3 IPL 2020 stars who can come in as injury replacements in limited-overs squads for Australia series
There were plenty of impressive performances in IPL 2020 from cricketers of various franchises. However, only a handful were successful in convincing the selectors to pick them for the tour of Australia.
KL Rahul, the Orange Cap winner, not only forced his way back into the Test team courtesy a stupendous show in IPL 2020, but was also named vice-captain of the limited-overs squads.
On the other hand, mystery spinner Varun Chakravarthy was included in the original T20I squad, but his dream came shattering down as he had to be pulled out due to injury.
Injuries and part and parcel of a cricketer’s life. With back-to-back matches being held in the UAE for nearly two months followed by a long tour of Australia, there could be more injury concerns for India. In such a scenario, here are three IPL 2020 stars who can come in as injury replacements in the limited-overs squads.
IPL 2020 stars who should be on stand-by for Australia series
#1. Suryakumar Yadav
Suryakumar Yadav, who has been a consistent performer for Mumbai Indians — as in domestic cricket for a few seasons now — was unlucky not to be chosen for the Australia series in the first place. He had an excellent IPL 2020, with 480 runs in 16 matches at a strike rate of 145 with four fifties.
A few times Mumbai looked in trouble during IPL 2020, Yadav stepped up for the team’s cause. In 2019 and 2018 as well he was the team’s Mr. Dependable with 424 and 512 runs respectively. Former Sunrisers Hyderabad coach Tom Moody recently expressed surprise over the fact that Yadav hasn’t played for India.
“It is just mind-blowing to think that this guy has not represented his country. He bats with great grace, control and he seems to do it without breaking a sweat. To me, he’s a real class act,” Moody told ESPNCricinfo.
He is not the only one to believe so. Twitter too expressed anger at his non-inclusion in the squads for the Australia series.
#2. Devdutt Padikkal
If Royal Challengers Bangalore had one of their most impressive seasons in IPL 2020, it had a lot to do with young opener Devdutt Padikkal. The 20-year-old looked in complete command during the start of his innings most times, and it never seemed like he was playing in his debut season. In 15 matches, he notched up 473 runs at a strike rate of 124.80 with five half-centuries, and ended up as RCB’s top run-getter of the season.
With his consistent performances, Padikkal took the pressure off skipper Virat Kohli and AB de Villiers, who also scored over 450 runs in IPL 2020. The left-hander constantly got the team off to assured starts even as Aaron Finch struggled to get into any sort of rhythm.
His ability to strike the ball cleanly was among his most impressive assets. It was no surprise that Padikkal won the ‘Emerging Player Award’ for his impressive show in IPL 2020.
#3. Ravi Bishnoi
Like Padikkal, Ravi Bishnoi also made his IPL debut this season for Kings XI Punjab. The leg-spinner had an impressive U-19 World Cup campaign, which earned him a Rs 2 crore contract with the KXIP franchise. Unlike some biggies who let their team down, 20-year-old Bishnoi did not disappoint his franchise, claiming 12 wickets in 14 games at a strike rate of 25.50 and an economy rate of 7.37.
The standout aspect of Bishnoi’s performance was his aptitude. He did not bog down under pressure, and demonstrated fighting abilities to stand up against some high-class batsmen. Some of his big victims in IPL 2020 included Aaron Finch, David Warner and Eoin Morgan among others. If honed properly, Bishnoi has the talent and the attributes to go a long way.