(Cricket news) The Indian Premier League finishes on 15th of October and the T20 World Cup begins two days later. The squads have been announced by the teams and the players form in IPL will set the stage for a bigger show while they represent their country. Chris Gayle, Dwayne Bravo, Kieron Pollard and Andre Rusell have made major strides in the IPL and are known for their T20 game.
Chris Gayle is no doubt the greatest T20 batsmen, the power he holds while comfortably guiding the ball out of the stadium is simply something to admire and to ponder upon. Gayle has been part of the IPL since 2009 and holds multiple records in the league. He has hit a record 357 sixes and also has the highest score in the league of 175 not out, Gayle is the flagbearer of T20 cricket and has been the most attacking player. The 6 foot three inch batsmen does not have the need to run between the pitch instead scores in boundaries and is one of the strongest players in the game. He scored the first international T20 century in 2007 against South Africa in the World Cup and will play a vital role in this year’s World Cup.
Dwayne Bravo is one of the superstars in Chennai Super Kings and has established himself as one the finest bowlers in IPL. He has the record of taking the most wickets in a single season of the league, he had 32 wickets in the 2013 season. His unreadable slow balls leave the batsmen stumped and are unable to score while he is in form, the T20 game requires heavy striking with the bat and the ball and Bravo has the ability to do both. With the ball he is deadly especially in the death overs and with the bat can play cameos and hit maximums. He is also one of the most athletic players on the team and can move around quickly in the field.
Andre Russell will be always remembered for his 2019 season with Kolkata Knight Riders as raged up a storm in the season. He scored 510 runs while batting at number 6 and smacked 52 sixes in 249 balls in the season. He does not take any time to adjust in the pitch, the bat straight away goes for the big ones and can chase any target when in form no matter who he is up against. Russell is a pacer too and can bowl around 140 km/ hour, in the 2018 season his fastest ball was recorded at 147.73 km/hour and can send the stumps on a roll.
Kieron Pollard is the biggest of the four as he is 6ft f5 inches tall and does justice to his giant stature. He will be captaining the West Indies team in the T20 World Cup and is the perfect candidate in the format. He has played over 500 T20 matches making him one of the most experienced players in the shortest format and has played explosive knocks for the Mumbai Indians. Pollard is known to clear the boundaries casually, he has the two biggest sixes this season and both over 100m which shows his raw strength. He is known to provide the last minute show for the team and can chase huge targets under pressure, he is also known for his fielding and shows no fear to dive to take superhuman catches.
The West Indies is the only team to win the T20 World Cup twice and will look to capture their third title. Their domination in the T20 format reminds the world of how they were on top of the game in the 1970s when Vivian Richards, Clive Llyod along with Malcolm Marshall and Michael Holding were a deadly combination and could disarm the opposition while striking fear in the pitch. After so long the current players will try to bring glory and make history in the shortest format of the game.
Also read: The test of speed and skill in Indian Premier League, bowlers taking over the game
