IPL 2019: Kumar Sangakkara and Scott Styris pick their favourites for the tournament

The twelfth season of the Indian Premier League (IPL) has gotten underway today, and with it has returned the second edition of the Dug Out, a special show on Star Sports Select that adds analysis to commentary and offers more to the viewers. Popular ex-cricketers Kumar Sangakkara and Scott Styris were seen on the Dug Out, and they also presented their picks on players and teams to watch out for.

Sangakkara admitted that he was looking forward to watching the senior Indian players performing in the IPL. “I like to watch the older guards as well. Shikhar Dhawan has gone to Delhi to the top of the order. MS Dhoni, how good he was last year. You have Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli. You know just incredible players, Suresh Raina,..”Sangakkara is also keen to watch Rishabh Pant and Vijay Shankar, who are vying for the Indian squad for the World Cup.

On the other hand, according to Styris, the IPL is a key factor in the strong bench strength of the current Indian squad and is crucial in gauging the talent of young players. He had a word of praise for multiple players, especially young KKR left-hander Shubman Gill. As quoted by the Quint: “ Last year it was about the young players,… the batsman in particular and Rishabh Pant, Shreyas Iyer, Prithvi Shaw, and then, of course, one who I have on top of my list, who I think is going to be a terrific player –Shubman Gill. All of them were impressive last year, can they go again.”

Emotions bring out the best in Virat, says Sangakkara

Both Sangakkara and Styris presented their views on RCB, who have been perennial underperformers.“The reason they haven’t won it is because they still have been searching for what their best XI is. There is still a lot of learning to be going on for RCB,” said Styris. Sangakkara meanwhile said a lot depends on Virat Kohli ensuring his extroverted-self actually has a positive effect on the team in pressure situations instead of hindering them.“I just think emotions bring out the best in Virat as an individual. It is a case of finding that balance.”

Regarding his favourites to win the IPL, Sangakkara was stuck between three options – the ever-strong Mumbai Indians and Chennai Super Kings, and the revamped Delhi Capitals. Styris, though, was extremely sure of who he considered frontrunners. “Sunrisers! I like the way they have been going for the past couple of years…They seem to have found their method,” he stated.

[interaction id=”5c94cd8913563a5742fface7″]

Get the latest Cricket News and updates, Match Predictions, Fantasy Cricket Tips and lots more on CricTracker.com.