Rating teams according to overseas players in IPL 2020

The Indian Premier League has evolved a lot through the years. Rules have changed, the way the teams get their combinations these days are completely different and it is a completely different ball game in this era and even the process like drafting a team has become quite a difficult thing to do. The captain and the team management has to do a lot brainstorming to the combinations right for every match if they want to progress into the latter stages of the tournament.

The foreign players also do make a lot of difference into the team combination and can be the key to victories in some really tough situations. Even though they are just four in number, their contributions can prove vital progression of the team they are playing for.

So, here’s a look the strength of each of the team’s roster of foreign players:

1. Rajasthan Royals (7/10)

After having won the inaugural season of the Indian Premier League, the Rajasthan Royals, have been struggling hard to get their hands on the trophy. After their success in the very first season, they have found themselves out of the top 4 on many occasions and have made it to the playoffs in only 3 out of the 9 remaining seasons they’ve played. And, this season, they have managed to get together a decent set of foreign players, but things don’t look that promising for them.

In the 2020 season, the leadership of the team will be taken care of by Steve Smith, who will have to work a lot on the team sheet, trying to get his combinations right before every match they play. One thing that team and its leadership will rejoice will be the fact that their star performer from the last season, Jos Buttler will be there to play for the entire duration of the tournament.

The team will also be enjoying the services of Ben Stokes and Jofra Archer, who in the year gone by have come to be one of the finest talents in the cricketing scene.

Youngsters like Oshane Thomas and Tom Curran will have to grab every opportunity at hand in the best way possible. And, experienced gentlemen like David Miller and Smith will have to guide the team in the right way, if they want to put in their claim on winning the cup.

2. Royal Challengers Bangalore (8/10)

After revamping their logo for the third time since the start of the tournament, the team from Bangalore, the Royal Challengers Bangalore, will be looking to turn their fortunes around in this season of the tournament and win the cup for the first time. And, the captain of the team, that has been known to have to best of foreign players in its dugout, will be looking to get his hands on the cup at any cost this year.

Enjoying the services of experienced campaigners like AB de Villiers, Aaron Finch and Chris Morris, the RCB team has things looking good for them on paper. They have a decent line up of other players, who have been playing for the side for quite some time now, like Moeen Ali and Dale Steyn, whose contributions both on and off the field would come in handy for the team.

Adding to them will be players like Isuru Udana, Kane Richardson, and Josh Philipe, who hold the surprise element with them, because of not having played in the tournament too little or not at all.

Kohli will have to make careful selections, keeping in mind the fact that the team has had players with a lot of talent in the previous years, who have not been able to get the team to a tournament win.

3. Delhi Capitals (6/10)

One of the most struggling teams of the Indian Premier League of all time, the Delhi Capitals have been trying their best to win the tournament, but have failed to get a taste of winning the tournament. Every year they try their best to get through to the finals, but are not able to, due to one reason or the other.

To add to this, they don’t even have the kind of foreign players, they need to get them through to a tournament win. There is no doubt that they do have some talented men in their squad like Kagiso Rabada, but it is also true that the rest of them do not have the expertise to get their team through in Indian conditions. This will in all probabilities cause a problem for the captain of the team, Shreyas Iyer, who will have to work around filling in the foreign players with their Indian counterparts.

Shreyas being a young captain will have a lot of things to sort out before he goes into the campaign. And, for that, he will need the expertise of Ajikya Rahane and Ravichandran Ashwin who have led IPL teams in the past before joining this franchise.

4. Kings XI Punjab (6.5/10)

This franchise has been going through a lot of turmoil in the last few years and have failed to get through the perfect line-up on the team sheet time and again. And, even in this edition of the tournament, their roster of foreign players does not look promising. They do have a talented bunch of players, but the department they handle could be a problem when the final XI is being decided.

They have Chris Gayle and a number of other talents like Mujeeb Ur Rahman, Chris Jordan and IPL greats like Glenn Maxwell. But, their management could be a great problem for the newly appointed captain KL Rahul, who might find it a problem to get through this phase of handling this level of pressure. They will have to get the combinations of players right every time they get onto the field if they want to progress into the playoffs.

This season will be a tough ride for them and they will have to go through a turmoil and they will have to keep their calm even in the toughest situations and keep their act together winning matches as they come along.

5. Chennai Super Kings (7/10)

One of the most consistent teams in the Indian Premier League, the Chennai Super Kings will be going into the 2020 season of the tournament, with a not so strong group of foreign players. All of the overseas players that they have in the side are undoubtedly match winners and can win matches for their team till date, there are certain issues that might crop up as the tournament progresses.

In this season of IPL, many of their overseas players, are the ones who have hung up their boots in international cricket or have been out of the team, and play only franchise cricket, which does not provide the match practice like International cricket does, and this may be a problem for the team.

Players like Imran Tahir and Shane Watson, who have grown to be one of their mainstays have not played any international cricket for quite some time now. And this could impact their match fitness and the way they hold themselves together through the hectic chores of a busy tournament like this.

Though on the brighter side of things, players like Lungi Ngidi, Mitchell Santner, Sam Curran and Josh Hazlewood bring that young boiling blood, which could come in handy in tough situations for the team. They would also have a lot to learn from the veterans of the team and will definitely better their game throughout the tournament.

6. Kolkata Knight Riders (8.5/10)

The team that went berserk on the auction table this year, the Kolkata Knight Riders, have made certain acquisitions, that might not look that promising for the money that was put on them, but actually they do have the game to justify their price tag. Combing the old with the new in the best way possible, this team makes a strong case for itself when it comes to foreign firepower in the team.

Having the likes of Eoin Morgan and Pat Cummins, who was bought at a record price, has hurt no one, and certainly not the Knights, who are searching for a title win from 2014. They have the firepower in the batting department in the all-round department in the form of Andre Russel, Chris Green and their very own, Sunil Narine.

Behind the wickets, Tom Banton, who literally rocked the stage in the Big Bash League, will be there to lend his services to the team. The bowling department will be held by Cummins and Lockie Ferguson, who will surely send a chill down the spine of the batsman facing them bowl at any stage of the game.

The only thing that Dinesh Karthik, the captain of the side, will have to do is, manage the talent in the best way possible and if he is able to do so, the team in all probabilities would find themselves to be a part of the playoffs.

7. Mumbai Indians (9/10)

The four-time champions of the Indian Premier League, being led by Rohit Sharma, have one of the strongest pool of foreign players. In the auction, the team management made sure that they picked up match winners and players who have immense talent in them and can lead the team to yet another victory, all by themselves.

Be it Chris Lynn, Kieron Pollard, Trent Boult, Mitchell McClenaghan, Nathan Coulter-Nile, Shane Rutherford or Quinton de Kock. You name a T20 expert and they will have him sitting in their dressing room, prepping to tear the opposition into pieces.

They have players from across the seas, who have expertise in each and every department that a team needs to excel in to win the cup. The batting has the might of Lynn at the top and Pollard in the middle. The all-rounder department has players like Kieron Pollard. And the bowling department is held by McLeneghan and Boult. Even behind the stumps, they have de Kock lending his services to the team.

If it was not for the 4 player cap on the inclusion of foreign players, Rohit would have played all of them. But, since there is a restriction, all that he will have to do is choose the right combination of players for every match, and there will be no stopping for Mumbai this season.

8. Sunrisers Hyderabad (8.5/10)

A team filled with talents like David Warner, Kane Williamson and the like, the Sunrisers Hyderabad management and their leadership has made sure that they have only the best foreign players of the lot, who help them crafting a match-winning blend of players and win the trophy this year, after two seasons of longing to hold the cup in hands.

Though all of the overseas players they have may not be the smashers that everyone wants to see in this format of the sport, they have individuals who can morph into every role and take the team to victory from any stage. They have T20 greats like Rashid Khan, Mohammad Nabi and David Warner in the team who have built a reputation for them over the years. And there are also names like Kane Williamson, Jonny Bairstow, Billy Stanlake, Mitchell Marsh and Fabian Allen, who can mesmerise anyone with their fluid style of playing.

The 2020 season of the Indian Premier League will see the transfer of captaincy of the Sunrisers from the hands of Kane Williamson to David Warner. The only thing here that the team management will have to look into is that this transition takes place smoothly. And, if it does, the Sunrisers will have almost nothing to worry about.