Ahead of the start of the 2016 Indian Premier League (IPL), Paul Radley picks the 10 batsmen he expects to excel at this year’s tournament.
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1. Virat Kohli (Royal Challengers Bangalore)
Was it really going to be anyone else? Joe Root is unavailable to play in the Indian Premier League because of his England commitments, so Kohli really has no batting rival. The World T20 player of the tournament, even though his side did not make it to the final, has an average of 125 from the 13 20 over matches he has played in 2016. Decent enough form, then.
2. MS Dhoni (Rising Pune Supergiants)
Way down the official rankings for international Twenty20 batsmen, but that may be due in part to his lack of opportunities to score big. Dhoni is seventh on the list of leading runscorers in IPL history, which is quite a feat. Despite the quantity of matches he has played (129) he does tend to come in later in the innings than most of the other leading batsmen. The ultimate finisher.
3. Lendl Simmons (Mumbai Indians)
It probably pays to be a lucky batsman rather than a good one. Simmons proved in the World T20 semi-final — in his IPL home stadium at the Wankhede in Mumbai — that it is possible to be both. Playing the defining knock for West Indies against India, he was helped by three huge slices of good fortune. Not bad for someone who had initially withdrawn from the competition due to injury. He was the third highest scorer in last year’s IPL.
4. Chris Gayle (Royal Challengers Bangalore)
The third highest scorer in the IPL’s history, the leader amongst overseas players, and the owner of the highest score, in the form of that extraordinary 175 not out. He will enter the competition in high spirits, too, as part of the brilliant West Indies world champions, and having struck a century against England in the pool stage of the World T20.
5. Brendon McCullum (Gujarat Lions)
Newly retired from international cricket, and it will be interesting to see what effect that has on McCullum’s batting. At his best, he is unstoppable. His 158 not out for Kolkata Knight Riders in the opening match of the first IPL in 2008 is still the second highest score to date in the competition. Explosive, but he is inconsistent.
6. Glenn Maxwell (Kings XI Punjab)
The Australian allrounder’s strike-rate of 166.44 is second only to Andre Russell, the big-hitting West Indian, among leading batsmen in the IPL. UAE supporters enjoyed his finest run in the competition. Maxwell owned the IPL when the tournament was exiled here in 2014.
7. Rohit Sharma (Mumbai Indians)
Unique amongst the leading captains in that his win percentage in the competition of 61.36 is actually better than MS Dhoni’s (60.93) — even if the India captain has won more matches than anyone else.
Sharma’s form at the top of the order for India of late has been indifferent, but class is permanent. He has scored more IPL runs than anyone other than Suresh Raina.
8. Jos Buttler (Mumbai Indians)
A new entry into this particular chart, seeing as he will be making his debut in the world’s leading domestic T20 competition. The England wicketkeeper is the sort of rare talent Indian crowds will adore, though. Buttler should have a decent grasp of what to expect by now, too. He played two competition matches, and two warm up ones, with England in his IPL home city of Mumbai during the World T20.
9. Suresh Raina (Gujarat Lions)
Entrusted with the captaincy of the new Gujarat franchise, IPL cricket’s most productive ever run-scorer will be looking to lead by example with his own performances. Even though he has scored over 300 runs more than the next heaviest IPL run-getter (Rohit Sharma) he enters this competition with question marks over his place for India. He only managed a total of 41 runs in four trips to the wicket at the World T20.
10. AB de Villiers (Royal Challengers Bangalore)
Will be happy to escape the international game — a pair in a Test match, knocked out of the World T20 with a match to go, an inquiry into South Africa cricket back at home — for the sanctuary of the IPL. It is, after all, a tournament that has served him well in the past. Last season he was the fourth leading run-scorers, and posted the third highest score in the competition’s history.