|| CF Correspondent ||

Harsha Bhogle, an Indian cricket commentator and popular cricket analyst believes SunRisers Hyderabad (SRH) could have won the 2020 Indian Premier League (IPL) as an odds-on favourite team if they would have had Shakib Al Hasan in the team.

Bangladesh premier all-rounder, who has been serving a year-long ban slapped by the International Cricket Council (ICC) for not reporting about bookmaker’s sinister approaches to him on several occasions in 2018, helped SRH triumph the coveted IPL crown in 2016.

He, therefore, became irregular in the team after the abrupt rise of Afghanistan leg-spinner Rashid Khan for which he played only three matches in IPL in the last season for SRH.

Despite having been in the side bench, Shakib didn’t forget to utilise his time off the field and practiced in a methodical way under the guideline of his childhood mentor Mohammad Salahuddin, who was recalled by him to India to work with his beloved disciple.

Former Australian captain Ricky Pointing had issued a warning for the cricketing world prior to the 2019 World Cup that Shakib will mesmorise the extravaganza in England soil. Many believe that his methodical practice beside the IPL helped him showcase his jaw-dropping performance in the 2019 World Cup.

Shakib chalked up 606 runs, the third highest of the flagship event alongside 11 wickets that struck a rare record in world Cup history. No player could achieve the double of 500 runs and 10 plus wickets simultaneously before him.

Bhogle believes the 2020 IPL could be Shakib’s tournament as the popular event is being held in Dubai in place of India because of the spate of the highly contagious COVID-19.

“The team already has some exciting players at the top and down the order and some good bowlers like Bhuvneshwar, Rashid Khan. I think they are one of the favourites in the tournament,” said Harsha Bhogle.

“I think this IPL could be Shakib’s IPL. When the game was played in India, he did not get many matches due to the combination of teams. Suppose Shakib is playing at No. 3, delivering four overs and I think this team would have been more from being a contender to being one of the favourites,” Bhogle said in a video podcast.