The Indian Premier League (IPL) contributes to the country's GDP. To generate further interest and thrill, the Board of Control for Cricket in India will introduce several changes in the 16th edition, including the Impact Player rule that will offer game time to a 12th player.
The new IPL season starts on Friday, with defending champions Gujarat Titans meeting the Chennai Super Kings at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad. And there will be more players to watch out for than usual, especially the game-changers who play their roles to the T.
Hardik Pandya (Gujarat Titans)
Pandya was not performing at full tilt in 2021 after returning from a back injury. Nobody gave the Gujarat Titans a chance last year, but the India all-rounder had different plans. He made a statement by putting up his best show with the bat (487) runs and claiming eight wickets in 15 games.
Pandya became a more responsible batter at No 4 with an improved technique. He will be instrumental in defending the title, since he is a three-dimensional player – an electric fielder who can pluck a catch out of thin air.
In 2022, Pandya scored 607 runs for India at a strike rate of 145.91. With the ball, he picked up 20 wickets in 27 games.
Ruturaj Gaikwad (Chennai Super Kings)
Gaikwad is a serious cricketer who rode on the IPL highway post impressive performances in domestic cricket. The Maharashtra batter had a breakout 2021 season with 635 runs, including a hundred and four fifties, but he couldn't replicate the form last year. He scored 368 runs, and the strike rate dropped from 136.26 to 126.46.
The 26-year-old will start confidently after scoring heavily in the Vijay Hazare Trophy (660 runs) and Syed Mushtaq Ali T20 (295 runs in six games) Trophy at a strike rate of 146.76.
He will be the perfect aggressor to Devon Conway's calm approach on top of the order.
Sarfaraz Khan (Delhi Capitals)
Sarfaraz has dominated bowlers in the red-ball format for Mumbai. The run machine has gained the confidence of senior players over the years and is perhaps also the best option to keep wickets in the absence of Rishabh Pant.
The middle-order batsman is an innovative player who started playing the scoop shot as a teenager in the IPL many years ago. And he was part of Mumbai's victorious Syed Mushtaq Ali T20 campaign in 2022-23.
Though a part-time keeper, he could stand behind the stumps to accommodate an additional international player since the other option, Phil Salt, has struggled against left-arm spinners and may not be an automatic choice to start the tournament.
David Wiese (Kolkata Knight Riders)
Wiese is a seasoned T20 player with experience at The Hundred and the Pakistan Super League.
The Namibian all-rounder could be the second fiddle to Andre Russell, much like Pat Cummins did, by smashing sixes. And he has an arsenal of deceptive deliveries as a seam bowler.
Wiese has IPL experience as he represented the Royal Challengers Bangalore in 2015, where he picked up 16 wickets in 14 outings. He had also scored 47 off 25 balls against the Mumbai Indians in one of the league games.
Last year, he scored an 18-ball 43 to guide the Deccan Gladiators to the Abu Dhabi T10 title.
Jason Holder (Rajasthan Royals)
The former West Indies skipper has been a potent force in the IPL in the past three seasons with 44 wickets. He represented the Lucknow Super Giants last year and claimed 14 wickets. The franchise released the Caribbean since his bat did not cause fireworks.
The seasoned cricketer is Rajasthan's only genuine seam-bowling all-rounder and could be central to Sanju Samson's plans.
Holder has the cutters, slowers and yorkers to keep the power hitters on a tight leash. Last year, he achieved a rare record of picking four wickets in four balls in a T20I against England in Barbados.
Prabhsimran Singh (Punjab Kings)
Punjab has been harnessing Prabhsimran since 2019, and finally, he looks ready for all the league games as an opener with captain Shikhar Dhawan.
He has been striking the ball well up front and looked comfortable against spinners.
The wicketkeeper-batter was the third-highest run-getter in the Syed Mushtaq Ali T20 tournament with 320 runs at a strike rate of 141.59, and last month, the 161 not out off 55 balls for CAG against Income Tax in the DY Patil T20 tournament stamped his class.
Hyderabad cricketer Varma was the find for Mumbai in 2022. The left-hander, playing his maiden season, was the second-highest run-getter for Mumbai with 397 runs, which involved two fifties, at a strike rate of 131.02.
The 20-year-old had a decent Syed Mushtaq Ali T20 in the domestic arena with 297 runs in seven games at a strike rate of 136.23.
Varma is a solid middle-order batter who can craft an innings and change gears in the death overs.
Abhishek Sharma (Sunrisers Hyderabad)
Sharma has been with the Sunrisers for four seasons and has developed into a dependable customer. He scored 426 runs in the last season, scoring all over the park.
The southpaw will be opening the batting with Mayank Agarwal in the upcoming edition, and the left-right partnership could be a runaway hit.
The 22-year-old Sharma scored a couple of fifties for Punjab in the domestic T20 tournament, apart from claiming 10 wickets in as many games at a healthy economy of 5.10 with left-arm spin.
Shahbaz Ahmed (Royal Challengers Bangalore)
The IPL is yet to witness the magic of Shahbaz, who single-handedly wins games for Bengal in the domestic circuit. The spin-bowling all-rounder has grown stronger with time and could be a trump card for Faf du Plessis in the new season.
Shahbaz is more of a sublime left-hander playing classic cricketing shots but can turn into a beast if the required rate shoots up.
The left-arm spin has led to wickets, and he will be keen for more overs to realize more breakthroughs. The Uttar Pradesh-born player will be playing the IPL on the back of a successful Ranji Trophy season where Bengal ended runners-up.
Jaydev Unadkat (Lucknow Super Giants)
Unadkat is an IPL veteran and currently a two-time Ranji Trophy winning captain. The senior left-arm fast bowler, with 91 wickets in as many games in the tournament, will be keen to replicate his domestic cricket success in his new franchise.
He will be crucial to Lucknow's plans since Mohsin Khan, the left-arm pacer who returned 14 wickets in nine games last year, is not likely to be available for the full tournament as he is nursing a shoulder injury.
Unadkat can angle the ball into the right-hander, which could lay the platform for the lbw traps.
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