4 players who can use IPL 2020 as their road to World T20 to be held in Australia
As the World T20 is nearing, the selectors are keeping a close eye at the contenders who can be a part of India's squad for the mega event. Apart from skipper Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma, KL Rahul, Jasprit Bumrah, Hardik Pandya (depending on his fitness), Deepak Chahar, and Yuzvendra Chahal, the remaining spots are still up for grabs.
Here is a list of 4 players that can use their performance in the upcoming IPL season to make their cases stronger than superior candidates like Shreyas Iyer, Ravindra Jadeja, Krunal Pandya, Mohammed Shami, Bhuvnshwar Kumar, Rishabh Pant and others.
#4 Manish Pandey
Manish Pandey has been in red-hot form, especially in T20s, in the domestic circuit. Though he got opportunities in patches for the Indian T20I side, he couldn't make an impact to make the spot his own.
In the recently-concluded Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy, the Karnataka batsman scored 314 runs from 8 innings at an average of 78.50, including a 54-ball 129 against Services. He also played a match-winning hand of unbeaten 60 to lead his team to their second consecutive title.
With India still unsure about their middle-order combination, Pandey can try and grab the spot for the big tournament with a stellar IPL.
Also see – Ranji points table
#3 Washington Sundar
Although Washinton Sundar has been a regular member of India's T20I squad recently, his place in the WT20 squad might still be uncertain, with players like Ravindra Jadeja and Krunal Pandya eyeing for the same spot of a spin-bowling all-rounder.
The Australian conditions, that doesn't offer turn, might just go in his favor as he isn't a big turner and he can use his height to deceive the batsmen. Having said that, the upcoming IPL might just act as a World Cup qualifier for either of these all-rounders and Washington will need to fight intensely to book his spot.
#2 Navdeep Saini
Navdeep Saini plesantly surprised with his raw pace in the last IPL season. He was not only clicking 150s but was also bowling with a lot of control that made skipper Virat Kohli often used him at the death. The 27-year-old went on to represent India and played 5 T20Is, where he scalped 6 wickets with best figures of 3/17.
The Australian pitches offer a lot to the fast bowlers and Saini should perform exceedingly well to join India's pace attack which is still not final apart from Jasprit Bumrah and Deepak Chahar.
#1 Sanju Samson
Since the continuous failures of Rishabh Pant at the highest level in T20Is, the talks have centered around Sanju Samson making an entry into the side. The wicket-keeper spot has been in contention since MS Dhoni decided to take a break from international cricket.
Rishabh Pant has rocked the IPL but has not been able to convert the same form at the international level, having scored only 2 fifties from 24 innings.
Sanju Samson was included in the T20I squad against Bangladesh and replaced the injured Shikhar Dhawan against West Indies but was only able to watch the games from the sidelines. The upcoming IPL season might turn out to be a knockout contest between the two keepers and if the situation arises, he might be able to make it to the squad as a pure batsman.