|| Cricfrenzy Desk ||
Punch hitters like Hardik Pandya and Kieron Pollard will struggle in the upcoming season of Indian Premier League in the UAE as pitches will be spin-friendly, revealed former Pakistan cricketer Ramiz Raja. He further said that teams who have good spin depth will do well in the tournament as well.
His comments came even after Pollard won the Man of the Tournament award in the recently concluded Caribbean Premier League, where he captained his team Trinbago Knight Riders to a record fourth title. Pollard has tasted a fair share of success with 207 runs at a strike rate of over 204 from 7 innings where the games were largely played on spin-friendly tracks as well.
"I think the teams who have a good spin department will do well, that is the first thing," Raja said on the YouTube show Cric Cast. “The big-hitters will struggle. Like Lynn, Pollard or Pandya brothers (all Mumbai Indians). Hardik Pandya probably although he plays spin well. But I feel that the team selection in this IPL will be slightly different. Fast bowling will be difficult, you will see a lot of variations."
"And behind closed doors, what will be the impact, because you will have to almost remain like a prisoner in a bio-secure environment and put up your best performance. So it becomes a difficult task. Because IPL without the buzz of the crowd is incomplete," Raja further said.
"So big teams will be playing away from their homes where they had a lot of advantage, for e.g. Kolkata Knight Riders had an advantage of playing at the Eden Gardens where the crowd support helps them in crunch moments. Similarly, RCB plays in Bangalore, who get an advantage there. So, it will be interesting to see how they adjust themselves in neutral territory," he concluded.
The 2020 IPL will start from September 19 in UAE and the mega event will end on November 10.