Aakash Chopra names 5 cricketers who will suffer the most if IPL gets cancelled

The 13th edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL) is reportedly set to be cancelled due to the outbreak of coronavirus pandemic, which has gripped the entire world. More than 920,000 people have been infected with the virus while in excess of 47,000 people have lost their lives so far.

The start of the cash-rich league had been already pushed back to April 15 from March 29 but if reports are to be believed then the entire tournament is set to be cancelled this year.

India is currently on a 21-day lockdown and hosting a tournament in these circumstances would be difficult for the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI).

With the ICC T20 World Cup scheduled to take place later this year, the IPL was supposed to help out-of-favour cricketers get back in reckoning while it would have also given selectors a chance to pick the best in-form squad for the showpiece event in Australia.

Former India cricketer and commentator Aakash Chopra, in a video uploaded on his Facebook channel, listed five crickters who according to him will suffer the most if IPL gets cancelled.

Suresh Raina

According to Chopra, Suresh Raina hasn’t played any T20 tournament recently on home or foreign soil and that makes it difficult for him to script a comeback into the Indian team if IPL doesn’t take place this year.

Krunal Pandya

Due to the presence of spin trio of Ravindra Jadeja, Kuldeep Yadav and Yuzvendra Chahal, Krunal Pandya has failed to find a spot in the squad in recent times. Chopra believes his World Cup hopes will take a huge hit if IPL is cancelled as he will have no platform to show he belongs on the international stage.

Sanju Samson

Wicket-keeper batsman Sanju Samson has been in the Indian squad more often than not recently but play time has been hard to come by for the Kerala superstar. He played two matches in New Zealand but failed on both the occasion. According to Chopra, IPL is the only opportunity for him to knock on the selectors’ doors for a ticket to Australia.

Shivam Dube

Young all-rounder Shivam Dube got multiple chances in New Zealand but he couldn’t bring over his domestic form over to the international arena. Chopra pointed towards the return of all-rounder Hardik Pandya as a reason for Dube being out the squad. IPL is supposed to be Dube’s final chance to impress the selectors as Pandya remains injury prone and India would want to have a replacement ready for the multi-national event.

Rishabh Pant

Wicket-keeper batsman Rishabh Pant has seen his gloves taken away by KL Rahul in recent times. According to Chopra, IPL is one tournament where Pant usually does well and it is important for him to score big this year as he has been in and out of the Indian team. In case IPL doesn’t happen, selectors will have no choice but to go for their usual campaigners and keep Pant on the bench as they did in New Zealand.