The Indian Premier League (IPL) is one of the most thrilling cricketing tournaments in the world. The tournament boasts some of the best cricketers from around the globe, playing for some of the grandest franchises.
Last season, amid the COVID-19 pandemic, the tournament had to be postponed for the health and well-being of players and support staff. The tournament eventually was played from September 19-November 10 in the UAE.
However, the IPL will return to India this season after the entire tournament was played away from home, just for the second time in the cash-lucrative league’s history.
IPL 2021 will kick start from April 9 with defending champions Mumbai Indians (MI) taking on Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) in Chennai while the final will be played on May 30th.
Over the years, a plethora of records has been made and broken over the 12 years of its history. So, ahead of the upcoming IPL season, let’s take a look at the five batsmen who can score a double-century in the tournament:
5. Chris Gayle
Veteran batsman Chris Gayle had missed the first 7 games of Punjab Kings’ (Kings XI Punjab back then) due to an injury. However, in his absence, the franchise won just one game.
However, Gayle went on to play the next 7 games and made a huge impact with the bat as Punjab won 5 of them and almost qualified for the playoffs, out of nowhere.
At 41, Gayle is still going strong as age is just a number for the Jamaican powerhouse. So far, Gayle has played 132 games in IPL, scoring 4,772 runs including in 6 tons and 31 half-centuries.
Gayle also holds the record for the highest score in the history of IPL — 175*. So, it is fair to say that if anyone can break Chris Gayle’s record, it Chris Gayle himself.
4. David Warner
Having won the Orange cap thrice, so far, Australian batsman David Warner has been of the most consistent performers in the IPL, regardless of which team he is playing.
Last year, Warner was the third-highest run-scorer with 548 runs despite a slow start. On the back of his 548 runs, SunRisers Hyderabad qualified for the playoffs after finishing third.
In 142 IPL matches, Warner has scored 5,254 runs with an astonishing average of 142.7. He has smashed four centuries and a massive 48 half-centuries, including a high score of 126.
Considering his body language, one can easily guess that Warner loves playing in the IPL. Not only this but the 34-year-old can also score a double century in T20 international cricket as well.
3. Rohit Sharma
Rohit Sharma is one of the most decorated cricketers in the history of the tournament, having won the IPL five times — four times as captain of MI and one with Deccan Chargers in the 2009 edition.
As far as his batting in concerned, he has scored a total of 5,230 runs at an average of 31.30 and with a strike-rate of 130.60. In 200 games, Rohit has registered 39 half-centuries and a single hundred (109*).
Also, having already scored three double centuries in ODI cricket and has the record of the highest individual score in the 50-overs format, Rohit is surely capable of hitting one in the IPL 2021 as well.
2. AB de Villiers
Mr. 360 AB de Villiers, as his nickname suggests, has the ability to play shots in any area. He had announced his international retirement in 2018 and has only been featuring in franchise cricket.
Talking about his IPL career, ABD has scored 4849 runs in 169 matches played so far at an average of 40.4 and a strike rate of 151.9. He has also smashed 3 centuries and 33 half-centuries, including a best score of 133*.
Considering his reputation of doing equal justice to all kinds of deliveries, AB has the potential of scoring a double century in the upcoming edition of IPL.
1. KL Rahul
Though the 13th edition of IPL 2020 was another disappointing season for Kings XI Punjab (succeeded by Punjab Kings), there were a lot of positives to reflect up for the franchise.
One of them was the sublime form of skipper KL Rahul who emerged as the leading run-scorer in the tournament, having racked up 670 runs at a phenomenal average of 55.83.
Who can forget his knock of 132* against RCB? Rahul also broke his own record of scoring the most number of runs (659 (2018)). Not only that, but he also broke “Master Blaster” Sachin Tendulkar’s eight-year-old record and became the fastest batsman to 2,000 IPL runs.
He has also been in form in ODI and T20I cricket for Team India, scoring runs for funs. Considering all the aforementioned points, Rahul definitely looks like a player who has the temperament of doing something that is yet to be done in IPL.