IPL 2018: 5 surprise Orange Cap contenders
The contenders for the prestigious orange cap laurel are fairly obvious. One of Virat Kohli, David Warner, Rohit Sharma, Suresh Raina, AB de Villiers and Gautam Gambhir are expected to finish the upcoming tournament as highest run-scorer.
The IPL, owing to its dynamic nature, can spring a surprise much like it did in the first season with Shaun Marsh. The last three seasons, however, have seen expected batsmen in the form of Virat Kohli and David Warner win the Orange Cap. Can someone from outside these expected names come to the fore and surprise us by bagging the orange cap this year? Let us look at five candidates who can:
#5 Dinesh Karthik
32-year-old Dinesh Karthik has had a career revival of late. He has not only made a comeback in Indian colors but has also been made the captain of one of the most renowned franchises in the IPL, the Kolkata Knight Riders.
Dinesh Karthik scored 361 runs last season, even though he found himself being sent lower down the order on many occasions. He should find himself higher up the order in the Knight Riders batting lineup. He will be motivated to reaffirm his franchisee's faith in him by leading from the front.
With hard-hitters like Chris Lynn, Sunil Narine, Robin Uthappa and Andre Russel in the squad, Dinesh Karthik will ideally play the role of a stabilizer in the team. All these reasons point to the fact that he should be in the runs this year, and could find himself near the top of the list of highest run-getters this year.