IPL 2018: Key player battles

The Indian Premier League is only a week away. Only a handful of players have got the opportunity to showcase their talent on the biggest league in world cricket. A lot of players will go head to head in an intense battle to mark their supremacy amongst the others.

Over the first decade in the IPL, players have tried to outshine each other with their skills. Their battles on the field have been entertaining for the fans. However, in the 11th edition, we will see some fierce battles among some players who will look to outshine the others in terms of runs, wickets, etc.

Let the battle between these key players resume!

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#6 Dinesh Karthik v Rishabh Pant v KL Rahul v Wriddhiman Saha

Dinesh Karthik will be taking over as KKR captain this year

This is the battle of the wicketkeepers. The BCCI is looking for alternate wicketkeeping options after MS Dhoni's retirement. Dinesh Karthik's recent heroics provided him with an extra cushion but the age factor puts the Kolkata Knight Riders skipper into the backseat. With age on his side, Rishabh Pant is being groomed by the BCCI.

KL Rahul is a part-time wicketkeeper who is keen on making a spot for himself as a proper batsman. Wriddhiman Saha is India's wicketkeeper in Test cricket. Saha is often criticized for his inability to bat aggressively.

It will be interesting to see how these four players perform. With the added responsibility of captaincy, Karthik might look to take up the finishing duties for his side.

The recent Sunrisers Hyderabad recruit Saha may open the batting in the absence of David Warner. Saha will have an opportunity to prove himself in the shorter format. He scored a blistering hundred in the IPL final in 2014.

With a star-studded Kings XI Punjab lineup, Rahul will try to leave a mark with his batting abilities rather than his secondary wicketkeeping skills. Pant would like to bat up front despite a heavily equipped Delhi Daredevils top-order.

#5 Ravichandran Ashwin v Yuzvendra Chahal v Kuldeep Yadav

Chahal and Kuldeep recently replaced Ashwin and Jadeja in India's limited overs sides

Ravichandran Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja were recently replaced by Yuzvendra Chahal and Kuldeep Yadav in India's limited-overs squads.

Chahal and Kuldeep have the advantage of turning the ball on all kind of pitches as they are wrist spinners. Ashwin and Jadeja are now considered as test specialists. They last played a limited overs game for India in June 2017.

Kuldeep Yadav has been underused in the IPL so far. He has featured in only 15 matches in which he has scalped 18 wickets for the Kolkata Knight Riders.

Chahal has played 56 matches in which he has picked up 70 wickets. He was procured by the Royal Challengers Bangalore via Right to Match in the auction.

On the other hand, Ravichandran Ashwin has picked up 100 wickets in 111 matches with an economy rate of 6.55. His economy rate is the least as compared to the other two spinners.

The Kings XI Punjab skipper has recently added some new variations to his armoury. He has learnt the art of leg spin bowling.

This battle between the three spinners will be interesting to watch. It can provide Ashwin with a platform to make a comeback into the limited overs set-up.

#4 Colin Munro v Evin Lewis v D'Arcy Short

Currently, Munro is the No. 1 ranked T20I batsman

The three southpaw openers have been in phenomenal form recently. Evin Lewis entertained the fans with his scintillating knocks in the World Cup Qualifiers in Zimbabwe.

He contributed heavily as Windies qualified for the 2019 World Cup. Colin Munro is the number one ranked T20I batsman. He is the only batsman to score three centuries in T20I cricket.

Recent Big Bash League (BBL) sensation D'Arcy Short was procured by the Rajasthan Royals in the auction this year. Short scored 572 runs in the tournament. The flamboyant batsman can rotate the strike with ease and can also bat aggressively when required. This will be his first IPL.

Colin Munro has played 4 IPL games before. He played for the Kolkata Knight Riders in 2016. He managed to score only 30 runs at an average of 10. He has improved considerably in the past two years. The Delhi Daredevils may prefer him over England's Jason Roy to play the first game of the season.

Lewis is a player to watch out for. The Mumbai Indians will rely upon the opener to provide them with an aggressive start. The Carribean superstar has scored two T20I centuries against India. His ability to attack the spinners will give him the upper hand in Indian conditions which favour the spinners.

This is the battle of the left-handed batsmen. All the three openers would want to leave their mark in the IPL.

#3 Bhuvneshwar Kumar v Jasprit Bumrah

Bhuvi or Bumrah?

The two spearheads of the Indian bowling department. The double Bs have amazed plenty of oppositions with their bowling in the last one year. They have bowled wonderfully upfront and at the back end of the innings as well. Both of them have learnt a lot from each other in the past few years.

Jasprit Bumrah has featured in 47 games for the Mumbai Indians. He has picked up 46 wickets so far. He picked up 20 wickets in the previous edition of the league.

On the other hand, Bhuvneshwar has picked up 111 wickets in only 90 games. Kumar's economy rate is also lesser than Bumrah.

Both the seamers possess wonderful accuracy. Bumrah usually bowls at the back end of the innings. His main focus is to stop the flow of runs with his yorkers.

Bhuvneshwar's knuckleball surprises the batsmen on most occasions. Bhuvneshwar Kumar laid his hands on the purple cap in the previous two editions whereas Bumrah has never been close to the milestone.

#2 Suresh Raina v Manish Pandey

Raina recently made a comeback to the Indian T20 side

This will be one of the most interesting player battles. The Kolkata Knight Riders star batsman Manish Pandey will be up against Suresh Raina.

Raina is the leading run scorer in the IPL with 4540 runs in 161 games. Manish Pandey has scored 2215 runs at an average of 28.39.

Pandey will be one of the keys to Hyderabad's success this year. Both of these batsmen are expected to bat in the No. 3 or 4 slots for their respective franchises. Raina will be high on confidence after his recent performances in the Nidahas Trophy.

Raina will look to make this opportunity count. The all-rounder will look to perform exceptionally in this year's IPL in order to make a comeback.

On the other hand, Pandey can seal a permanent spot in India's playing XI with his form in the IPL. The 28-year-old scored 396 runs at an average of 49.50 in the previous edition of the IPL.

#1 Virat Kohli v Rohit Sharma

Rohit Sharma is the most successful skipper in the IPL

The most anticipated and intense battle in this year's IPL. The Indian skipper will take on the vice-captain of the Indian side. Rohit Sharma will take on his counterpart Virat Kohli.

Rohit Sharma is the most successful skipper in the IPL whereas Virat Kohli has never led the Royal Challengers Bangalore to a title win.

Rohit has led the Mumbai Indians in 75 matches winning 45 of them with a win percentage of 60.66. On the other hand, Virat Kohli has captained his side in 82 matches out of which the Royal Challengers have lost 39.

Kohli has a win percentage of only 49.36. It will be interesting to see when the two skippers go head to head.

Virat Kohli is the second highest run scorer in the IPL with 4418 runs. He has accumulated these runs at an average of 37.44. He had a memorable 2016 season where he amassed 973 runs to conquer the Orange Cap. Rohit Sharma is the third highest run scorer in the IPL with 4207 runs in 159 games.

Despite their trophy triumph in the 2017 edition of the tournament Mumbai Indians skipper Rohit Sharma had an IPL to forget. He only managed to score 333 runs at a poor average of 23.78. The flamboyant batsman will look to turn his form around in this IPL. The battle between Rohit and Kohli will begin when RCB take on MI in match number 14.