The 13th season of the Indian Premier League (IPL) is scheduled to be commencing in less than 15 days now and the teams have already started formulating plans and strategies for the 2020 edition. Each of the 8 IPL franchises will rely on their core players to shoulder the responsibility and lead the team to win games from crucial encounters.
On Sunday, BCCI revealed the schedule for IPL 2020 and according to that, the defending champions Mumbai Indians (MI) will be locking horns with last season’s runner-ups Chennai Super Kings (CSK) in the tournament opener of the 13th edition. The second match will be played in Dubai on September 20 between Delhi Capitals (DC) and Kings XI Punjab (KXIP), followed by the opening clashes of Sunirsisers Hyderabad (SRH) and Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) on September 21.
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However, they will also look to some crucial players in every time who can make a massive difference for them this season. While cricket is certainly a team game, some cricketers have the ability to turn the match on its head with its capability itself.
Let’s have a look at one such game-changing ‘X-Factor’ player from SRH and RCB franchises for IPL 2020.
Sunrisers Hyderabad
Priyam Garg
The India U-19 captain, Priyam Garg, who led the boys in blue in the final of the World Cup earlier this year made his T20 debut for UP in the 2018–19 Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy. Clearly starstruck by all his accolades, the Sunrisers Hyderabad wasted no time in shelling out ₹1.9 crores for the youngster. In his maiden Ranji trophy season, Garg amassed 814 runs followed by 539 runs in 15 List A matches, including a century. Apparently, he even caught the eye of former India captain Rahul Dravid.
Being only 19-years old, Garg’s career is just taking off, and a berth in a team of SRH’s caliber will surely be the stepping stone for his launch him up into stardom. In all possibilities, Priyam Garg has the potential to be a game-changer and a valuable asset to the Sunrisers Hyderabad for IPL 2020.
Jonny Bairstow
This will be the second season for the English batsman, who was bought by the franchise last season. SRH picked him as the backup batting option in case David Warner, but he played a crucial role along with Warner in the last season. The hard-hitting batsman believes in going after the bowlers with the first ball, similar to the last season.
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Thus, Bairstow is a great prospect for Sunrisers Hyderabad as he will be expected to open the innings along with Warner in IPL 2020. Last season, Bairstow went on to amass as many as 445 runs in 10 matches at a brilliant average of 55.62 and a phenomenal strike-rate of 157.24.
