“Hardik Pandya and Kieron Pollard will struggle at this year’s IPL”: Ramiz Raja

Hardik Pandya and Kieron Pollard will be playing for Mumbai Indians which will be seen in the opener of the IPL 2020 on 19th September.

Former Pakistani Batsman Ramiz Raja believes that spinners will play a major role in this year’s IPL which will make fit hard for the big hitters to flourish. Even after their ability to bat well against spinners, Hardik and Pollard will struggle on the UAE surfaces. Both of them play for the four-time champion side Mumbai Indians and are a major part of the franchise’s success. Even though Pollard is in a very good form and had a very impactful season at the CPL which won the league for the side, Raja still feels the same.

“I think the teams who have a good spin department will do well, that is the first thing,” Raja said on the YouTube show Cric Cast. “The big-hitters will struggle. Like Lynn, Pollard or Pandya brothers, Hardik Pandya probably although he plays spin well. But I feel that the team selection in this IPL will be slightly different. Fast bowling will be difficult, you will see a lot of variations.” He also mentioned that playing without crowd will be difficult and to sustain the level of enthusiasm will be challenging especially for teams like KKR who thrive playing in front of a packed Eden Gardens which is their home ground.

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“And behind closed doors, what will be the impact, because you will have to almost remain like a prisoner in a bio-secure environment and put up your best performance. So it becomes a difficult task. Because IPL without the buzz of the crowd is incomplete,” Raja said.

“So big teams will be playing away from their homes where they had a lot of advantage, for e.g. Kolkata Knight Riders had an advantage of playing at the Eden Gardens where the crowd support helps them in crunch moments. Similarly, RCB plays in Bangalore, who get an advantage there. So, it will be interesting to see how they adjust themselves in neutral territory.”