Hardik Pandya and Kieron Pollard will struggle at this year’s IPL, says Ramiz Raza

The much-awaited Indian Premier League is scheduled to start from 19th September 2020. The first match of the tournament will be played between Chennai Super Kings and Mumbai Indians at Abu Dhabi Stadium. This year, the matches will be played in closed doors. 

Given the tournament will be held in UAE, the teams will have to rethink the combinations they go out with. The pitches in the UAE tend to help spinners more than the fast-bowlers. The spinners and the slower bowlers will have a major say in the tournament and thus big-hitters, who likes pace to hit sixes might struggle in the tournament. 

Former Pakistan cricketer, Ramiz Raza also spoke about the same and said that players like Kieron Pollard and Hardik Pandya will struggle in this year’s IPL. 

“I think the teams who have a good spin department will do well, that is the first thing,” Raja said on the YouTube show Cric Cast. “The big-hitters will struggle. Like Lynn, Pollard or Pandya brothers, Hardik Pandya probably although he plays spin well. But I feel that the team selection in this IPL will be slightly different. Fast bowling will be difficult, you will see a lot of variations.”

Ramiz further said that big teams such as KKR and RCB might struggle to adjust themselves in neutral territory as they usually receive a lot of support in their home matches. 

“So big teams will be playing away from their homes where they had a lot of advantage, for e.g. Kolkata Knight Riders had an advantage of playing at the Eden Gardens where the crowd support helps them in crunch moments. Similarly, RCB plays in Bangalore, who get an advantage there. So, it will be interesting to see how they adjust themselves in neutral territory.”

As many as three venues have been selected to stage the matches of IPL 2020– Abu Dhabi, Dubai and Sharjah.