The 13th edition of the IPL (IPL 2020) is upon us and it has been turned towards a new home owing to the COVID-19 outbreak. This season, the tournament will take place behind the closed doors in UAE. The teams participating will face a whole new climate never expected before. While in the past the venue was shifted from India during Prime Minister elections every five years, this time it’s a pandemic situation with no one to cheer for them.
Cricketing pundits have identified the situation as challenging and completely new to them. So, they have made a different set of predictions. Recently, the former New Zealand cricketer Scott Styris also made his predictions for the upcoming season. The all-rounder predicted the positions of all the teams at the end of the league stage.
On Twitter, Scott Styris came up with some interesting prediction for the season. He predicted that the Delhi Capitals will top the chart at IPL 2020 with their good mix of experienced and young players. Managed by legendary Ricky Pointing, they are looking like a big deal this season and ready to hit the ground running.
The Way too early @IPL power rankings for 2020
1) @DelhiCapitals
2) @mipaltan
3) @KKRiders
4) @ChennaiIPL
5)@SunRisers
6) @RCBTweets
7)@lionsdenkxip
8) @rajasthanroyalsThoughts ?
— Scott Styris (@scottbstyris) September 14, 2020
Second, on his list is Mumbai Indians. Led by their super captain Rohit Sharma, the record champions are willing to lift yet another IPL title come to the end of the tournament. They certainly are beaming with class and precision to do it on the stage once again.
Dinesh Karthik’s Kolkata Knight Riders come in third in Styrish’s list and he claims them as one of the best teams on paper. With Andre Russel, Eoin Morgan, Sunil Narine, and Patrick Cummins in their side, they look lethal. Fondly known as KKR, they will be willing to add a third IPL title to their name.
After KKR, he comes to the Chennai Super Kings. Scott himself played for CSK in the past, but can’t rank them higher with the absence of Raina and Harbhajan taunting the side more than ever. Super Kings are also hit by coronavirus infections with their preparation getting hit. So they may not be the powerhouse everyone expects this year.
What Scott Styris Went On To Say About The IPL 2020 Finish?
Scott believes Sunrisers Hyderabad – lead by Warner – will not make it to the playoffs. They are placed fifth. This looks strange because SRH boasts one of the strong squad with the likes Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Johnny Bairstow, and Rashid Khan. They may well do better than the initial prediction made by Styris.
Following SRH is Virat Kohli’s RCB. Despite having great players, Royal Challenger Bangalore has been placed sixth. RCB has failed to qualify for the playoffs since 2016. After that comes Kings XI Punjab and Rajasthan Royals at 7th and 8th positions respectively. KXIP possesses great talents like KL Rahul, Gayle, and Shami. Meanwhile, RR has Steve Smith, Jos Buttler, Ben Stokes, and Jofra Archer. But neither comes close to make the playoffs in Scott’s eyes.
