It’s been more than a week since the beginning of IPL 2021 & it is coming out clear that which team is stronger or which team is missing out to have the X factor. It is too early to predict the winner of the trophy but predictions about the individual players & team performance is becoming more & more clear.
It will be the first clash between Kolkata Knight Riders & Royal Challengers Bangalore. The latter is unbeaten till now but that’s not the case with the latter. They lost their last match against Mumbai from a run-a-ball situation. It will be interesting to see if they have put their defeat behind & if they can bounce back & end the winning streak of RCB.
In this article we will see three players, from both the teams, who can change the game for their respective teams.
1) Washington Sunder
RCB’s youngest all rounder Washington Sunder has shown us some brilliant moments by producing some game changing moments for Team India. He is a left handed batsman and right-arm off-spinner. He has been with RCB since 2018 but this time skipper Kohli has high expectations with him. The 21-year-old Tamil Nadu-born player seems slightly out of touch at the moment and could do with a good performance here. He is one of the most dependable all rounders with a strike rate of 116.57 & economy rate of 6.87.
2) Eoin Morgan
An Irish-born Englishman with a reputation for inventive and audacious stroke-play, Eoin Morgan has over time proved to be one of the most innovative players in international cricket. With a blend of nous and power, Morgan is a natural finisher. He has spent most of his IPL career with KKR but represented the Sunrisers Hyderabad in 2015 and 2016 and played for Kings XI Punjab (now Punjab Kings) in 2017. The 2019 World Cup winning captain made a return to the Kolkata Knight Riders in 2020 after being one of the top buys for KKR in the 2020 IPL Auction. He also took over captaincy duties from Dinesh Karthik mid-season in 2020 and will be looking to take KKR to IPL glory in 2021. English captain is yet to make his mark in the IPL 2021. Such is the demand at this franchise that he seems slightly under pressure. But the 34-year-old is a premium player who comes at the middle order & has the potential to change the course of the game.
3) Andre Russell
We can’t miss Andre Russell if we are talking about players who can change the game for their team at any point of time. He is the most dependable all rounder in the IPL history. Russell has the capability to change the game with both the bat & the bowl. In the current season, we have not witnessed his magic through his bat but he is doing wonders with bowling attack. The best part about Russell as a player is that he is unpredictable. No team or no player can predict his next plan of action & that is why the team management trusts this player more than anyone.