, as he has a realistic chance of making it to the 2023 Cricket World Cup.
How will IPL turn out to be without the crowds?
The infusion of the pandemic has totally put the kibosh on everything. Sports have, to some extent, acted as a glimmer of hope to restore regularity sooner than expected.
Crowds completely change the way a match is felt. The energy can lift a team that has their backs pinned against the wall. Some players feed off this energy to entertain the crowd and outperform their abilities (Dwayne Bravo, Kieron Pollard, Virat Kohli, etc. are the best examples of players who reciprocate the crowd energy.).
Without spectators, the tournament will definitely seem dull. They are the soul that drives this tournament. All the talk about IPL being a ‘cash-rich league’ is fine, but this tournament gives you sell-out after sell-out. The presence of an indefatigable audience will be sorely felt.
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