IPL 2020: 3 exciting players who could make their tournament debut this season
The anticipation towards IPL 2020 is building by the day. With the trading window done and dusted, the fans now have an idea of what the core squads for the 13th edition will look like.
IPL 2020 promises to be another season of high-quality cricket. A plethora of well-known names such as Chris Gayle, AB de Villiers, Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma will once again turn out for their respective franchises. We could also, because of the teams’ reputations for handing out debuts to talented international cricketers every year, see a few fresh faces.
On that note, here are three exciting players who could make their IPL debut in 2020.
#3 Janneman Malan
Janneman Malan is a very talented South African batsman on the verge of making a big breakthrough in cricket.
Malan is highly-rated at home and, looking at his domestic record, it is easy to see why. He has racked up 10 centuries in only 52 first-class innings, while he averages 30.94 in T20s with two centuries.
Recently, Malan came agonizingly short of a third century in the shortest format when he scored 99 not out against Jozi Stars in the Mzansi Super League. The batsman played a prominent part in his side Cape Town Blitz emerging victorious in the fixture (played on 8 November).
Opening the batting, Malan looked comfortable at the crease right from the start. He faced the Stars’ fast bowling pair of Kagiso Rabada and Duanne Olivier (who have opened the bowling together for South Africa in the past) with aplomb, and even deposited them several times for sixes over cover. Malan dominated the pair, which is not easy to achieve against bowlers of such calibre.
The 23-year-old played some exquisite off-side shots to finish on 99 after 20 overs. His innings will definitely grab the attention of all the IPL teams.
A franchise that will be especially keen to buy Malan at the 19 December auction is Kolkata Knight Riders. KKR recently released their two stalwart opening batsmen Robin Uthappa and Chris Lynn, and Malan, with his powerful ball-striking and good form, can be the ideal replacement.