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With the 2020 edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL) around the corner, the buzz revolving the tournament is at its peak. Former Australian cricketer Brad Hogg has named the table-toppers of the upcoming tournament.
Hogg has backed four-time winners and defending champions, Mumbai Indians (MI), to end up at the top of the table in the round-robin stage.
Traditionally slow-starters, MI, often scrap their way into the playoffs. They hold their nerves at the business end of the tournament.
Under the influential leadership of Rohit Sharma, MI went on to clinch the IPL title in every alternate season since 2013.
“Mumbai Indians are going to finish on top of the regular season. Will they take out the final, let’s wait and see. The edge for the Mumbai Indians is their quality top four,” Hogg said on his YouTube channel.
“They have an abundance of all-rounders, good spinners but they have got the best pace battery in the IPL this year. The flaw for them is the selection table, what balance are they going to utilise with their overseas players to make up a prominent XI? That will be their big issue,” he added.
Hogg on MI’s surprise element
Moreover, Hogg reckoned that the surprise element from the MI camp would be Suryakumar Yadav, who has been their batting mainstay in the past couple of seasons. Yadav has amassed 424 runs in 15 innings of the 2019 IPL, at an effective strike-rate of 130.86.
“The standout for the Mumbai Indians is going to be Suryakumar Yadav. I am just thinking this quality batsman is going to come along this year. He showed progress over the last couple of years. He was really enjoying with the Mumbai Indians and he is liking his position in that middle-order. Watch out, I think he will be in the top 5 run-scorers of this particular tournament,” Hogg concluded.
MI is most likely to face Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) in the opening game of the tournament on September 19.
