IPL 2020: 5 players who can win the Orange Cap this year

It has rarely happened in the IPL that a player who has won the Orange Cap has not been able to drive his team to the playoffs.

For a batsman to be able to win the Orange Cap in the IPL, he has to bat deep in most of the games. And a batsman batting deep allows the other stroke-players in the XI to bat around him and express themselves, which ultimately reflects in the team’s consistency with the bat.

The IPL is 12 years old now, and there are only three Indian players who have won the Orange Cap in the tournament so far. While Sachin Tendulkar did it in the third edition of the tournament in 2010, Robin Uthappa and Virat Kohli did it in 2014 and 2016 respectively.

The next edition of the IPL is only six weeks away. On that note, here are the 5 players who are most likely to win the Orange Cap in 2020 –

#1 KL Rahul

KL Rahul finished as the third highest run-scorer for India in T20Is last year, and he has carried his rich vein of form to 2020 as well. The 27-year old right-hander is leading the charts of the top run-getters for India in T20Is this year.

Rahul is someone who has many different gears in his batting. He generally goes after the bowling at the top as Chris Gayle, his opening partner at Kings XI Punjab, likes to take a bit of time upfront. However, as Gayle gets into his groove, Rahul changes his tempo and starts playing second fiddle.

The ability to bat at different tempos at different junctures of the game allows Rahul to achieve incredible consistency in T20 cricket.

Rahul will be captaining the Kings XI Punjab this year, and he will have to take the onus upon himself to guide the ship and bat for long periods.