5 batting partnerships we would have loved to watch
The beauty of the IPL is that we get to see batting pairs that we would have never been able to see if it wasn’t for this tournament. The best players from various countries amalgamate to give fans a more diverse version of the game.
Pairs like Virat Kohli-AB de Villiers, Shikhar Dhawan-David Warner, and MS Dhoni-Brendon McCullum have captured the imagination of fans and we wonder what could have been if the IPL initiated with the formation of the game of cricket itself.
Many legendary players would have played together and here is an attempt at listing down five such pairs:
Sir Don Bradman - Wally Hammond
Just imagine, there is no limitations to that. Australia’s greatest and England’s finest and the greatest rivals of their time. Many claim that Wally Hammond would have been the greatest batsman of that era if it wasn’t for The Don – and that fact ate him up bit by bit.
Both these batsmen were known for their irresistible technique and longevity at the crease as well as timely aggression. Another thing that stood out was their ability to play on really sticky pitches where the ball took a million years to come off the pitch – that is why they were two of the best of their time.
And hence it would have been interesting to see how they would have fared when playing in the same team. One can only imagine the glorious amount of stroke-play that would have happened if these two were at the crease together.
Imran Khan - Sir Richard Hadlee
Two of the greatest all-rounders to play the game. Imran Khan is arguably the best cricketer Pakistan have ever produced while Sir Richard Hadlee is definitely the greatest to hail from New Zealand. Having both in the same team is like having four players at the same time: 2 quality batsmen and 2 amazing bowlers.
While Imran Khan is the better batsman among the two, you can say it’s a very close contest between the two with the ball in hand. Wickets and/or runs would have been a guarantee had these two played in the same team.