The 13th edition of the Indian Premier League is finally on after a long delay and many uncertainties due to the COVID-19 pandemic. IPL is set to start in UAE from 19th September 2020, and the fans will finally get to see their favorite stars in action in their favorite t20 league.
Teams have started preparing for the tournament, and we are in to relive the IPL fever again. Since the IPL, this year is shifted to UAE due to the coronavirus; teams will have to rethink their plans and strategy. Today we’ll name the 4 teams that we think will qualify for the play-offs of the IPL 2020.
Here’s Cricindeed’s top 4 prediction for the IPL 2020:
1. Chennai Super Kings
CSK is our first pick for the top 4 in IPL 2020. CSK is the only team to have qualified for the playoffs in every season in which they’ve played (10 seasons). They are the most successful side in the history of the league with a win percentage of 61.28% and second, in most numbers of matches won after Mumbai Indians (107) with 100 wins to their name, but, they’ve played 22 games less than Mumbai, It shows how good Chennai have been.
CSK’s main strength is their spinner attack on the slow Chepauk deck. They have a bunch of spinners who will love the big grounds and sluggish tracks of UAE. The lineup of Imran Tahir, Ravindra Jadeja, Harbhajan Singh, Mitchell Santner, Piyush Chawla, etc. will thrive in these conditions. CSK’s record in UAE is also excellent, winning 4 out of 5 games. It’s a no brainer why CSK is in our top 4 teams for the playoffs and Dhoni’s Talismanic leadership is expected to take this team in the playoffs once again.
2. Mumbai Indians
The second team in our top 4 picks is Mumbai Indians. The four-times champions of the IPL, Mumbai is one of the top 2 teams in the IPL history. They have the most balanced squad in the tournament. Although their spin attack seems a bit inexperienced with Rahul Chahar and Jayant Yadav being the spinners along with Krunal Pandya but Rahul Chahar has shown what he is capable of in the previous season, and Jayant’s performance was impressive too in the limited opportunities he got so underestimating these guys will be a huge mistake.
Although MI’s record in the UAE is something, they’ll surely want to change this season. They are winless in the five games they’ve played; they have the players to perform in those conditions. Mumbai is too good to be left out of the playoffs despite their poor record in the UAE.
3. Sunrisers Hyderabad
Sunrisers Hyderabad will love the conditions in the United Arab Emirates. They have a very exciting spin attack led by “Hyderabad ki Shaan Rashid Khan”, Afghan veteran Mohammad Nabi along with Shahbaaz Nadeem, Fabian Allen, and Abdul Samad.
They have Jonny Bairstow and David Warner at the top who can go berserk on the batting track of Sharjah. They have some exciting new recruits in Abdul Samad, Fabian Allen, Priyam Garg, Virat Singh, and the others. SRH has one of the best bowling attacks, and we believe that they will qualify for the playoffs. The likes of Allen and Mitch Marsh are expected to fix the lower order issues for the Orange Army this season.
4. Kolkata Knight Riders
Our last pick is the Kolkata Knight Riders. KKR has a strong squad for IPL 2020 especially their batting. Andre Russell alone can intimidate any bowling lineup, and we witnessed the destruction last season. Shubman Gill, Dinesh Karthik, Tom Banton, Nitish Rana, Eoin Morgan, etc. form an excellent batting lineup.
KKR’s bowling is a bit inexperienced, but Sunil Narine, Pat Cummins, and Lockie Ferguson added with Prasidh Krishna, Shivam Mavi, and Varun Chakravarthy their bowling isn’t the one to be underestimated. KKR, as mentioned, has a good squad with a solid batting lineup and we expect the two times champions to play in the playoffs.
