IPL 2019: 4 key talking points ahead of the 12th edition
Summer is slowly but surely setting in India and that means Indian Premier League is around the corner. One of the world’s biggest sporting extravaganza is starting a wee bit early this season because of the upcoming World Cup.
There were discussions that this year’s IPL might be moved out of the country, but for the first time, the event will take place entirely in India during a general election year.
As always, all the eight teams look strong on paper as the best players from across the globe are participating in the richest cricketing league on the globe.
As always, there are going to be a lot of issues to discuss in the tournament. Here is a look at key talking points from the tournament
#4 Rishab Pant or Dinesh Karthik
Although India’s skipper Virat Kohli had said that IPL performances would not be taken into account while picking the World Cup squad, the race for back up wicket keeper’s slot for MS Dhoni is still open. The selectors do not really have a choice but to pick either Rishabh Pant or Dinesh Karthik on IPL performances.
Neither of them has sealed that spot yet and left the selectors in a conundrum. Pant wasted golden opportunity to make the spot is own during the home recently concluded home series vs Australia.
Karthik has been in tremendous form with the bat during tense chases in recent times but his exploits have come in T20 format and not in ODIs. To be fair, the Tamil Nadu player hasn't had enough opportunities in the 50-overs to book his place.
Even though the race is for a second wicketkeeper, either of them could play as a pure batsman considering the fact that India’s middle order isn't settled yet. In that case, Karthik will have a clear advantage because of his better fielding in the outfield.
However, both players would be keen to deliver during the first phase of IPL in order to earn the ticket to England for the 2019 World Cup.