IPL 2020: 5 match-winners who might be prone to injuries

Indian Premier League is the most popular T20 league in the world which goes on for at least 6 weeks every year, making it no less than a festival in India. Players from all around the world take part in the tournament and are often susceptible to injuries due to the wear and tear of the exhausting schedule. The competitiveness that it brings to the table is also responsible for the players taking a toll on their body with the match results often decided by the inches.

The intense involvement of the players is the reason why franchises frequently suffer injury scare in their set up and they even try to plan the same in advance. Here is a list 5 match-winners who might be prone to injury in the upcoming edition of IPL.

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#5 Chris Gayle

Gayle continues to play T20 league cricket.

The legendary West Indian opener has been around since the inception of the Indian Premier League and is arguably the most destructive batsman in the history of the tournament. Chris Gayle started his IPL career with Kolkata Knight Riders in 2009 after missing out on the inaugural edition and took his career to another level since moving to Royal Challengers Bangalore in 2011.

In 125 IPL matches, the Universe Boss has scored 4484 runs averaging over 40 and at a stunning strike rate of 151. The 40-year-old cricketer has 6 centuries and 28 fifties to his name including a record top score of unbeaten 175 (off 66 balls).

Also see – IPL schedule

Over the years, Gayle has often struggled with lower back issues and missed several games for RCB. Coming to IPL 2020, the southpaw, who has turned 40 in September, will be prone to injuries and Kings XI Punjab will have to be smart in the way they utilize his batting prowess. Being a match-winner even at this age, Gayle will be the first-choice opener to partner the skipper KL Rahul and it will be interesting to see how the KXIP management squeezes the maximum out of him.

#4 Dale Steyn

Steyn suffered an injury just after his IPL comeback last year

Dale Steyn has been one of the best fast bowlers across formats and has carried the burden of all the teams he has played for. The South African bowler has picked up 96 wickets from 92 IPL matches at a staggering economy rate of 6.76 and a strike rate of 21.93.

At the peak of his career, Steyn has played a lot of matches till the year 2014 and has been the spearhead of his team. Since 2015, the 36-year-old could only play 9 games in the cash-rich league, missing the bulk of the matches due to injuries.

The legendary cricketer missed out on the whole IPL 2017 to make an international comeback after suffering from a career-threatening shoulder injury and went unsold in the next season due to similar reasons. Though he did manage to make a return in IPL 2019 for RCB, Steyn played just 2 games before he got ruled out once again due to inflammation on his shoulder.

Though RCB has again got hold of him to play the upcoming edition of IPL, injuries might haunt them once again.

#3 Jofra Archer

Archer has been the backbone of RR's bowling

Since gaining the limelight as the young fast bowling sensation in Big Bash League 2017/18, Jofra Archer has seen an upward rise in his career. He went on to play in the IPL for Rajasthan Royals in 2018 and impressed everyone by picking up 15 wickets from 10 games. In the following season, the English cricketer finished as one of the most economical bowlers giving runs at a rate of 6.76 runs per over and picked 11 wickets from 11 matches.

Since getting a national call-up, the 24-year-old fast bowler has been in high demand with prestige tournaments like ICC Cricket World Cup 2019 & the Ashes and we have seen the workload taking a toll on him. Archer sustained a side strain during the world cup and after somehow finishing the mega tournament successfully, he missed the opening game of the Ashes due to the same reason.

Again in January this year, the Barbados-born cricketer missed the second Test due to injury and is currently not a part of England's white-ball set up in the ongoing series against South Africa.

RR will have to be cautious about Archer's workload in IPL 2020 and might require the services of the reserves in Tom Curran, AJ Tye, and Oshane Thomas.

#2 Chris Lynn

Lynn is set to start his new phase of IPL for MI

Chris Lynn gained the spotlight a few years ago when he displayed his talent while playing the Big Bash League for Brisbane Heat. Tailor-made for T20 cricket, the Australian cricketer made his mark in IPL while playing for Kolkata Knight Riders in 2017 with unbeaten innings of 93 and ended up scoring 295 runs from 7 games in the season, before missing out the remaining matches due to a shoulder injury.

Though the devastating opener has been on the rise, there is a history of injuries that throws some light on his susceptibility to the unfortunate. Lynn has suffered a broken finger, a ruptured testicle, a rotator cuff injury, left shoulder reconstruction surgery, a calf injury, and a dislocated right shoulder since 2011.

Perhaps due to similar reasons, the 29-year-old cricketer was released by KKR, who was later picked by Mumbai Indians at his base price of INR 2 crores. Apart from him, MI has numerous opening choices in skipper Rohit Sharma, Quinton de Kock, and Suryakumar Yadav and should be clever enough to fully utilize the services of Chris Lynn.

#1 Andre Russell

KKR should look to avoid risking an unfit Russell in a match

Andre Russell is one of the most dangerous all-rounders in IPL history and has a reputation of tearing the bowlers apart with his sheer power that even makes the top edges sail out of the ground. He started his IPL journey in 2012 for the Delhi-based franchise before moving to Kolkata Knight Riders in 2014.

The West Indian cricketer has been the backbone for Kolkata Knight Riders for many years who has scored 1400 runs at a career strike rate of 186 and picked 55 wickets from 64 IPL matches thus far.

Though the 31-year-old cricketer has been a part of almost all the matches for KKR since 2015, he has often faced difficulties in his shoulder and knee. With the match-winning abilities that he brings to the table, the Kolkata-based franchise has often risked a half-injured Russell in their starting XI. Though the uncertainty has gone in their favor so far, KKR might have to be a little more careful for him in the forthcoming edition of the T20 extravaganza.