5 Regular openers who may be demoted in IPL 2020
Since only two batsmen can open the innings, here are the five regular IPL openers who might be demoted to the middle-order in the 13th season of the IPL.
3. Ajinkya Rahane – Delhi Capitals
Ajinkya Rahane had become an indispensable part of the Rajasthan Royals in the previous decade. He was the captain of Rajasthan in IPL 2019. However, the team management sacked him as the skipper in the middle of the competition and handed over the team’s reins to Australian batsman Steve Smith.
Subsequently, Rajasthan also traded out Rahane to Delhi Capitals. It was a surprising decision from Delhi to sign Rahane because they already had three fantastic T20 openers in Shikhar Dhawan, Prithvi Shaw, and Jason Roy. While Roy is unavailable for IPL 2020, it is still highly unlikely that Shaw or Dhawan will bat in the middle order.
The right hand-left hand combination achieved much success opening together in the IPL last year. Rahane will most probably bat at number 3 for Delhi Capitals ahead of Shreyas Iyer, Rishabh Pant, and Shimron Hetmyer. The Indian Test team’s vice-captain has batted at number three 13 times in IPL, managing 229 runs at an average of 19.08.
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