The announcement of the commencement of the Indian Premier League from 19th September, with the final on 8th November has generated a wave of excitement in almost all Indians. IPL has become more than just a cricket league. It is like a yearly festival where it is like a big party with family and friends.

The unforeseen circumstances caused by the spread of coronavirus had delayed the IPL and almost brought it to a stage of cancellation. However the BCCI has found a window for it and although it is happening outside India, all the fans are overjoyed that it is happening eventually.

The IPL is scheduled to be played in the UAE this time around and the conditions of India and the UAE will vary quite a bit. The pitches in UAE are lower and slower than the ones on which most IPL games are played on in India. The high scoring grounds like <a href="https://www.crictracker.com/the-wankhede-crowd-going-tino-sucks-tino-sucks-tino-best-recalls-bowling-to-sachin-tendulkar-in-his-last-test/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Wankhede </a>and Chinnaswamy will be dearly missed. The change of conditions is sure to benefit some teams more than others.

The IPL has been played before in the UAE. During the 2014 general elections in India, the first 20 games of the IPL were played in the UAE, 5 by each team, after which they shifted back to India. Due to varying conditions, some players performed better and some worse in these new conditions. Now that the entire IPL is going to be played there, let&#8217;s have a look at players who performed the best during the 2014 segment of the UAE.

Here are the five players:

5) Manish Pandey: 144 runs in 5 innings at a strike-rate of 121

<img loading="lazy" class="size-full wp-image-134438" src="https://crictracker-admin-panel-08032022.s3.ap-south-1.amazonaws.com/media/attachments/Manish-Pandey.jpg" alt="Manish Pandey" width="640" height="400" sizes="(max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px"><figcaption id="caption-attachment-134438" class="wp-caption-text">Manish Pandey. (Photo Source: Twitter)</figcaption>

Manish Pandey had a good run in the first 5 games scoring 144 runs. His highest was 64 which came in the opening match against Mumbai Indians in a winning cause. He kept chipping in throughout the UAE leg and was a good foil to the likes of <a href="https://www.crictracker.com/ian-gould-picks-sachin-tendulkar-virat-kohli-and-jacques-kallis-as-the-best-three-batsman-he-has-watched/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Jacques Kallis</a>.

Manish Pandey has been a consistent performer in the IPL. He started off well as a youngster for RCB, and then was a part of Pune Warriors India till 2013, before making his debut for Kolkata Knight Riders in 2014, a year where they won the IPL, and Pandey was the Man of the Match in the final scoring a magnificent 94. Since 2018, Pandey has been playing for Sunrisers Hyderabad and has significantly strengthened their middle order.

Pandey is known to be a reliable batsman. He has the ability to nudge the ball around as well as play the big shots. In the upcoming edition, SRH will rely on their star batsman to get them through the difficult phases and hold the middle order together, something Pandey is sure to do well.

4) David Warner: 163 runs in 5 innings at strike-rate of 112

<img loading="lazy" class="size-full wp-image-140404" src="https://crictracker-admin-panel-08032022.s3.ap-south-1.amazonaws.com/media/attachments/David-Warner-SRH.jpg" alt="David Warner Sunrisers Hyderabad" width="640" height="400" sizes="(max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px"><figcaption id="caption-attachment-140404" class="wp-caption-text">Sunrisers Hyderabad&#8217; David Warner.  (Photo: IANS)</figcaption>

David Warner, playing his first season for a new franchise, Sunrisers Hyderabad, had a strong start to the season with 163 runs in 5 innings, although at lowly strike-rate of 112. Warner scored a couple of 50s although he wasn’t opening and was coming at number 3 or 4. Despite not being at his aggressive best, Warner was very consistent.

Warner today is regarded as one of the best batsmen in the IPL. He was with <a href="https://www.crictracker.com/aakash-chopra-picks-his-all-time-delhi-capitals-daredevils-xi-in-ipl-names-virender-sehwag-captain/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Delhi </a>for 5 seasons with decent returns, but once he arrived at Hyderabad, he transformed into an absolute run machine, and since 2014 has scored more than 500 runs every season. His aggressive yet consistent performances have been a joy to watch and he also successfully led Sunrisers to IPL glory in 2016, a season where he had an astounding run of form scoring more than 800 runs.

While the slow pitches of UAE might not assist Warner’s aggressive batting, over the years he has matured a lot and has learnt to adapt to different conditions. Sunrisers will again be banking on their captain to score a truckload of runs and successfully beat the difficult conditions of UAE.

3) Aaron Finch: 169 runs in 5 innings at a strike-rate of 127

<img loading="lazy" class="size-full wp-image-368415" src="https://crictracker-admin-panel-08032022.s3.ap-south-1.amazonaws.com/media/attachments/Aaron-Finch.jpg" alt="Aaron Finch" width="640" height="400" sizes="(max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px"><figcaption id="caption-attachment-368415" class="wp-caption-text">Aaron Finch. (Photo Source: Twitter)</figcaption>

Aaron Finch provided a dashing start for Sunrisers Hyderabad in UAE by scoring 169 runs at a healthy strike-rate of 127. Finch, along with Dhawan and Warner, formed a formidable top 3 for Sunrisers, and he top-scored with 88* against <a href="https://www.crictracker.com/ipl-2020-could-be-played-in-35-to-37-days-by-scheduling-double-headers-delhi-capitals-ceo-dhiraj-malhotra/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Delhi Capitals</a> in a successful run chase of 181. His performances however dipped after returning to India.

Finch, who has been a phenomenal T-20 international batsman hasn’t been able to put in similar performances in the IPL. He had a good stint with Gujarat Lions from 2016-2017 scoring in excess of 600 runs over two seasons, but apart from that, he hasn’t done justice to the talent he possesses. Astonishingly, he has played for 7 different teams across 9 years, and Royal Challengers Bangalore, the team he will turn out for in the forthcoming season, will be his 8th team.

Royal Challengers Bangalore will bank on Finch’s experience and extraordinary ability to give them strong starts upfront. He is perhaps one of the most destructive batsmen when he gets going. The pitches in UAE will be challenging for him, but the limited-overs Australian captain will be looking to play sensibly and support the likes of Kohli and de Villiers in the team to help RCB post great totals.

2) Ajinkya Rahane: 182 runs in 5 innings at a strike-rate of 118

<img loading="lazy" class="size-full wp-image-247476" src="https://crictracker-admin-panel-08032022.s3.ap-south-1.amazonaws.com/media/attachments/Ajinkya-Rahane.jpg" alt="Ajinkya Rahane" width="640" height="400" sizes="(max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px"><figcaption id="caption-attachment-247476" class="wp-caption-text">Ajinkya Rahane of Rajasthan Royals. (Photo by Surjeet Yadav/IANS)</figcaption>

Perhaps a surprise entry, Ajinkya Rahane, one of the most underutilised limited-overs batsman, had a brilliant 182 runs in the UAE leg of 2014. He provided his team Rajasthan Royals will solid starts, scoring 2 50s with a high score of 72.

Rahane has had a decent IPL career scoring over 3000 runs at a strike-rate of 122. He has been someone who is effective in strike rotation, especially on low and slow pitches, but has been unsuccessful in upping the strike-rate when required. His position has also been shuffled around a bit between opening and the middle order. He was the captain at the start of the 2019 season but was failing to find a spot in the team by the end.

After having played for the Royals for 7 seasons, he will be turning out for the <a href="https://www.crictracker.com/delhi-capitals-all-time-best-released-xi-in-ipl-history/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Delhi Capitals</a> this time around. Delhi capitals have a suitable player in Rahane who can be the calm and sensible mind, in a team full of aggressive batsmen. His skill and technique against the spinners will also go a long way in playing on the pitches of UAE.

1) Glenn Maxwell: 300 runs in 5 innings at a strike-rate of 201

<img loading="lazy" class="size-full wp-image-140210" src="https://crictracker-admin-panel-08032022.s3.ap-south-1.amazonaws.com/media/attachments/Glenn-Maxwell-1.jpg" alt="Kings XI Punjab Glenn Maxwell" width="640" height="400" sizes="(max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px"><figcaption id="caption-attachment-140210" class="wp-caption-text">Kings XI Punjab captain Glenn Maxwell. (Photo: Surjeet Yadav/IANS)</figcaption>

Glenn Maxwell set the IPL on fire in the first 5 games of 2014. He seemed to be playing on different pitches altogether and smoked 300 runs at a phenomenal strike-rate of above 200, which was head and shoulders above everyone else. His first 3 scores read 95, 89, 95 all at around strike-rate of 200, bagging the man of the match in each game. He was playing fearless cricket, hitting far and long, which set up <a href="https://www.crictracker.com/sometimes-things-are-not-meant-to-be-ravi-ashwin-on-his-ipl-stint-with-kings-xi-punjab/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Kings XI Punjab</a> for a great season where they finished runners up.

Maxwell is perhaps one of the most talented cricketers of the modern generation. His six-hitting ability and the repertoire of shots he possesses make him an extremely difficult batsman to bowl to. However, due to risky shot selection, he has also not been able to maintain consistency, especially in the IPL and apart from the 2014 season where he scored more than 550 runs, he hasn’t really set the IPL on fire like he should have.

Maxwell returns to Punjab after having skipped the last season and the franchise will be hoping that Maxwell can rekindle his form of 2014 and put up a blistering performance in the UAE and perhaps take them beyond the final hurdle this time around.

The announcement of the commencement of the Indian Premier League from 19th September, with the final on 8th November has generated a wave of excitement in almost all Indians. IPL has become more than just a cricket league. It is like a yearly festival where it is like a big party with family and friends.
The unforeseen circumstances caused by the spread of coronavirus had delayed the IPL and almost brought it to a stage of cancellation. However the BCCI has found a window for it and although it is happening outside India, all the fans are overjoyed that it is happening eventually.
The IPL is scheduled to be played in the UAE this time around and the conditions of India and the UAE will vary quite a bit. The pitches in UAE are lower and slower than the ones on which most IPL games are played on in India. The high scoring grounds like <a href="https://www.crictracker.com/the-wankhede-crowd-going-tino-sucks-tino-sucks-tino-best-recalls-bowling-to-sachin-tendulkar-in-his-last-test/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Wankhede </a>and Chinnaswamy will be dearly missed. The change of conditions is sure to benefit some teams more than others.
The IPL has been played before in the UAE. During the 2014 general elections in India, the first 20 games of the IPL were played in the UAE, 5 by each team, after which they shifted back to India. Due to varying conditions, some players performed better and some worse in these new conditions. Now that the entire IPL is going to be played there, let’s have a look at players who performed the best during the 2014 segment of the UAE.
Here are the five players:
<h3>5) Manish Pandey: 144 runs in 5 innings at a strike-rate of 121</h3>
<figure id="attachment_134438" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-134438" class="wp-caption aligncenter" style="max-width: 100%; margin: 0;"><amp-img class="size-full wp-image-134438" src="https://crictracker-admin-panel-08032022.s3.ap-south-1.amazonaws.com/media/attachments/Manish-Pandey.jpg" alt="Manish Pandey" width="640" height="400" layout="responsive" style="max-width: 100%; margin: 0;"></amp-img><figcaption id="caption-attachment-134438" class="wp-caption-text">Manish Pandey. (Photo Source: Twitter)</figcaption></figure>
Manish Pandey had a good run in the first 5 games scoring 144 runs. His highest was 64 which came in the opening match against Mumbai Indians in a winning cause. He kept chipping in throughout the UAE leg and was a good foil to the likes of <a href="https://www.crictracker.com/ian-gould-picks-sachin-tendulkar-virat-kohli-and-jacques-kallis-as-the-best-three-batsman-he-has-watched/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Jacques Kallis</a>.
Manish Pandey has been a consistent performer in the IPL. He started off well as a youngster for RCB, and then was a part of Pune Warriors India till 2013, before making his debut for Kolkata Knight Riders in 2014, a year where they won the IPL, and Pandey was the Man of the Match in the final scoring a magnificent 94. Since 2018, Pandey has been playing for Sunrisers Hyderabad and has significantly strengthened their middle order.
Pandey is known to be a reliable batsman. He has the ability to nudge the ball around as well as play the big shots. In the upcoming edition, SRH will rely on their star batsman to get them through the difficult phases and hold the middle order together, something Pandey is sure to do well.

<h3>4) David Warner: 163 runs in 5 innings at strike-rate of 112</h3>
<figure id="attachment_140404" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-140404" class="wp-caption aligncenter" style="max-width: 100%; margin: 0;"><amp-img class="size-full wp-image-140404" src="https://crictracker-admin-panel-08032022.s3.ap-south-1.amazonaws.com/media/attachments/David-Warner-SRH.jpg" alt="David Warner Sunrisers Hyderabad" width="640" height="400" layout="responsive" style="max-width: 100%; margin: 0;"></amp-img><figcaption id="caption-attachment-140404" class="wp-caption-text">Sunrisers Hyderabad’ David Warner.&nbsp; (Photo: IANS)</figcaption></figure>
David Warner, playing his first season for a new franchise, Sunrisers Hyderabad, had a strong start to the season with 163 runs in 5 innings, although at lowly strike-rate of 112. Warner scored a couple of 50s although he wasn’t opening and was coming at number 3 or 4. Despite not being at his aggressive best, Warner was very consistent.
Warner today is regarded as one of the best batsmen in the IPL. He was with <a href="https://www.crictracker.com/aakash-chopra-picks-his-all-time-delhi-capitals-daredevils-xi-in-ipl-names-virender-sehwag-captain/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Delhi </a>for 5 seasons with decent returns, but once he arrived at Hyderabad, he transformed into an absolute run machine, and since 2014 has scored more than 500 runs every season. His aggressive yet consistent performances have been a joy to watch and he also successfully led Sunrisers to IPL glory in 2016, a season where he had an astounding run of form scoring more than 800 runs.
While the slow pitches of UAE might not assist Warner’s aggressive batting, over the years he has matured a lot and has learnt to adapt to different conditions. Sunrisers will again be banking on their captain to score a truckload of runs and successfully beat the difficult conditions of UAE.

<h3>3) Aaron Finch: 169 runs in 5 innings at a strike-rate of 127</h3>
<figure id="attachment_368415" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-368415" class="wp-caption aligncenter" style="max-width: 100%; margin: 0;"><amp-img class="size-full wp-image-368415" src="https://crictracker-admin-panel-08032022.s3.ap-south-1.amazonaws.com/media/attachments/Aaron-Finch.jpg" alt="Aaron Finch" width="640" height="400" layout="responsive" style="max-width: 100%; margin: 0;"></amp-img><figcaption id="caption-attachment-368415" class="wp-caption-text">Aaron Finch. (Photo Source: Twitter)</figcaption></figure>
Aaron Finch provided a dashing start for Sunrisers Hyderabad in UAE by scoring 169 runs at a healthy strike-rate of 127. Finch, along with Dhawan and Warner, formed a formidable top 3 for Sunrisers, and he top-scored with 88* against <a href="https://www.crictracker.com/ipl-2020-could-be-played-in-35-to-37-days-by-scheduling-double-headers-delhi-capitals-ceo-dhiraj-malhotra/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Delhi Capitals</a> in a successful run chase of 181. His performances however dipped after returning to India.
Finch, who has been a phenomenal T-20 international batsman hasn’t been able to put in similar performances in the IPL. He had a good stint with Gujarat Lions from 2016-2017 scoring in excess of 600 runs over two seasons, but apart from that, he hasn’t done justice to the talent he possesses. Astonishingly, he has played for 7 different teams across 9 years, and Royal Challengers Bangalore, the team he will turn out for in the forthcoming season, will be his 8th team.
Royal Challengers Bangalore will bank on Finch’s experience and extraordinary ability to give them strong starts upfront. He is perhaps one of the most destructive batsmen when he gets going. The pitches in UAE will be challenging for him, but the limited-overs Australian captain will be looking to play sensibly and support the likes of Kohli and de Villiers in the team to help RCB post great totals.
<h3>2) Ajinkya Rahane: 182 runs in 5 innings at a strike-rate of 118</h3>
<figure id="attachment_247476" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-247476" class="wp-caption aligncenter" style="max-width: 100%; margin: 0;"><amp-img class="size-full wp-image-247476" src="https://crictracker-admin-panel-08032022.s3.ap-south-1.amazonaws.com/media/attachments/Ajinkya-Rahane.jpg" alt="Ajinkya Rahane" width="640" height="400" layout="responsive" style="max-width: 100%; margin: 0;"></amp-img><figcaption id="caption-attachment-247476" class="wp-caption-text">Ajinkya Rahane of Rajasthan Royals. (Photo by Surjeet Yadav/IANS)</figcaption></figure>
Perhaps a surprise entry, Ajinkya Rahane, one of the most underutilised limited-overs batsman, had a brilliant 182 runs in the UAE leg of 2014. He provided his team Rajasthan Royals will solid starts, scoring 2 50s with a high score of 72.
Rahane has had a decent IPL career scoring over 3000 runs at a strike-rate of 122. He has been someone who is effective in strike rotation, especially on low and slow pitches, but has been unsuccessful in upping the strike-rate when required. His position has also been shuffled around a bit between opening and the middle order. He was the captain at the start of the 2019 season but was failing to find a spot in the team by the end.
After having played for the Royals for 7 seasons, he will be turning out for the <a href="https://www.crictracker.com/delhi-capitals-all-time-best-released-xi-in-ipl-history/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Delhi Capitals</a> this time around. Delhi capitals have a suitable player in Rahane who can be the calm and sensible mind, in a team full of aggressive batsmen. His skill and technique against the spinners will also go a long way in playing on the pitches of UAE.

<h3>1) Glenn Maxwell: 300 runs in 5 innings at a strike-rate of 201</h3>
<figure id="attachment_140210" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-140210" class="wp-caption aligncenter" style="max-width: 100%; margin: 0;"><amp-img class="size-full wp-image-140210" src="https://crictracker-admin-panel-08032022.s3.ap-south-1.amazonaws.com/media/attachments/Glenn-Maxwell-1.jpg" alt="Kings XI Punjab Glenn Maxwell" width="640" height="400" layout="responsive" style="max-width: 100%; margin: 0;"></amp-img><figcaption id="caption-attachment-140210" class="wp-caption-text">Kings XI Punjab captain Glenn Maxwell. (Photo: Surjeet Yadav/IANS)</figcaption></figure>
Glenn Maxwell set the IPL on fire in the first 5 games of 2014. He seemed to be playing on different pitches altogether and smoked 300 runs at a phenomenal strike-rate of above 200, which was head and shoulders above everyone else. His first 3 scores read 95, 89, 95 all at around strike-rate of 200, bagging the man of the match in each game. He was playing fearless cricket, hitting far and long, which set up <a href="https://www.crictracker.com/sometimes-things-are-not-meant-to-be-ravi-ashwin-on-his-ipl-stint-with-kings-xi-punjab/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Kings XI Punjab</a> for a great season where they finished runners up.
Maxwell is perhaps one of the most talented cricketers of the modern generation. His six-hitting ability and the repertoire of shots he possesses make him an extremely difficult batsman to bowl to. However, due to risky shot selection, he has also not been able to maintain consistency, especially in the IPL and apart from the 2014 season where he scored more than 550 runs, he hasn’t really set the IPL on fire like he should have.
Maxwell returns to Punjab after having skipped the last season and the franchise will be hoping that Maxwell can rekindle his form of 2014 and put up a blistering performance in the UAE and perhaps take them beyond the final hurdle this time around.

The announcement of the commencement of the Indian Premier League from 19th September, with the final on 8th November has generated a wave of excitement in almost all Indians. IPL has become more than just a cricket league. It is like a yearly festival where it is like a big party with family and friends.
The unforeseen circumstances caused by the spread of coronavirus had delayed the IPL and almost brought it to a stage of cancellation. However the BCCI has found a window for it and although it is happening outside India, all the fans are overjoyed that it is happening eventually.
The IPL is scheduled to be played in the UAE this time around and the conditions of India and the UAE will vary quite a bit. The pitches in UAE are lower and slower than the ones on which most IPL games are played on in India. The high scoring grounds like <a href="https://www.crictracker.com/the-wankhede-crowd-going-tino-sucks-tino-sucks-tino-best-recalls-bowling-to-sachin-tendulkar-in-his-last-test/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Wankhede </a>and Chinnaswamy will be dearly missed. The change of conditions is sure to benefit some teams more than others.
The IPL has been played before in the UAE. During the 2014 general elections in India, the first 20 games of the IPL were played in the UAE, 5 by each team, after which they shifted back to India. Due to varying conditions, some players performed better and some worse in these new conditions. Now that the entire IPL is going to be played there, let&#8217;s have a look at players who performed the best during the 2014 segment of the UAE.
Here are the five players:
<h3>5) Manish Pandey: 144 runs in 5 innings at a strike-rate of 121</h3>
<figure id="attachment_134438" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-134438" style="width: 640px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img loading="lazy" class="size-full wp-image-134438" src="https://crictracker-admin-panel-08032022.s3.ap-south-1.amazonaws.com/media/attachments/Manish-Pandey.jpg" alt="Manish Pandey" width="640" height="400" sizes="(max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px"><figcaption id="caption-attachment-134438" class="wp-caption-text">Manish Pandey. (Photo Source: Twitter)</figcaption></figure>
Manish Pandey had a good run in the first 5 games scoring 144 runs. His highest was 64 which came in the opening match against Mumbai Indians in a winning cause. He kept chipping in throughout the UAE leg and was a good foil to the likes of <a href="https://www.crictracker.com/ian-gould-picks-sachin-tendulkar-virat-kohli-and-jacques-kallis-as-the-best-three-batsman-he-has-watched/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Jacques Kallis</a>.
Manish Pandey has been a consistent performer in the IPL. He started off well as a youngster for RCB, and then was a part of Pune Warriors India till 2013, before making his debut for Kolkata Knight Riders in 2014, a year where they won the IPL, and Pandey was the Man of the Match in the final scoring a magnificent 94. Since 2018, Pandey has been playing for Sunrisers Hyderabad and has significantly strengthened their middle order.
Pandey is known to be a reliable batsman. He has the ability to nudge the ball around as well as play the big shots. In the upcoming edition, SRH will rely on their star batsman to get them through the difficult phases and hold the middle order together, something Pandey is sure to do well.

<h3>4) David Warner: 163 runs in 5 innings at strike-rate of 112</h3>
<figure id="attachment_140404" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-140404" style="width: 640px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img loading="lazy" class="size-full wp-image-140404" src="https://crictracker-admin-panel-08032022.s3.ap-south-1.amazonaws.com/media/attachments/David-Warner-SRH.jpg" alt="David Warner Sunrisers Hyderabad" width="640" height="400" sizes="(max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px"><figcaption id="caption-attachment-140404" class="wp-caption-text">Sunrisers Hyderabad&#8217; David Warner.  (Photo: IANS)</figcaption></figure>
David Warner, playing his first season for a new franchise, Sunrisers Hyderabad, had a strong start to the season with 163 runs in 5 innings, although at lowly strike-rate of 112. Warner scored a couple of 50s although he wasn’t opening and was coming at number 3 or 4. Despite not being at his aggressive best, Warner was very consistent.
Warner today is regarded as one of the best batsmen in the IPL. He was with <a href="https://www.crictracker.com/aakash-chopra-picks-his-all-time-delhi-capitals-daredevils-xi-in-ipl-names-virender-sehwag-captain/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Delhi </a>for 5 seasons with decent returns, but once he arrived at Hyderabad, he transformed into an absolute run machine, and since 2014 has scored more than 500 runs every season. His aggressive yet consistent performances have been a joy to watch and he also successfully led Sunrisers to IPL glory in 2016, a season where he had an astounding run of form scoring more than 800 runs.
While the slow pitches of UAE might not assist Warner’s aggressive batting, over the years he has matured a lot and has learnt to adapt to different conditions. Sunrisers will again be banking on their captain to score a truckload of runs and successfully beat the difficult conditions of UAE.

<h3>3) Aaron Finch: 169 runs in 5 innings at a strike-rate of 127</h3>
<figure id="attachment_368415" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-368415" style="width: 640px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img loading="lazy" class="size-full wp-image-368415" src="https://crictracker-admin-panel-08032022.s3.ap-south-1.amazonaws.com/media/attachments/Aaron-Finch.jpg" alt="Aaron Finch" width="640" height="400" sizes="(max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px"><figcaption id="caption-attachment-368415" class="wp-caption-text">Aaron Finch. (Photo Source: Twitter)</figcaption></figure>
Aaron Finch provided a dashing start for Sunrisers Hyderabad in UAE by scoring 169 runs at a healthy strike-rate of 127. Finch, along with Dhawan and Warner, formed a formidable top 3 for Sunrisers, and he top-scored with 88* against <a href="https://www.crictracker.com/ipl-2020-could-be-played-in-35-to-37-days-by-scheduling-double-headers-delhi-capitals-ceo-dhiraj-malhotra/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Delhi Capitals</a> in a successful run chase of 181. His performances however dipped after returning to India.
Finch, who has been a phenomenal T-20 international batsman hasn’t been able to put in similar performances in the IPL. He had a good stint with Gujarat Lions from 2016-2017 scoring in excess of 600 runs over two seasons, but apart from that, he hasn’t done justice to the talent he possesses. Astonishingly, he has played for 7 different teams across 9 years, and Royal Challengers Bangalore, the team he will turn out for in the forthcoming season, will be his 8th team.
Royal Challengers Bangalore will bank on Finch’s experience and extraordinary ability to give them strong starts upfront. He is perhaps one of the most destructive batsmen when he gets going. The pitches in UAE will be challenging for him, but the limited-overs Australian captain will be looking to play sensibly and support the likes of Kohli and de Villiers in the team to help RCB post great totals.
<h3>2) Ajinkya Rahane: 182 runs in 5 innings at a strike-rate of 118</h3>
<figure id="attachment_247476" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-247476" style="width: 640px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img loading="lazy" class="size-full wp-image-247476" src="https://crictracker-admin-panel-08032022.s3.ap-south-1.amazonaws.com/media/attachments/Ajinkya-Rahane.jpg" alt="Ajinkya Rahane" width="640" height="400" sizes="(max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px"><figcaption id="caption-attachment-247476" class="wp-caption-text">Ajinkya Rahane of Rajasthan Royals. (Photo by Surjeet Yadav/IANS)</figcaption></figure>
Perhaps a surprise entry, Ajinkya Rahane, one of the most underutilised limited-overs batsman, had a brilliant 182 runs in the UAE leg of 2014. He provided his team Rajasthan Royals will solid starts, scoring 2 50s with a high score of 72.
Rahane has had a decent IPL career scoring over 3000 runs at a strike-rate of 122. He has been someone who is effective in strike rotation, especially on low and slow pitches, but has been unsuccessful in upping the strike-rate when required. His position has also been shuffled around a bit between opening and the middle order. He was the captain at the start of the 2019 season but was failing to find a spot in the team by the end.
After having played for the Royals for 7 seasons, he will be turning out for the <a href="https://www.crictracker.com/delhi-capitals-all-time-best-released-xi-in-ipl-history/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Delhi Capitals</a> this time around. Delhi capitals have a suitable player in Rahane who can be the calm and sensible mind, in a team full of aggressive batsmen. His skill and technique against the spinners will also go a long way in playing on the pitches of UAE.

<h3>1) Glenn Maxwell: 300 runs in 5 innings at a strike-rate of 201</h3>
<figure id="attachment_140210" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-140210" style="width: 640px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img loading="lazy" class="size-full wp-image-140210" src="https://crictracker-admin-panel-08032022.s3.ap-south-1.amazonaws.com/media/attachments/Glenn-Maxwell-1.jpg" alt="Kings XI Punjab Glenn Maxwell" width="640" height="400" sizes="(max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px"><figcaption id="caption-attachment-140210" class="wp-caption-text">Kings XI Punjab captain Glenn Maxwell. (Photo: Surjeet Yadav/IANS)</figcaption></figure>
Glenn Maxwell set the IPL on fire in the first 5 games of 2014. He seemed to be playing on different pitches altogether and smoked 300 runs at a phenomenal strike-rate of above 200, which was head and shoulders above everyone else. His first 3 scores read 95, 89, 95 all at around strike-rate of 200, bagging the man of the match in each game. He was playing fearless cricket, hitting far and long, which set up <a href="https://www.crictracker.com/sometimes-things-are-not-meant-to-be-ravi-ashwin-on-his-ipl-stint-with-kings-xi-punjab/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Kings XI Punjab</a> for a great season where they finished runners up.
Maxwell is perhaps one of the most talented cricketers of the modern generation. His six-hitting ability and the repertoire of shots he possesses make him an extremely difficult batsman to bowl to. However, due to risky shot selection, he has also not been able to maintain consistency, especially in the IPL and apart from the 2014 season where he scored more than 550 runs, he hasn’t really set the IPL on fire like he should have.
Maxwell returns to Punjab after having skipped the last season and the franchise will be hoping that Maxwell can rekindle his form of 2014 and put up a blistering performance in the UAE and perhaps take them beyond the final hurdle this time around.

During the 2014 general elections in India, the first 20 games of the IPL were played in the UAE, 5 by each team, after which they shifted back to India.

Top 5 batsmen from the UAE segment of IPL 2014

The IPL is scheduled to be played in the UAE this time around and the conditions of India and the UAE will vary quite a bit.