IPL 2020: Brad Hogg picks his 3 favourite teams to win the championship

The 2020 edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL) is all set to kick off in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) after all the chaos and commotion due to the massive COVID-19 pandemic. The tournament is scheduled to get underway on September 19 and teams are busy getting themselves ready. Meanwhile, former Australian cricketer Brad Hogg picked his favourites to win the title.

That he named Mumbai Indians (MI) as one of the three teams didn’t spring a surprise. The side, led by Rohit Sharma, is the most successful, having won the IPL four times in 2013, 2015, 2017 and 2019. In fact, after Rohit took over as their captain, MI’s fortunes changed. The now 33-year-old replaced Ricky Ponting as the captain midway through the 2013 edition.

Brad Hogg opines

Last year, they beat the Chennai Super Kings (CSK) in the final by one run in Hyderabad. Hogg also named the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) as one of the favourites to lift the title. Back in 2014, when the IPL, partially, took place in the UAE, the Knights emerged as the champions. The Men in Gold and Purple, mostly, flourished under the leadership of former Indian batsman Gautam Gambhir.

Even in 2012, KKR won the title, beating CSK in the final at the MA Chidambaram Stadium. However, after Gambhir left the franchise, Dinesh Karthik was appointed for the role and the latter has strained to some extent. But KKR remains to be one of the power-packed teams going into the next edition. Hogg also named the Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) as one of the title contenders.

The choice might raise a lot of eyebrows as Virat Kohli and Co are yet to get their hands on the coveted trophy. The team has qualified for the final three times, but hasn’t been able to go over the line. Kohli has also been under the pump to perform as the skipper after tasting quite a bit of failure.

For the upcoming edition, they have roped in Aaron Finch, the Aussie ODI and T20I skipper, adding firepower to their unit. About the favourites, a fan on Twitter, asked Hogg about the same.

Here’s Hogg’s tweet: –

RCB, Mi, KKR. #ipl2020 #askhoggy https://t.co/MUYsAQiQ34

— Brad Hogg (@Brad_Hogg) September 2, 2020