The Indian Premier League is laden with international stars again this season. Batsmen, bowlers, wicketkeeper and all-rounders from abroad have made the trip to the United Arab Emirates to represent the Royal Challengers Bangalore, Chennai Super Kings, Mumbai Indians and five other IPL franchises.
Bangalore have South Africans Chris Morris, AB de Villiers and Dale Steyn. Chennai have Australian Shane Watson and Sam Curran. Mumbai have Proteas opener Quinton de Kock. These are just a few examples of the vast number of non-Indian stars participating in the 2020 IPL.
There is, of course, a host of local talent on display in the Dubai, Sharjah and Abu Dhabi as well. From the Sunrisers Hyderabad’s Manish Pandey and Delhi Capitals’ Shreyas Iyer to the Rajasthan Royals’ Ajinkya Rahane and Kings XI Punjab’s KL Rahul, several star Indian players are being showcased, too.
Overseas players by the numbers
In terms of the number of internationals since the start of the tournament in 2008, it’s interesting to note that all but one of the 12 previous IPL champions have had 15 or more internationals in their squad. This intriguing statistic is detailed in Betway‘s infographic.
Kohli recently hailed the 2020 RCB squad as the most balanced since the class of 2016. The collective from four years ago reached the final, but lost to the Sunrisers. Time will tell if they can get there – and go one better en route to a maiden title – this year.
Former Royal Challengers batsman Kevin Pietersen is among the most public figures to ponder the perserverance of his former franchise, especially since they’ve enlisted the services of former New Zealand head coach Mike Hesson and new assistant Simon Katich – and despite the loss of West Indian big-hitter Chris Gayle to the Kings XI Punjab.
KP’s comments
“As ever, Royal Challengers Bangalore are one of the biggest IPL talking points,” Pietersen wrote for Betway.
“They are always the team to watch, mainly because of that partnership between Virat and AB, which we all expect so much from.
“It’s baffling that they underperform so often and that they have never won the tournament. They were my first IPL team and nothing felt like it was wrong when I was there from 2009 to 2010.
“They’ve had amazing players – they even had Gayle there, when he was knocking them all over the park. It’s strange that they haven’t been able to get their hands on that trophy.
“Things might go differently for them this year, with Hesson coming in to work alongside Katich on the coaching staff. They need Hesson to have the Midas touch to get them over the line.
“With Kohli and de Villiers, and now new signing Aaron Finch, everybody knows that RCB can get the runs, but are they going to get the wickets they desperately need?
“Dale Steyn can hopefully get their bowling attack going, alongside Adam Zampa.”
Conclusion
Soon enough, we’ll see how the IPL standings are shaping up toward the business end of the competition. Perhaps Mumbai will win a fifth title. Maybe Chennai will clinch a fourth. Could the Kolkata Knight Riders collect a third? Might Hyderabad enjoy a second? Bangalore, though, may land a maiden title.