IPL 2020: Ramiz Raja feels Hardik Pandya, Kieron Pollard and other 'big-hitters' will struggle
Ramiz Raja
With Indian Premier League (IPL) 2020 approaching fast, pundits and former cricketers have started predicting their favourites and what to expect from the lucrative T20 tournament. Former Pakistan skipper Ramiz Raja has said that conditions in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) will make life tough for ‘big hitters’ such as Hardik Pandya, Kieron Pollard, Chris Lynn and others.
Raja is of the view that teams who have a strong spin department will do well, keeping the slowish pitches in the UAE while adding fast bowlers will depend a lot on their variations rather than express pace.
“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, 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.”
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Interestingly, Kieron Pollard has been extremely successful in the recently concluded Caribbean Premier League (CPL) 2020 where he led from the front and helped Trinbago Knight Riders lift the trophy. He was terrific with both bat and ball. However, the former Pakistani captain seems unimpressed with the showing and has come to a verdict that big hitters will struggle during the course of IPL 2020.
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Raja further opined that lack of fans in the stand and staying inside bio-bubble for nearly two months will take a toll on players’ performance in IPL 2020.
“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 said.
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“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.”
IPL 2020 starts from September 19 with the final scheduled on November 10 in the UAE.