IPL 2020: Ranking the batsmen of all the teams

#5 Sunrisers Hyderabad

Williamson(L) hasn't done enough to guarantee him a starting place.

Overseas Options: David Warner, Jonny Bairstow, and Kane Williamson(C)

Indian Options: Manish Pandey, Vijay Shankar, Sreevats Goswami, Wriddhiman Saha, Virat Singh, and Priyam Garg

SRH has the best opening pair in the entire league but that doesn't automatically make them a top batting side.

While Kane Willamson is still the captain, his form in T20s has gone down since IPL 2018, and he had a poor IPL 2019. He could make just 156 runs in 9 matches at a sub-par strike-rate of 120 and his presence complicates SRH's overseas combination.

Among the Indian options, no one barring Manish Pandey seem good enough. A lot was expected of Vijay Shankar in the start of 2019, but he failed to live up to expectations and had a poor IPL 2019. An injury added to his woes, and he hasn't done great for Tamil Nadu in the domestic games following his recovery.

While players like Virat Singh and Priyam Garg are exciting options, it's difficult to say anything about them without actually seeing them play among the big names. Players like Williamson, Warner, and Manish should mentor these youngsters, and the team should give them enough game-time to prove their worth.

Final Verdict: SRH has the strongest opening pair in the league but doesn't have the strongest top order. Manish Pandey will have to do the bulk of the scoring as Williamson needs to be benched to accommodate other overseas players.

#4 Royal Challengers Bangalore

Finch will have to work on his poor record in India.

Overseas Options: Joshua Phillipe, Aaron Finch, and AB De Villiers

Indian Options: Parthiv Patel, Virat Kohli(C), and Devdutt Padikkal

Despite having the world's best batsman in their team, RCB's top order isn't the best in the league. This is primarily due to their sub-par opening pair which is mostly going to be Parthiv Patel and Aaron Finch.

RCB bought Finch for ₹4.4 Crore in the auction, and the Aussie skipper is certainly in great form in this format. But he doesn't have a great record in India and failed to make runs the last time Australia toured India. His IPL stats aren't encouraging to see. Barring the 2016 season, Finch hasn't been comfortable batting in India and wasn't able to make good use of the power play. He could make just 134 runs in 10 games at a poor average of 16.75 in his last IPL season.

Parthiv Patel meanwhile hasn't been able to go on after the power play. He needs to convert his starts into big scores. Young Aussie keeper Joshua Phillipe and Karnataka opener Devdutt Padikkal are quality options and should be considered as alternate options.

RCB has a pretty formidable line-up post their opening pair. The likes of Virat Kohli and AB De Villiers are sure to strike fear in the heart of any bowler and they're likely to be the major run-scorers for them.

Final Verdict: A sub-par opening pair is likely to be an issue for RCB although the rest of their batting looks solid.