The 13th edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL) was believed to play a platform to identify players for the T20 World Cup squad. However, owing to the Coronavirus pandemic, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) was forced to postpone the league to April 15 and looking at the enormity of the situation, this season could well be cancelled.
Hence, with no IPL 2020, if the T20 World Cup does happen later this year, several players could miss out on the squad and here in this article, we take a glance at three such players.
MS Dhoni
As far as MS Dhoni's participation in the T20 World Cup is concerned, even popular personalities of the sport seem to hold diverse opinions. While Aakash Chopra believes that Dhoni does not need an IPL to make his international comeback, Virender Sehwag asks "Where will he fit in?" with the likes of Rishab Pant and KL Rahul already in form.
Ravi Shastri had spoken about the importance of IPL 2020 in getting MS Dhoni back in the mix.
The former India captain looked to be in good shape during pre-season net sessions at MA Chidambaram Stadium, but the question marks hovering over the league have also brought his World Cup participation into question.
Sanju Samson
After a prolonged wait, Sanju Samson got an opportunity in New Zealand and despite looking in good nick, he failed to cement his spot and hence, he too hinged his hopes on a decent IPL to be back in the reckoning. However, with a fairly settled top order and Rahul and Pant as two wicket-keeping options, Samson might miss out on the World Cup squad.
Krunal Pandya
A good IPL would have dropped Krunal Pandya in India’s squad for the T20 World Cup, but if the season stands cancelled, the all-rounder could miss out as the side already has two quality finger spinners and batsmen in Ravindra Jadeja and Washington Sundar.
