IPL 2019: 3 players who could potentially win the Orange Cap

The previous edition of the IPL saw some scintillating play from franchises with both bat and ball. The most attended cricket league in the world has been the centre-stage for the players to showcase their talent at the grand level.

Till date, there have been 11 seasons of the IPL with the 12th season - IPL 2019 - to start from 23rd March and as usual, there has been a lot of buzz in and around social media about the best players.

In the 11 editions, the tournament has seen 6 different champions with Chennai Super Kings (CSK), Mumbai Indians (MI) winning three titles each, and Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) winning two titles in 2012 and 2014. Sunrisers Hyderabad and Rajasthan Royals have won one each in 2016 and 2008 respectively. The terminated side Deccan Chargers had won one in the second season, in 2009.

With the ICC Cricket World Cup 2019 set be hosted at the end of May in England and Wales and most boards calling back their players in the middle of the season, the top players would want to be in top form through the season.

Let's take a look at some of the batsmen to watch out for this IPL, who can potentially win the Orange Cap.

1) Rohit Sharma (Mumbai Indians)

Rohit Sharma with his 3rd IPL title in 2017.

Rohit Sharma, one of the IPL veterans, had a forgettable IPL 2018 scoring just 286 runs in 14 innings averaging just 23.8 at a strike rate of 133. His poor form was a major concern for the defending champions Mumbai Indians as they crashed out in the group stage of the tournament.

But his fortunes changed ever since the end of IPL in T20 as well as in ODIs, which is good news for the record 3-time champions.

Rohit ended as the second highest run-getter for India in ODIs, and had an equally staggering T20 record. On 7th November 2018, Rohit became the first player to hit 4 T20 international centuries when he amassed 111* of just 61 balls.

With the 2019 World Cup in sight, the Hitman would love to continue his form and lead his side to a record 4th title with a sparkling Orange Cap on his head.

2) Kane Williamson (Sunrisers Hyderabad)

Kane Williamson was the Orange Cap winner in 2018 edition.

Kane Williamson has been in a top form in the ongoing international calendar. And with the player available for the complete season, one can expect King Kane to retain his Orange Cap.

Williamson was one of the biggest surprise packages of the IPL 2018 as he scored a stupendous 735 runs averaging 52.50 with a strike of 142.44, scoring 8 fifties in the 17 games for his side. He almost led his side to a second title before Shane Watson's heroics blew them away.

Williamson seems meant to play cricket on a sunny afternoon in England, with a nice breeze hovering over a beautiful sight screen - such is his style of play, which contradicts the method of playing T20 cricket in the modern era. He pierces gaps through the covers, shuffles across to the off stump and whips deliveries into the leg side.

Williamson might continue to lead the side as their regular captain David Warner might not be available for the entire season due to World Cup preparations.

3) Virat Kohli (Royal Challengers Bangalore)

Virat Kohli will play his 12th IPL season for RCB.

The Indian skipper has been one of the finds of its IPL. Regarded as one of the greatest batsmen of all time, Virat Kohli has not been able to make his side RCB get their hands on the title despite being in three finals (2009, 2011, 2016).

The 2016 IPL season was when Kohli was at his peak form, breaking records game after game and scoring four centuries in a single season. He also went on to win the Orange Cap by scoring a record 973 runs in 16 matches at an astonishing average of 81.80.

Kohli missed the coveted 1000-run mark in the finals after getting dismissed for 54 off just 35 balls, falling to the bowling of Barinder Sran.

Even though Kohli missed the start of 2018 with a shoulder injury, he top scored for RCB scoring 308 runs in the 10 matches he played. This shows the dependence of RCB on their skipper, and he would hope that he will be in prime form throughout the upcoming 2019 season.