IPL 2020: One player from each team who can opt for mid-season transfer

We have already witnessed almost 3 weeks of action-packed cricket in this year’s IPL and there is still plenty of cricket yet to be played. Some exceptional striking of the ball, fiery spells of bowling as well as gravity-defying fielding has been on display so far.

This year’s IPL has an additional element to make it more exciting for the franchises as well as the fans. All the teams can opt to trade players from their teams at the halfway mark if the player hasn’t played more than 2 games for them. This becomes an interesting option since it allows teams to bring in players from other teams who can add the missing piece jigsaw puzzle. Let us have a look at one player from each team that is a likely candidate for a trade.

Chris Lynn – Mumbai Indians

Chris Lynn was an integral member of the Kolkata Knight Riders from 2017-2019. He played a number of impactful innings for them and was their ideal opener. However, he was released by KKR before the 2019 auction. To everyone’s astonishment, he was picked up at a bargain price of 2 crores by Mumbai Indians. While Lynn was seen as a great buy for MI, he doesn’t seem to fit in their current scheme of things. They already have Quinton de Kock at the top of the order, who not only keeps but also provides the left-right balance. It also is unlikely that he will replace some other overseas player. Hence, Lynn could be a player MI looks to trade.

Andrew Tye – Rajasthan Royals

Rajasthan Royals arguably have the best core of overseas players in Jos Buttler, Steve Smith, Jofra Archer and Ben Stokes. Each player is indispensable to the team in some way or the other. Tye, who was the purple cap holder in 2018 with 24 wickets, had a huge slump in the following season. In this RR setup, it is almost impossible for him to play regularly unless someone like Archer is miserably out of form or injured. Hence, it would be better for him to find a new home somewhere else.

Parthiv Patel – Royal Challengers Bangalore

Parthiv Patel has been a part of innumerable franchises in the IPL. With 2848 runs under his belt, he had his most successful stint from 2015-2017 where his runs upfront were an important factor to help Mumbai lift the trophy. He has been with the Royal Challengers Bangalore since 2018. While he got to ply his trade in only 6 games in 2018, Parthiv played all 14 matches in 2019 and did decently well, scoring 373 runs. However, this year the dynamics of RCB are different. With a specialist keeper Joshua Philippe and makeshift keeper AB de Villiers being preferred over Parthiv, it is evident that he is quite low in the pecking order. Also, with RCB’s young opener, Devdutt Padikkal doing exceedingly well, it is unlikely that Parthiv is going to get a go any time soon.

Siddarth Kaul – Sunrisers Hyderabad

A fast bowler from Punjab, Siddarth Kaul has been with Sunrisers for quite a few years now. While he picked up 16 wickets for them in 2017, he finished amongst the highest wicket-takers in 2018, picking 21 scalps. However, since then, it has been a downward slide for Kaul. Sunrisers have a plethora of Indian fast bowlers. And this season, all other bowlers played before Kaul, making it evident that captain David Warner had lost a lot of faith in him. He has played one game this season, due to the injury to Bhuvneshwar Kumar and niggle to Khaleel Ahmed. But he was extremely expensive and looked out of place. Hence, Kaul is a player who can be traded to a team where he is likely to be backed more.

Ajinkya Rahane – Delhi Capitals

An international star, Ajinkya Rahane is yet to feature in a single IPL game this year. While Rahane may not come across as a typical T20 player, he has done exceedingly well in the league. He has scored in excess of 350 runs in 7 out of the last 8 seasons. However, after being a regular part of IPL teams since 2013, Rahane finds himself on the bench this year mainly because of the team he is a part of has found a settled unit. Since 2019, Delhi Capitals has been a team which has meant business. This year too, they already have 4 wins in 5 games and look extremely strong. The presence of innumerable Indian batsmen makes it almost impossible for Rahane to breakthrough. Hence, he would be a good option for trade as it is unlikely he’ll be able to contribute much for DC.

Deepak Hooda – Kings XI Punjab

Deepak Hooda made heads turn in 2015, as he played a couple of scintillating knocks down the order for Rajasthan Royals. He was roped in by Sunrisers soon but wasn’t able to create the desired impact. This year he is with KXIP, but it doesn’t look like he will get an opportunity to prove his worth. Like DC, KXIP too have a number of Indian batsmen who can bat at any position in the middle order like Karun Nair, Mandeep Singh and Sarfaraz Khan. They also have a decent finisher in Krishnappa Gowtham. Hooda, unfortunately, isn’t a better batsman than the three, neither a better bowler than Gowtham. Hence, what he has to offer is already at the disposal of KXIP. Therefore, KXIP can look to trade Hooda, and he can perhaps be useful for a team looking for a decent lower middle order and finisher.

Narayan Jagadeesan – Chennai Super Kings

Chennai Super Kings has always been known to rope in experienced players and use a team full of international stars to win the IPL. They usually don’t bank on youngsters, but if they do take them in, they have always been able to extract the best out of them. However, that hasn’t been the case for young Jagadeesan. A very talented wicketkeeper-batsman from Tamil Nadu, Narayan Jagadeesan has been a part of CSK’s squad since 2018. It was expected that in Suresh Raina’s absence he would finally get an opportunity, but that hasn’t been the case. He has a stellar domestic record in recent times, and can definitely be a useful addition to a lot of other sides.

Siddhesh Lad – Kolkata Knight Riders

Siddhesh Lad can consider himself to be one of the unluckiest cricketers in recent times. He was a part of Mumbai Indians from 2015-2019 but got just a single game last season, before being released. When Kolkata Knight Riders roped him, it was expected that he might get games at the top order. However, that hasn’t been the case. He hasn’t been a part of the scheme of things and looks like he may have to suffer the same fate at KKR that he did at Mumbai. Lad has been a fine player for his domestic team, Mumbai, and has even been referred to as the crisis man. However, franchises haven’t trusted him enough. Nevertheless, there are a few teams in this year’s IPL, who are looking for solid Indian options for their batting line up and Lad can surely be traded to such teams.