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It’s that time of the year again when some of the biggest names in the cricketing world will assemble in one nation to take part in the biggest annual carnival of the game – Indian Premier League (IPL) 2020.
The T20 extravaganza starts within a week’s time with a mouth-watering season-opener between defending champion Mumbai Indians (MI) and Chennai Super Kings (CSK) on September 19.
Franchises are leaving no stones unturned to hype up their teams, and cricket pundits are not shying off from putting forth their unfiltered opinions on social media.
In one such instance, the former New Zealand cricketer, Scott Styris, has predicted the position of each franchise in the points table after the conclusion of the league stage.
Delhi Capitals on top, Rajasthan Royals at the bottom
Styris predicted that Delhi Capitals (DC), under the leadership of Shreyas Iyer, would be the table-toppers this time.
The Capitals boasts perhaps the strongest squad on paper, with proven match-winners in all departments of the game. Last season, they qualified for the playoffs for the first time in the seven years.
Mumbai Indians (MI), Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) and Chennai Super Kings (CSK) are the next three teams to qualify for the playoffs.
It might be a bit audacious from the New Zealander to pin his hopes on CSK to reach the next stage.
MS Dhoni-led franchise has already received a double whammy after two of their most experienced players, Suresh Raina and Harbhajan Singh, pulled out of the tournament owing to personal reasons.
Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH), Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) and Kings XI Punjab (KXIP) occupy the fifth, sixth and seventh position respectively in Styris’ list.
The 39-years old handed the last place to Rajasthan Royals (RR). Steve Smith will be leading the Royals this season after taking over the captaincy post from Ajinka Rahane midway through the last season.
Here’s the tweet:
The Way too early @IPL power rankings for 2020
1) @DelhiCapitals
2) @mipaltan
3) @KKRiders
4) @ChennaiIPL
5)@SunRisers
6) @RCBTweets
7)@lionsdenkxip
8) @rajasthanroyalsThoughts ?
— Scott Styris (@scottbstyris) September 14, 2020
