IPL 2020: 3 senior players who changed roles to fit their team’s needs

One of the primary objectives of the Indian Premier League has been to unearth new upcoming talents. The likes of R Ashwin, Jasprit Bumrah, and Hardik Pandya, to name a few, became household names after successful stints in IPL early on in their careers.

This league also allows proven players to change perceptions and reinvent to fit their team needs. Here are the three senior players who have done that for their respective teams in IPL 2020.

#1. Chris Gayle (Kings XI Punjab)

Chris Gayle (Image credit: kxip.in)

Even though Chris Gayle is considered one of the greatest T20 players of all time, he could not find a place in the team for the first seven matches because of the combination. Kings XI Punjab decided to use the four overseas options in the middle order and bowling, because they had captain KL Rahul and Mayank Agarwal to open the batting.

Both openers looked in great touch, and were getting lots of runs at the top of the order. It was looking unlikely that Gayle would feature in many games this season.

Then, Kings XI Punjab lost a few games in the IPL after being in a great position to win them. At the halfway stage, they had won only one match and were desperate to change their fortunes. Desperate times call for experienced heads, and they decided to bring in veteran Chris Gayle into the mix.

Kings XI Punjab decided not to disturb an opening stand that was doing well right through the tournament. KL Rahul and Mayank Agarwal continued to open, while Gayle got an opportunity to bat at No. 3, a position he had occupied only six times out of his 405 T20 match career. It was a big gamble taken by the team management, but Chris Gayle relished the new role at this stage of his career.

The left-hander finished with 288 runs from 7 matches with three fifties at an average of 41.14 and striking at 137. More importantly, his presence helped KXIP win five games on the trot from the brink of elimination, helping the team mount a last-minute charge to qualify for the IPL 2020 playoffs. KXIP couldn't qualify, but Gayle definitely made his mark.

#2. Shikhar Dhawan (Delhi Capitals)

Shikhar Dhawan (Image credit: delhicapitals.in)

While Shikhar Dhawan was the No. 1 choice to open the batting for India in limited-overs cricket not long ago, good performances from the likes of KL Rahul, Mayank Agarwal, and Prithvi Shaw have pushed the left-hander out of contention.

Dhawan has been a consistent performer in the IPL, scoring more than 400 runs since the 2016 season. He formed a great opening combination with David Warner for SRH, but they decided to move and release him before IPL 2019. He was picked up by his home state of Delhi, and finished with 521 runs that helped them to finish third in the league.

It is evident from the strike rates he has had in the last few seasons with SRH and DC that the southpaw was keen to play the sheet anchor role even in T20s. This year too, Dhawan started similarly by playing a supporting role to the more aggressive Prithvi Shaw. Once Shaw started failing, Dhawan started pushing hard in the powerplay, and has been very successful so far.

He finished the league stage with 525 runs from 14 matches at a good average of 47.72. Dhawan’s strike rate has hovered around 130 for a few seasons, but has reached a very impressive 145 in this year’s IPL, which has been one of the reasons for DC finishing second on the points table.

With an impressive return of two centuries and two fifties, Shikhar Dhawan has been recalled in the Indian T20I team to tour Australia for a 3-match series.

#3. Mohammad Shami (Kings XI Punjab)

Mohammed Shami (Image credit: kxip.in)

India pacer Mohammad Shami was always considered a good bowler in Tests and ODIs when he was with Delhi Daredevils till 2018. The right-arm fast bowler wasn’t a regular member of the side, due to the perception that he isn’t good enough when it comes to the shortest format.

Since he was picked up by KXIP last season, Shami has been a revelation, finishing with 19 wickets in 2019 and 20 wickets in 2020.

Shami is always a good bowler with a brand new ball in his hand. His wrist position at the time of release means that his balls often land on the seam. It was only his death bowling skills that remained under constant scrutiny.

While Shami relies a lot on short-pitched deliveries and change of pace in the slog overs, he turned things around against Mumbai Indians in the Super Over when he nailed down six yorkers to defend five runs. Since that game, Shami has felt very confident in bowling yorkers under pressure.

Shami’s newfound strength in the death overs is good news for Indian cricket, as he and Jasprit Bumrah can be quite a handful proposition to get away in the upcoming T20I World Cup.