IPL 2020: All-Star Game | Strongest playing XI from KXIP, DC, KKR and RR

Since the four franchises based in Northern and Eastern India depend a lot on their Australian, English and New Zealand players, they will struggle to assemble their strongest squad as most of the star players from the these three countries will be on national duty when the IPL all-star match takes place on 26th of March.

The likes of Pat Cummins, Jos Buttler, Ben Stokes and Steve Smith are unlikely to be available for selection.

However, Kings XI Punjab, Delhi Capitals, Kolkata Knight Riders and Rajasthan Royals still have got a lot of depth in their squads and they can assemble a decent set of players to give the South-West team a good fight in the All-Star match which will be the first of its kind in the history of the IPL.

Here is the strongest playing XI from KXIP, DC, KKR and RR.

#1 Openers | KL Rahul and Chris Gayle

KL Rahul was the third highest run scorer for India in T20I cricket in 2019, scoring 356 runs in just 9 games. Rahul’s game is ideally suited to the shortest format. While he doesn’t play too many cross batted shots and relies mostly on the conventional cricketing shots, he still makes sure that he bats at a good tempo.

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Rahul’s opening partner is most likely going to be Chris Gayle. Gayle opens the batting with Rahul for Kings XI Punjab as well and he is an ideal foil for Rahul, given the nature of his game. Gayle is also a stroke-maker, but he is not a touch player. He has got the power game and he doesn’t mind going for cross batted shots, right from the very beginning.

It’s very difficult to formulate a game-plan when Gayle and Rahul are batting together as the two of them hit the ball in different areas of the ground. While Rahul generally explores the area from mid-off to extra cover, Gayle's favorite area of the ground is long on and mid-wicket.

Rahul will probably be named the captain of the North-East XI as well.

#2 Middle Order | Sanju Samson, Shreyas Iyer, Glenn Maxwell, R. Pant

Sanju Samson has the ability to find the gaps in the power play and keep the tempo going in the post-powerplay period as well. He can link the top order and the middle order beautifully batting at no. 3. If a wicket falls early, he can walk in and make the most of the power-play and then play the anchor’s role in the middle phase of the innings.

Shreyas Iyer is one of the best players of spin going around in India. He likes to go after the spinners straightaway and doesn’t let them find their rhythm. He is the ideal player to bat at no. 4 and disrupts the opponent’s plan of putting the brakes on the run rate through spin bowling.

While Iyer can hit the spinners straight down the ground, he can play square of the wicket on the off side as well.

Glenn Maxwell and Rishabh Pant will be the finishers for the North-East team. Both Pant and Maxwell have got the 360 degree game. While they can put the ball into the stands with the straight bat, they can also play the scoops and the reverse laps to take advantage of the vacant spaces behind the stumps.

#3 All-rounder | Andre Russell

Andre Russell will be the unanimous choice as the all-rounder in the North-East team. The 31-year old scored more than 500 runs for KKR in the last edition of the IPL at a strike rate of more than 200 and won games from impossible situations.

Russell doesn’t have a huge range of shots as he doesn’t hit the ball a lot between the cover and the third man region, but he generates immense power in the shots that he plays on the leg side.

What makes Russell dangerous is the fact that despite not being a conventional batsman, he picks the length of the ball very quickly which allows him to put enough willow on the ball to deposit the ball into the stands.

Apart from offering a tremendous skill-set with the bat, Russell is almost as good as a specialist bowler and can be the third seamer of any bowling attack in the IPL. He has got the pace and he hits the deck really hard which allows him to rush the batsmen on the horizontal bat shots.

#4 Bowlers | Shreyas Gopal, Kagiso Rabada, M. Shami, Prasidh Krishna

Mohammed Shami has been an absolute revelation in white ball cricket in the last 12 months or so. While there have never been question marks over his credentials as a red ball bowler, he has now proven himself in white ball cricket as well.

Because of his upright seam presentation, Shami is always a threat with the new ball, but he is also nailing his yorkers now, which makes him a good prospect in the latter stages of the innings as well.

Prasidh Krishna has been very consistent in domestic cricket of late, which has earned him accolades from the Indian captain Virat Kohli. He is very accurate and is capable of extracting seam movement out of the surface if there is a tinge of green. His height allows him to generate extra bounce from the surface as well.

Kagiso Rabada will fill the fourth overseas slot in the North-East XI, but he will probably bowl first change, with Shami and Krishna taking the new ball. Rabada will be used as an enforcer in the middle overs and then in the death where his pace can make life really difficult for the batsmen.

Shreyas Gopal was the leading wicket-taker for the Rajasthan Royals in IPL 2019 as he grabbed 20 scalps in 14 games at an average of 17.35. The leg spinner got some top batsmen out including the batting maestros Virat Kohli and AB De Villiers.

It’s really hard to pick his googly out of his hand because of the subtle change in his action. He will probably be the lone spinner in the North-East XI.