Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) will clash against Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB), on Monday (September 21), to begin their proceedings in the 2020 edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL).
David Warner has been named as the skipper of the Orange Army for the current season.
The Aussie star earlier led SRH to the championship title in 2016 but was stripped of the captaincy duty after his name popped up in the ball-tampering scandal.
Sunil Gavaskar, the former India cricketer, has recently picked SRH’s ideal playing XI for the IPL 2020.
‘Little Master’ named Jonny Bairstow and David Warner as the opening pair of the side and also highlighted the importance of Mohammad Nabi and Rashid Khan in the squad.
However, if both Rashid and Nabi play together, then there’s no place for former captain Kane Williamson. Gavaskar reckons that the Kiwi batsman might have to warm the bench for the first few matches.
“The way Warner and Bairstow had their opening partnership in the entire tournament, both made many runs. So they will open the batting. Then you need the two Afghan players Nabi and Rashid as they are match-winners. That is why Kane Williamson will have to sit out for the first few matches,” Gavaskar told Sports Tak.
‘This IPL can prove to be a very good one for Manish Pandey’: Gavaskar
Manish Pandey, Priyam Garg, Vijay Shankar and Wriddhiman Saha complete the batting core of Gavaskar’s ideal XI.
The cricketer-turned commentator spoke highly of Pandey and said that IPL 2020 would be a good opportunity to cement his place in the national squad.
“This IPL can prove to be a very good one for Manish Pandey. In 2014 when there were a few matches played here, he batted really well. Manish Pandey is a player with lots of experience and is a very good fielder. So this is a very good opportunity for him to cement his place in the Indian team.”
On the bowling front, Bhuvneshwar Kumar leads the pace attack comprising of Basil Thampi and Sandeep Sharma. Nabi and Rashid are tasked to handle the spin department by Gavaskar.
