IPL 2019: 4 teams that would benefit from buying Jonny Bairstow at the auction
Jonny Bairstow, the player who surprisingly doesn't have an IPL contract yet, is a big name in T20I for his country. He is both a handy batsman and a superb keeper who can seemingly pull pull the ball out of thin air.
Bairstow, recently smashed a 24-ball 84 for Kerala Knights in the qualifier of the ongoing T10 league, underscoring his value yet again. All the teams would certainly love to have such an explosive player like him at the top.
Let's look at four teams that would benefit immensely if they got Bairstow on board in the upcoming auction:
#1 Royal Challengers Bangalore
RCB, the three-time finalists, haven't been that lucky when it comes to the decisive phase for the trophy. They have lacked balance and character in the finals they have played, and since Chris Gayle left the team they haven't found a reliable opener.
They bought Quinton de Kock, a like-for-like replacement at the 2018 auction, but he failed to impress and has now been traded with the three-time champions Mumbai Indians. RCB need a backup keeper and an opening partner for the probable opener and keeper Parthiv Patel; a player who could reduce the pressure on the Kohli-AB duo.
Jonny Bairstow seems to be the perfect solution to RCB's woes, and could well take them to their maiden IPL title.
#2 Sunrisers Hyderabad
The Sunrisers have never had a big problem with their batting, but after releasing Shikhar Dhawan, Alex Hales and Wriddhiman Saha, things look a bit different.
SRH seem to be in a spot of bother and are in search of a reliable keeper-batsman. And if they buy Bairstow at the auction, they would have a powerful top 3 of him, David Warner and Kane Williamson.
Bairstow could also solve their keeper problems, doubling up as a top order threat as well as a safe pair of hands behind the stumps.