IPL 2020: 5 Indian finishers to watch out for
The 13th edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL) is round the corner and is all set to be bigger and grand than earlier seasons. So much so, that the stakes of the cash-rich league which will begin on March 29 are on par to that of the ICC T20 World Cup which will follow later this year in Australia.
The tournament, over the years, has witnessed some of the greatest finishers showing their abilities with the bat. Last season, Kolkata Knight Riders’ Andre Russell took the stage by storm hitting everything in his arc out the park. The giant West Indies cricketer finished the competition with 510 runs from 14 matches at a strike-rate of over 200 including 52 maximums. Delhi Capitals' Rishabh Pant and Shreyas Iyer also had a great tournament alongside Chennai Super Kings' skipper MS Dhoni.
The forthcoming season will also witness some of the greatest strikers of the cricket ball dominate the actions over two months. The eight franchises have tried to rope in the best finishers during the auctions which held in Kolkata, last year in December. Alongside Russell, the likes of Glenn Maxwell, David Miller, Eoin Morgan, Kieron Pollard, MS Dhoni, Hardik Pandya, Dinesh Karthik will look to put their best feet forward and contribute to their sides victory.
Finishers may not always be the most ferocious hitters of the cricket ball but the ones who ensure that their side crosses the line in every game. Chasing a total has turned into an art and we witnessed most of the skippers opting to bowl first in the last season and it will be no different this time around.
As the 13th edition of the IPL starts in a few weeks, we take a look at the top five Indian finishers to watch out for.
#5 Shivam Dube
Shivam Dube had a horrific run in his maiden IPL season managing only 40 runs from four games. The Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) management was confident about releasing the all-rounder ahead of the mega auctions. But Dube’s exploit in the domestic circuit for Mumbai forced the Mike Hesson-led support staff to rethink and retain him.
The 26-year-old Dube is a powerful young cricketer; he packs a punch and is more than capable of hitting the ball a country mile. He is one of the genuine fast bowling all-rounders in the country and is looked upon as the future of the Indian cricket. With 13 T20Is under his belt, the Mumbai lad is yet to showcase his skills consistently, but the oppositions will be fooling themselves if they rule him out of the game.
He boasts a strike-rate of over 135 in T20Is and has the record of hitting five sixes in an over twice. With experience by his side, Shivam Dube will be a hot property in the forthcoming IPL as RCB continue their hunt for their maiden trophy.
Note: All statistics as of February 11, 2020