IPL 2020: 5 players who will be out of contention for a T20 World Cup spot if the IPL 13 is canceled

The IPL 2020 has been postponed to April 15 amid coronavirus outbreak.

The Indian Premier League (IPL) 2020 is currently under dark clouds of the coronavirus outbreak. The deadly virus pandemic has already claimed more than 10,000 lives worldwide and India has recorded five deaths so far.

Though the number of cases and deaths in India is very less compared to many other hard-hit countries; the BCCI and the IPL governing council decided to take the correct step and postponed the upcoming IPL 13 from March 29 to April 15. This had something to do with the Indian government banning entry and exit of anyone to and from the country till the said date by suspending all visas.

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There is no certain date on when and whether the T20 league will take place, but this being a T20 World Cup year, the importance of the tournament for some players cannot be overlooked. Many of the Indian players were looking forward to performing in the IPL 2020 to impress the selectors and booking a seat on the plane to Australia later this year.

However, with the tournament being suspended and the COVID-19 outbreak getting serious, some of the players’ chances of making it into the Indian team for the T20 World Cup might be dashed. Therefore, Team COC presents to you five such players who will be out of contention if IPL 13 doesn’t happen.

Check out the 5 players who will be out of contention for a World Cup spot if the IPL is canceled

Shubman Gill

The young Punjab opener has become an important part of the Kolkata Knight Riders team in the past two seasons. He has batted in the middle order and opened the innings for the franchise, succeeding in whichever role he got. He was retained by the franchise for this season and even made a comeback to the Indian team on New Zealand tour, but couldn’t get a match.

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He had been hoping for a very good outing in this IPL 2020, as there are spots up for grabs in the Men in Blue side for the upcoming ICC T20 World Cup in Australia. There is space for a backup opener in the team with Rohit and Dhawan being the chosen ones. However, with the threat of no IPL this year, Shubman might lose the opportunity to show off his talents and impress the ones choosing the squad for the tournament.

He has 499 runs in 27 matches with 4 half-centuries and the best score of 76.

R Ashwin

R Ashwin will be seen in the Delhi Capitals outfit this year as he was traded to them by Kings XI Punjab, after leading them for two years. Though an innovative captain, Ashwin struggled by making too many changes in the XI and never having a stable team, hurt them after the initial success in both seasons.

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Meanwhile, the off-spinner is now considered a Test only player, having played his last limited-overs match for India in 2017. He has been active in domestic T20 tournaments and the IPL and even played in the previous edition of the T20 World Cup in 2016, which was played in India. He has 125 wickets in 139 IPL matches with a best of 4/34.

Unfortunately, he has not done anything of notice in T20s to be in the radar of selectors and if the IPL 13 gets canceled, his only hope of wearing the Blue jersey might also vanish.

Krunal Pandya

Krunal Pandya was looking good to cement his place in the Indian team during the late 2019s in the T20I format. His accurate left-arm spin and hard-hitting batting lower down the order made him a perfect candidate to have in the team in a time of crisis.

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He has done the rescuing job a million times for his IPL side, the Mumbai Indians, most famously in the finals of the 2017 IPL against Rising Pune Supergiants, when his amazing knock gave them a decent total to defend.

However, he went without a wicket for five straight T20I matches and has not been picked since the Bangladesh series at home.

This IPL 2020 would be perfect for the Baroda player to show that he still has the goods to deliver in the middle and an outstanding outing may have had selectors picking him for the T20 event in Australia, where he played a crucial role in 2018 in the T20I series down under.

Dinesh Karthik

Dinesh Karthik, the captain of Kolkata Knight Riders, has not played for India since the 2019 World Cup’s semi-final loss against New Zealand. 

Shreyas Iyer and Manish Pandey have done well in New Zealand in the middle order, but the fans felt they needed some experience in the middle order to see them through, after the ODI series whitewash at the hands of Kiwis. That is where Dinesh Karthik can come in with his vast experience.

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Dinesh Karthik, who famously won India the Nidahas Trophy in 2018 against Bangladesh, in what is considered to be one of the greatest knocks in T20I history, was hoping to do well for the KKR team in this season of IPL and staking a claim for that middle-order spot.

He can perform well down the order, given that he has the big shots in his arsenal, which Manish Pandey does not and struggles to make quick runs in death overs. This makes Karthik a perfect contender for the finisher’s role.

However, if the IPL is canceled, Karthik stands to lose the most, as without an audition, there can be no selection and at 34, his time is running out fast. With 3654 runs in 182 IPL matches with 18 fifties and a top score of 97*, Karthik has the experience needed to perform under pressure, but he needs to have a good IPL if it happens.  

MS Dhoni

The player who stands to lose the most if the IPL 13 is canceled is none other than MS Dhoni. This IPL is supposed to be his audition for a comeback into the Indian team for the T20 World Cup and supposedly his final hurrah. He has not played any cricket since the 2019 World Cup exit and only recently started practicing with the Jharkhand team and the CSK franchise.

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Dhoni has won the IPL three times with Chennai Super Kings, with the latest title coming in 2018. The 38-year-old has played 190 games in the league, scoring 4432 runs at a strike rate of 137.85 and averages 42.20 with 23 fifties to his name. He also has 136 dismissals behind the stumps.

India head coach Ravi Shastri had said that Dhoni’s comeback into the Men in Blue unit depended on how his IPL 2020 went with the bat. There is no question on his fitness and glovework, but he needed to have a blockbuster outing with the bat to be reconsidered by the selectors, who have moved on with Rishabh Pant and KL Rahul as his successors.

However, with the IPL in danger of being canceled, MS Dhoni stands not only to lose out on a spot for T20 World Cup but also his international career might come to an end if the league doesn't take place.