IPL 2020:Cricket is a highly unpredictable game, much like almost every sport out there. However, even between all the unpredictable sequences in a cricket game, certain trends are visible in a tournament. The Indian Premier League(IPL) is no different from this.
As the 13th season of the IPL is being held in the United Arab Emirates, cricket enthusiasts have their eyes on the progression each team makes. Starting from the location to the lack of spectators on the stands, Covid-19 has made this year’s tournament largely different from the others. Cricketers even have to follow a whole new set of rules and regulations.
While everyone wants their favorite team to win, let’s take a look at some contributing factors that can affect their success.
Who can be this year’s champions of IPL?
This question that floats on top of everyone’s minds might now not have an answer. Even if one thinks there is, it would lead to many fan fights, much like the buzz on social media. Assuming there is no single team who falls into the prediction criteria, if the past tournaments are looked at, we can still spot some trends.
Those trends proclaim that Royal Challengers Banglore could be the winner of the tournament. This might come as a surprise to many considering the fact that they have not won the title even once before. Despite having the Indian captain Virat Kohli as their team’s captain, RCB has a history of disappointing their fans.
Then what makes RCB steal the limelight with the trends based on previous IPLs portraying them as the 2020 champions? This is why a thorough understanding of what helps a team win the IPL title is required.
The importance of spending
Teams spend millions of US dollars in organising their team, starting with the auction. Often the most expensive team has a lot of key players. But, the existing trend shows that the most expensive team of the tournament has never won the championship before. This would mean that one has to rule out Mumbai Indians as champions this year.
The youth and the experienced
The IPL field has many veterans on it. Starting from Imran Tahir who is 41and the recently retired MS Dhoni, the experienced players are highly valued. However, a team with many experienced players need not help them in the long run. At the same time, lots of young players can also stop them from making their way to become the winners of the tournament.
The key to a good cricket team is balance. IPL is no different. Almost all of the previous champions had a well-balanced team with a stable average age. This year, it wuld mean that Chennai Super Kings has lesser chances of emerging victorious as they have the highest team average age.
International quality
Capped players are crucial to have a reliable IPL team. They come with the experience and team coordination regional players might not have. This is why excluding once the IPL champions had 15 capped players with them. Their contributions indeed added value.
However, one should not forget that IPLs are a place young and regional players should be given a chance to prove their mettle. This has also helped various teams as such players turned out to be surprisingly good at handling the pressure.
Champions that proved the criteria
The IPL auction never fails to bring the hype the championship needs. IPL fans and cricket enthusiasts begin to place as soon as the auction starts. Sometimes, these bets often placed on existing trends fail to deliver.
Betway figured out the most prominent display of these factors and exclusions. The key factors are:
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Rajasthan Royals did not have 15 international-level players in IPL 2008. They had only 13 capped players.
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The average age of the RR team was below 25, which does not fit the above parameters to be on the road to being the champions.
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A team with an average of over 3 has never won the IPL.
Although the key takeaways point to RCB’s chance of being winners, IPL revolves around many unpredictabilities. However, the trends show that Captain Kohli and his team might emerge victorious in the end. This would be the first time RCB gets the championship if that happens.
