'%20x='0'%20y='0'%20height='100%25'%20width='100%25'%20%0A%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20xlink%3Ahref='data:image/jpg;base64,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'%3E%3C/image%3E%3C/svg%3E)
The 13th edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL 2020) is fast approaching, and all 8 franchises are in intense training for the cash-rich tournament.
The schedule for this year's IPL was finally revealed by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) yesterday, and the Chennai Super Kings (CSK) take on the defending champions, the Mumbai Indians (MI), in the season opener.
As always, the new ball will be crucial for teams in IPL 2020. With the dusty UAE pitches likely to get slower as the tournament progresses, batsmen will be keen on making the most of the hard new ball, especially while the field restrictions are still in place.
Ranking the new-ball bowling pairs of all 8 IPL 2020 teams
Most successful IPL teams in the past have had prolific new-ball bowling pairs who have worked well in tandem to scalp early breakthroughs and restrict the flow of runs.
Ahead of IPL 2020, we attempt to predict who the two new-ball bowlers for each time will be, and rank them (from worst to best) in terms of how strong the combination looks.
#8 Rajasthan Royals - Jofra Archer and Ankit Rajpoot
England pacer Jofra Archer has had a decent start to his IPL career, although he hasn't quite delivered from an all-round perspective like he was once expected to. The 25-year-old will be the spearhead of the pace attack in IPL 2020 for RR, and is expected to bowl a couple of overs with the new ball.
RR have a multitude of options who could partner Archer - Jaydev Unadkat, Oshane Thomas, Andrew Tye, Tom Curran and Kartik Tyagi. However, the bowler who is most likely to share the new ball is Indian pacer Ankit Rajpoot. The 26-year-old can swing the ball, and showed what he is capable of with a stunning 5-wicket haul against the Sunrisers Hyderabad in the 2018 IPL.
While the Archer-Rajpoot combination is not poor by any means, the other 7 franchises have much more potent new-ball partnerships.
#7 Royal Challengers Bangalore - Umesh Yadav and Navdeep Saini
Another opening pair that is tough to call because of the recent purchase of Chris Morris, Umesh Yadav and Navdeep Saini are expected to share the new ball.
While the former has been decent in bursts in the powerplay, Saini has mostly been used as a first-change bowler by RCB captain Virat Kohli in the past. However, the speedster's ability to generate swing is very different from the hit-the-deck style of bowling of Morris, and he'll probably share the new ball.
Yadav and Saini are both quality bowlers, but whether they can excel in the powerplay on the UAE pitches is under question, leading to their position at #7 on the list.
#6 Kolkata Knight Riders - Pat Cummins and Prasidh Krishna
Pat Cummins became the most expensive overseas buy in the history of the IPL auction in December last year, but the Australian has played only 16 IPL games in his career, returning 17 wickets at an economy rate of 8.29.
He could be partnered by any one of Shivam Mavi, Kamlesh Nagarkoti or Prasidh Krishna, but the former two haven't played much for KKR due to injuries and might not be thrown into the thick of things immediately. Krishna's IPL record isn't great, although he has bowled fast and aggressively when called upon.
While Cummins is a world-class bowler in the longer formats of the game, he hasn't quite proven himself to be at the same level in T20 cricket yet. However, both bowlers could perform decently in tandem, and find a spot at #6 on this list.
#5 Chennai Super Kings - Deepak Chahar and Sam Curran
Indian pacer Deepak Chahar has been superb in the powerplay for CSK over the past two seasons, and has swung it both ways to give captain MS Dhoni three overs in the first six. The Rajasthan fast bowler is currently recovering from COVID-19, and it remains to be seen if he will be fit for the IPL 2020 season opener.
His partner for this year's IPL is expected to be CSK's new acquisition Sam Curran. The England all-rounder extracts movement early on in the innings, and could play a role similar to the one Albie Morkel did for the side many years ago. The 22-year-old is expected to pip the likes of Shardul Thakur, Lungi Ngidi and Piyush Chawla to the new ball.
Curran and Chahar are an excellent combination on paper, but the former's lack of inexperience at the IPL level causes them to slot in at #5.
#4 Kings XI Punjab - Mohammed Shami and Sheldon Cottrell
KL Rahul's Kings XI Punjab come into IPL 2020 having made a multitude of changes to their roster, but one retained player who will be their most important bowler in Mohammed Shami. The right-arm quick is the only capped Indian full-time pacer in the team, and he will have to match or improve his tally of 19 wickets in the 2019 IPL season.
Partnering him will be West Indian pacer Sheldon Cottrell. The left-armer can swing the ball prodigiously, and has an arsenal of cutters and slower balls at his disposal. He will play his first IPL season this year but having been bought for 8.5 crores, he is likely to be a regular in the playing XI.
KXIP have other new-ball options in Ishan Porel, Chris Jordan and Afghanistan spinner Mujeeb Ur Rahman, but the Shami-Cottrell partnership is the one to watch out for in IPL 2020.
#3 Delhi Capitals - Ishant Sharma and Kagiso Rabada
An attack that looks highly dangerous on paper, Kagiso Rabada and Ishant Sharma are expected to share the new ball for DC in IPL 2020.
The South African has been with DC for quite some time now, and has picked up wickets in almost every game. Ishant, on the other hand, has revived his IPL career at the franchise, and scalped 13 wickets last year at a superb economy rate of 7.58.
Anrich Nortje, Mohit Sharma, Harshal Patel and Ravichandran Ashwin are other options with the new ball, but the fearsome combination of Rabada and Ishant is all but guaranteed to take center stage in the powerplay. They rank in at a well-deserved #3 on this list of IPL 2020 new-ball bowling pairs.
#2 Mumbai Indians - Jasprit Bumrah and Trent Boult
It might seem absurd to rank a new-ball bowling pair of Trent Boult and Jasprit Bumrah anywhere other than #1, but the latter's poor IPL record leads to this decision.
Bumrah will be MI's biggest hope in the fast bowling department in the absence of veteran pacer Lasith Malinga, as the only other Indian speedster he has for company is Dhawal Kulkarni, who has been very expensive in the last 3 IPL seasons.
Kiwi left-armer Boult hasn't set the IPL on fire but he is certainly a world-class bowler, and he is expected to share the new ball with Bumrah ahead of the likes of Nathan Coulter-Nile, James Pattinson, Mitchell McClenaghan and of course Kulkarni.
The Bumrah-Boult combination can be absolutely lethal with the new ball, but there is one that pips them to the top spot.
#1 Sunrisers Hyderabad - Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Mohammad Nabi
The claim that Mohammad Nabi will open the bowling ahead of Basil Thampi, Sandeep Sharma, Siddarth Kaul, Billy Stanlake and Khaleel Ahmed is a brave one, but the Afghanistan all-rounder has been unplayable in the ongoing Caribbean Premier League.
Nabi is incredibly accurate and on pitches that offer turn, he would be next to unplayable when the odd ball skids on when new as well. The St Lucia Zouks man will, of course, partner Indian swing bowler Bhuvneshwar Kumar, who has been a mainstay for SRH over the years in the IPL.
Bhuvneshwar and Nabi are obviously very different bowlers, and opposition batsmen might have a really hard time facing them early on in the innings in IPL 2020.
Brand-new app in a brand-new avatar! Download CricRocket for fast cricket scores, rocket flicks, super notifications and much more! 🚀☄️
