Top 5 Players who will be in the hunt for the Orange Cap

There’s always an underlying contest on for who scores the maximum number of runs in an IPL edition as the highest run-scorer becomes the keeper of the prestigious Orange Cap. The batsmen are in a constant race to outperform the other throughout the season, and the Orange Cap is donned by different players every other day. Though it might not be the sole reason for the batsmen to score runs, one can’t deny that it is an excellent pat on the back.

Last year, the shifting of the orange cap was extremely interesting. Initially, it was with Gautam Gambhir. It later belonged to David Warner until Virat Kohli decided to take the route of breaking the record of most runs scored in a season. The contest towards the end of the edition was limited to the two of them. While David Warner was finally awarded the Winner’s Trophy, Virat Kohli was awarded orange cap for his 973 runs.

This year, while there are some automatic, guaranteed IPL specialists that are expected to wreck havoc on the scoreboards, we can also expect some equally talented dark horses to be in the race for the Orange cap in IPL 2017.

#1) Virat Kohli

Though, we have seen an apparent dip in his form in the shorter format (and also, the longer one, barring the double ton in Bangladesh) since his 122 against England, one can’t deny that he is a perpetual name in the hunt for the orange cap. If he continues to open for the Royal Challengers Bangalore like he did in the last edition, the possibility for more runs only becomes more concrete.

Kohli, despite having the most terrific batting-lineup alongside him has been played the most pivotal role in helping them qualify for play-offs repeatedly. Take the example of him almost single-handedly taking them to the title clash in the 2011 Champions League Twenty20, and being a major contributor in taking them to the IPL final in 2009, 2011 and even 2016.

What is a plus point is his ability to be able to partner with all his fellow batsmen, whether it is Gayle, de Villiers, KL Rahul or even Kedar Jadhav. The distance between RCB and the Winner’s trophy may remain, but you can’t doubt Kohli’s love-affair with the Orange cap.