5 players who can be a surprise package in IPL 2020

The 13^th edition of the IPL is around the corner with Chennai Super Kings taking on the defending champions Mumbai Indians at the Wankhede. With the T20 World Cup later in the year, not only the Indian selectors but other national boards will also follow the tournament keenly and assess the performance of their players. The IPL has always been a breeding ground for youngsters by providing them with the opportunity to showcase their talent and skill on the biggest T20 stage in the world.

There are plenty of players who owe a large chunk of their success to the IPL- Ravichandran Ashwin, Jasprit Bumrah, Pandya brothers, Yuzvendra Chahal, Rishabh Pant are few of the many Indian players who have benefitted from their IPL performances. Sunil Narine, Kieron Pollard, Shaun Marsh are overseas players who shot up the ranks by their IPL exploits.

Also, there have also been several players who arrived ‘out of nowhere’, turned out to be a surprise package and won games for their team. Paul Valthaty, Manvinder Bisla, Pravin Tambe, Alzarri Joseph, Rahul Tripathi were thrown in the pool and game out dripping gold. This year we expect a few more players who could leave everyone dumbstruck wondering that where was this player hidden.

Here we look at 5 players who could be the surprise package of IPL 2020:

1. Josh Philippe

The latest season of the Big Bash turned out to be a festivity for top-order batters as 9 batsmen scored over 400 runs- with Marcus Stoinis shattering all records by amassing 705 runs at 54. One such other opener who grabbed everyone’s attention was Sydney Sixers’ Josh Philippe. Philippe was at the forefront of the Sixers’ march towards the final of the Big Bash.

The 22-year-old was the leading run-scorer for the Sixers- he accumulated 487 runs at an average of 37 including 5 half-centuries. Even before that, the Royal Challengers Bangalore had bought him for his base price of 20 Lakhs in the auction. In the 2108-19 season of the Big Bash, Philippe once again was impressive with his 308 runs at an average of 30 striking at 158.

But with the inclusion of Aaron Finch, Dale Steyn, and Chris Morris, the overseas slots are filled and Philippe will have to wait for his opportunity. If Finch and Parthiv are unable to fire, Virat Kohli would be tempted to give the wicket-keeper opener a go- and Chinnaswamy is a place he would love to bat. The right-hander could prove to be a ‘rabbit out of the hat’ to finally fill RCB’s empty trophy cabinet.