The new season of the extravagant Indian Premier League is less than a month away. It is that one time of the year when people around the nation are glued to their television sets in the evening to support their favorite teams. So far, BCCI has announced a schedule of only first two weeks due to uncertainty over the location of the tournament. There are general elections in India and so it will be difficult for BCCI conduct the whole season in the country.
Reportedly, there are talks that the rest of the season may be shifted to South Africa or UAE, however, the decision is yet to be made. Another headache revolving is the upcoming World Cup which will kick off from May.
The coveted tournament is just after the domestic T20 league and hence many overseas players would not be available for the entire season. This would give hopes to young talents to shine and seal their spot in the team. The likes of Nitish Rana, Shubman Gill, and Prithvi Shaw are the talents to keep an eye on.
Apart from the youngsters, a lot of responsibility will be on veterans who would have to up their game and lead their team to victory. Some of these old horses might as well be playing their last IPL season. Let us have a look at the top three players who might play their last IPL this year.
1) Yuvraj Singh:
Once the most expensive player of IPL, Yuvraj Singh has been picked up for his base price for the last two years. In 2018, Kings XI Punjab signed him in the last round of the auctions. However, it was not a great reunion. The eleventh season of IPL was nothing less than a nightmare for the left-handed batsman. He scored mere 65 runs in six innings at an average of 10.83. Ever since his return after a long battle to cancer, Singh has found it hard to regain his form. He is struggling to score runs. Interestingly, the 37-year-old was picked up by Mumbai Indians this season and there is a legend that every lost soul finds a ray of hope at the Wankhede Stadium.
2) Harbhajan Singh:
Over the years, Bhajji has been the leading force for Mumbai Indians spin attack. He has won quite a few games for them. However, the veteran spinner could not repeat his heroics with the Chennai Super Kings in IPL 2018. The 38-year-old took just seven wickets in thirteen games.
Moreover, he was dropped in the final against Sunrisers Hyderabad for Karn Sharma. Surprisingly, he is not even playing domestic cricket for Punjab. Currently, Harbhajan is making a name of himself with words. He was commentating for the India-Australia series in Hindi which is a hint that the Punjab boy may hang his boots from all forms of cricket soon.
3) Lasith Malinga:
Harsha Bhogle once said that Malinga is that ‘Most Valuable Player (MVP)’ of the IPL. He has won Mumbai Indians more matches than any player in the league. Such was the dominance of the 35-year-old Sri Lankan fast bowler.
Whenever, MI searched for a bowler to rescue them from a tight situation, Malinga was the man for the job. However, over the last few years, there has been a major dip in both his pace and form. In the last auction, Malinga surprisingly went unsold. He is currently back with MI and it would be interesting to see how he does in this IPL.
