6 players for whom IPL 2020 is a must before ICC T20 World Cup 2020

6 players for whom IPL 2020 is a must: The SportsRush present before you a list of players who are banking on the IPL for T20 World Cup 2020 selection.

There is no going into a safe house regarding the fact that a season of the Indian Premier League in the year of the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup receives all the more importance due to some pretty valid reasons.

Leave aside Indian players, even some overseas players eye a season of the IPL for a solid performance against some of the best in the game aids them in getting preference when their national squad gets selected.

Had it not been for the outbreak of a “pandemic” in the novel COVID-19, the 13th season of the Indian Premier would have only a handful of nights away. As a result, some players would have been at the top of their game to press a case for themselves before the T20 World Cup in Australia this year.

With the Indian government announcing a lockdown till April 14 as a preventive measure in the wake of coronavirus, it is highly unlikely that IPL 2020 will start from its scheduled date of April 15. Hoping that the tournament begins anytime before its reported deadline, below six Indian players for whom a stellar season of the IPL is a must.

6 players for whom IPL 2020 is a must

MS Dhoni

Veteran India wicket-keeper batsman Mahendra Singh Dhoni, who last played for India during the ICC Cricket World Cup 2019, missed the West Indies tour (and all subsequent series) last year due to his training for the parachute regiment of the Indian Army in Kashmir valley.

Dhoni was in the news in January when his name wasn’t to be found in the list of annually contracted Indian players. Since his absence from top-level cricket, Dhoni has allured abundant comments, speculations and opinions regarding his future as an international cricketer.

Given Dhoni’s stature, these statement didn’t come as a surprise but that doesn’t make him an automatic pick for the World Cup. Barring his strike rate in the recent past, the 38-year old has all the numbers in his favour in addition to his international experience of 15 years.

Slated to lead Chennai Super Kings in IPL 2020 for the 11th time, a lot of eyes will unequivocally be on Dhoni solely for his batting. Irrespective of what he does with his captaincy, experience or wicket-keeping, the 38-year old player will be judged primarily on the number of runs he scores in this season.

Bhuvneshwar Kumar

A pivotal part of India’s white-ball squads until last year, frequent injuries have seen Bhuvneshwar Kumar fall off the radar in both ODIs and T20Is.

Bhuvneshwar, 30, had recently made his comeback into the ODI squad for the home series against South Africa. However, the series was among the many tournaments which got affected by coronavirus.

Since the start of 2019, Bhuvneshwar has picked eight wickets in nine T20Is at an average of 33.87, an economy rate of 8.21 and a strike rate of 24.7. Primarily known for his ability to contain the batsmen, the right-arm bowler has often been found on the higher side of economy rate of late.

Having not played much of domestic cricket due to injuries, Bhuvneshwar will face direct competition from Rajasthan and Chennai Super Kings pacer Deepak Chahar. In Bhuvneshwar’s absence, Chahar has emerged as a like-for-like replacement who dismissed 17 batsmen in 10 T20Is including career-best figures of 3.2-0-7-6 against Bangladesh.

Sanju Samson

India wicket-keeper batsman Sanju Samson gained bountiful goodwill on the back of his performances in the Indian Premier League over the years. In his recent performances for Rajasthan Royals and Delhi Daredevils, Samson impressed one and all as a rookie Indian batsman.

ALSO WATCH: Airborne Sanju Samson’s courageous effort saves four runs for India

Since making his comeback into the team last year, Samson warmed the bench for quite a while before playing three T20Is in which he returned with scores of 6, 8 and 2.

While Samson’s international performance has been nowhere near the mark, a prosperous IPL season will once again bring him into recognition, at least in the T20I format.

Suryakumar Yadav

Ranji Trophy – 508 runs in five matches at an average of 56.44 and a strike rate of 95.13 including two centuries and two half-centuries.

Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy – 392 runs in 11 matches at an average of 56 and a strike rate of 168.96 including four half-centuries.

Vijay Hazare Trophy – 226 runs in eight matches at an average of 113 and a strike rate of 154.79 including two half-centuries.

IPL 2019 – 424 runs in 16 matches at an average of 32.61 and a strike rate of 130.86 including two half-centuries.

If there is one uncapped domestic batsman who has banged the doors of the selection committee with every passing tournament, it is Mumbai and Mumbai Indians’ Suryakumar Yadav. The 29-year old batsman constantly scoring runs across formats might just make him a surprise yet deserving entrant in India’s World Cup squad provided he continues his tryst with runs in IPL 2020.

Dinesh Karthik

Dinesh Karthik, 34, perhaps became a victim of India losing the semi-final of the ICC Cricket World Cup 2019 due to a below par batting performance.

Even after successfully playing the role of a finisher in T20Is, Karthik was unjustifiably left out from the subsequent tour of West Indies last year and is yet to play at the highest level since then.

In an interview with ESPNcricinfo in October 2019, Karthik opened up about his ambition of playing an MS Dhoni-like finishing role in the T20 World Cup in Australia.

Set to lead Kolkata Knight Riders in IPL 2020, Karthik would be hoping to yield dual results for both him and the franchise by leading from the front. With India yet to zero in on a finisher in T20Is, Karthik being among the runs in IPL 2020 should make his way easier.

Suresh Raina

In an interview with The Hindu in September 2019, India and Chennai Super Kings batsman Suresh Raina lad expressed his desire to bat at No. 4 for India in T20Is during the showpiece tournament in October-November.

With batsman Shreyas Iyer scoring 244 runs in eight T20Is at an average of 61 and a strike rate of 153.45 at No. 4 in the last year, Raina’s desire seems far-fetched.

That being said, the experienced southpaw can still fight for the finisher’s spot alongside many other contenders. Having last played for India during the tour of England in 2018, Raina will need to register stupendous form to qualify for selection in the national team.

Much like his Uttar Pradesh teammate in Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Raina has also been severely affected by injuries in the recent past. From being among the first names in an Indian T20I side to being among the best all-time Indian fielders, 33-year old Raina making a comeback won’t be a mean task for him.

Raina, whose last competitive tournament was IPL 2019, wasn’t in his best form as him scoring 383 at an average of 23.93 was his second-worst IPL season in terms of number of runs scored. With no shortage in potential in this format, all Raina needs is heaps of runs to his name to knock the doors of the selectors.