5 Cricketers who can set IPL 2019 ablaze if UAE hosts the tournament

Much like the editions of the Indian Premier League in 2009 and 2014, IPL 2019 is all set to face the uncertainty of the general elections and the need to play the matches in another country owing to security concerns.

While IPL 2009 was hosted by South Africa, UAE hosted the first phase of IPL 2014. Both these countries are the forerunners to be the hosts for IPL 2019 too, with most of the franchises and sponsors preferring UAE over South Africa owing to the time difference and prime-time viewership.

Let us assume that the BCCI decides to host the IPL in UAE. Such a scenario changes the picture of IPL due to the differences in climate, inability to play in home grounds etc. Also, the players who succeed in Indian pitches may not get the same help in UAE pitches and similarly the overseas stars who struggled to adjust to the Indian pitches may find the UAE atmosphere to their liking.

In this article, let us try to see who will be the Top 5 Players who can shine in IPL 2019 if the matches are held in UAE. The ranking is based on the performance of the players in the first phase of IPL 2014 which was held in UAE.

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#5 Jean-Paul Duminy

Jean-Paul Duminy is perhaps the most underrated T20 cricketer in the world cricket. His abilities to hold the middle order intact is not recognized by many and the stability he brings to any IPL side is not acknowledged as it should be.

In IPL 2014, while playing for Delhi Daredevils, he scored a terrific 67 against Royal Challengers Bangalore, albeit in a losing cause. He followed that knock with a 52 in a partnership with Dinesh Karthik to take Delhi to victory against Kolkata Knight Riders.

Duminy has been released by Mumbai Indians and will appear in the IPL 2019 auction in search of a new franchise. His history in IPL 2014 will keep him in good stead and teams that need stability in the middle order will know that there is no better player to rely on than the South African.

With his versatile skills of being able to play both as a finisher and as a batsman to hold one end together, Jean-Paul Duminy is our number five player who can set the IPL 2019 ablaze.

#4 Brendon McCullum

Brendon McCullum needs no introductions and the stalwart is the player who in fact introduced the IPL to the world with an unimaginable knock in the first ever IPL match for Kolkata Knight Riders in 2008. Years have gone by and Brendon McCullum has gone on to represent numerous IPL franchises in the last 10 years and still finds himself in the auction table of IPL 2019 hoping that another franchise would grab him for IPL 2019.

McCullum, in 2014, was playing for Chennai Super Kings and scored a 67 right in the third match of IPL 2014. But, the knock went in vain when Kings XI Punjab bettered the score set by CSK with Maxwell playing spoilsport. But later against Mumbai Indians, McCullum scored 71 to help CSK to the finish line.

With McCullum available in the IPL 2019 auctions, it is for sure that the IPL franchises will remember his history in UAE and try to grab him to put one up over the opponents. With his fearless batting abilities, Brendon McCullum is our number four player who can set the IPL 2019 ablaze.

# 3 Ajinkya Rahane

Ajinkya Rahane has always been the cool and calm opener who doesn’t show off or use unnecessary aggression on the pitch. He quietly goes about his game playing proper cricketing shots and ensures stability in the top order.

That was quite evident when he took Rajasthan Royals to the victory with a 59 against Sun Risers Hyderabad in the 4th game of IPL 2014. He also set the tone for Rajasthan with a 72 against Kolkata Knight Riders to ensure the Royals are able to post a massive total.

Rajasthan Royals has been his den for some time now and Royals can now smile knowing Rahane can be Influential in IPL 2019. With Steve Smith all set to return for the IPL side after his ban, the batting department of Rajasthan is immensely strengthened and RR will be looking forward to erasing the disappointments of the previous editions with IPL 2019.

Ajinkya Rahane is our number three player who can set the IPL 2019 ablaze.

# 2 David Warner

David Warner is all set to return to his favourite Sunrisers Hyderabad opening slot after a one-year hiatus. With Kane Williamson captaining the side, Warner has the luxury of easing into form without many other Captaincy details to bother about.

Warner loved the UAE edition of IPL in 2014 with him scoring two half-centuries in a winning cause. First one was when he scored 58 against Delhi Daredevils in a partnership Aaron Finch. The second one was the 65 scored against Mumbai Indians to ensure another success for his franchise.

From 2014 to 2019, David Warner has become the face of Sunrisers Hyderabad and barring his ban in IPL 2018, he had all the good moments in IPL even taking Sunrisers to the title with him at the helm.

Sunrisers Hyderabad will love the fact that David Warner has had success in UAE and will be happy to see the top order strengthened especially with Shikhar Dhawan parting ways with the club. With IPL 2019 in UAE, the stage is set for the dream return of David Warner.

# 1 Glenn Maxwell

Glenn Maxwell had a dream IPL season in 2014 with Kings XI Punjab. He was very much influential for the team in the first phase of IPL 2014 that he comes up as the most influential player who can succeed if IPL is held in UAE.

In the third match of IPL 2014 season against CSK, Maxwell hit a massive 95 to take Kings XI Punjab to the finish line. Then came the wonderful Maxwell-Miller combination in the game against Rajasthan Royals and Maxwell was dominant among the two scoring 89. Maxwell Juggernaut did not stop in the UAE and he scored another 95 runs in the game against Sunrisers Hyderabad.

Maxwell has never been able to recreate his success of IPL 2014 in the later editions of the tournament. But if IPL 2019 is hosted by UAE, then it presents Maxwell with a golden opportunity to be the influential batsman doing justice to the talent that he possesses.

Glenn Maxwell was released by Delhi Daredevils from the IPL 2018 team roster and is available to be grabbed by franchises in the IPL 2019 auctions to be held on December 18 in Jaipur. Looking at his history in UAE, Glenn Maxwell is the number one player who can set the IPL 2019 ablaze.

Honourable Mentions:

1. Sandeep Sharma - He had three-wicket hauls twice in the UAE phase of IPL 2014 and will stake a claim to bowl alongside Bhuvneshwar Kumar for Sunrisers Hyderabad.

2. Murali Vijay – He had two half-centuries in the UAE phase of IPL 2014, one against Mumbai Indians and one against Sunrisers Hyderabad during his stint at Delhi Daredevils. CSK may want to see those stats before thinking of benching him like in IPL 2018.

3. Dwayne Smith – Smith also had two half-centuries in the first few games in UAE while playing for Chennai Super Kings. But with him going unsold in IPL 2018, it is uncertain whether he might be considered by the franchises for IPL 2019.