IPL 2019: 3 Teams that will be most affected after foreign players leave ahead of World Cup 2019

Even before the start of the Indian Premier League (IPL) this year, a lot was being talked about the availability of the foreign players. World Cup will soon be starting after the IPL and it is only fair that all the boards want their players to be fresh and fit for the event. Most of the World Cup-bound overseas players except New Zealand’s are set to leave the tournament on the date set by their respective boards.

This has raised a question mark in the minds of every franchise. What will be their playing XI without them? Who will replace these stars? and many more. Whilst some teams have a strong Indian core as a replacement, there are teams who rely on these players to a much greater extent. Undoubtedly, there will be a major decline in the performance of such teams once they leave.

Here we take a look at the three most affected teams when their foreign players leave:

1. Sunrisers Hyderabad

The strong bowling of SRH enables them to defend even the lowest of the totals. Luckily, they have an Indian bowling core and the unavailability of Shakib Al Hasan won’t make much difference. However, they will suffer major setbacks in the batting department.

SRH’s batting was carried on its shoulders by Kane Williamson last year but they’ve lost Shikhar Dhawan this year. However, the return of belligerent David Warner and inclusion of explosive Johnny Bairstow has worked for them so far. But both of them will leave by the last week of April leaving a big hole at the top of the order. Their team combination will completely change then and it will be interesting to see if their performance will dip drastically.

2. Royal Challengers Bangalore

RCB’s batting has enough potential to ruin the bowling of other teams. From Virat to AB de Villiers to Shimron Hetmyer, the list is too big. Therefore, a probable loss of South African wicketkeeper-batsman Heinrich Klassen won’t affect them. Their real problem starts with their bowling which wasn’t good even last year.

Interestingly, RCB didn’t make any major addition to their bowling department this year as well. They have Moeen Ali, Marcus Stoinis and Nathan Coulter-Nile in their squad who will leave midway through the season. In their absence, the team will be left with only Tim Southee as a foreign option. The fact that all these three players play a major role in all the departments for RCB, will make it even more tough for them to adjust when the trio will leave.

They have already lost two matches in as many outings and should look to win as many games they can over the next two-three weeks and then take it from there.

3. Rajasthan Royals

Batting was a huge concern for the Royals in the previous season, but the decision to send Jos Buttler to open the innings turned out to be masterclass for them. They are boosted by the return of Steve Smith and have Ashton Turner, the Mohali hero in the recent India series, this year in the IPL. However, all of them, in addition to Ben Stokes will have to obey their board’s decision. Without these stars, RR’s batting will look very brittle.

Stokes’ absence will weaken their bowling as well. Like, RCB, even they have lost both their matches and the Royals should be looking to make the most of their overseas contingent until they are available. Having said that, things will get tougher for the Ajinkya Rahane-led side going forward.

~Written by Ayuj Aryan