As players from the England squad for T20 World Cup leave the IPL, their teams are left to find replacements in the squad for the departing players. Let’s have a look at the effect this Brexit has on the IPL squads still in contention for the playoffs.
Royal Challengers Bengaluru(RCB)
Royal Challengers Bengaluru will lose two integral parts of the RCB squad to the exit of British players. With star batter Will Jacks and bowler Reece Topley leaving the squad there will be a big gap to fill especially with the loss of Jacks’ hard hitting. The loss will have an impact on their playoff chances especially their last game is against Chennai at the Chinnaswamy. They need to win the game by 18 runs at least, if defending 200 or chase in 18 overs at the most, if the target is 201.
Chennai Super Kings(CSK)
Chennai Super Kings will be without the services of Moeen Ali, the hard hitting all rounder, when he leaves. Although, when that will be remains to be seen as he is yet to depart. Whether he will leave before the match against RCB or post that is not yet clear. He is expected to leave sometime this week. To go through, they either need to beat RCB or to ensure that they have a lesser NRR than them.
Lucknow Super Giants(LSG)
While the scenario for LSG to get into the playoffs is very slim, there is still a mathematical chance for them to go through to the next round if they are able to beat RCB’s NRR in the match against Mumbai and RCB is able to beat CSK only by a slim margin. However for that to happen they need to bat first and then beat MI by 310 runs. If they field first they are eliminated outright. For the match against MI, LSG will have all their players available as they did not have any English players in the squad.
With three teams now through to the playoffs, the match of RCB vs CSK will decide the playoffs spot for both teams that realistically have a chance to get through. Rain notwithstanding, the game promises to be a thrilling affair with both teams looking to put their best foot forward in the last league game of the season.
Match 68 of Indian Premier League 2024, RCB vs CSK will be played in M. Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru on May 18 from 7:30 pm IST.
-Namit Pandey