What IPL cancellation could mean for overseas players vying for WT20 spots

We’ve already, in-depth, looked at what the cancellation of IPL could mean for the future of several Indian players, so now it’s time to explore the rest of the world.  Mind you, and I say this with conviction, scrapping IPL 2020 off could potentially end decorated careers, so there are more than a handful of cricketers who are desperately hoping for the Covid-19 outbreak to cease. Could you imagine the sickening feeling if the one last chance you had to make things right in your life were to be abruptly taken away from you? Yep, that’s exactly what these players must be going through right now. Either way, who are these players and what’s at stake for them in the next couple of months?

South Africa and AB de Villiers, for more than a year now, have behaved like a split couple that are always on the verge of getting back. But they just have not been able to make that final compromise to patch things up. IPL 2020 was all set to be AB de Villiers’ comeback present to his ex-lover, but that now has been snatched away from him by the Covid-19 outbreak. Cancellation of the tournament would mean that de Villiers would have missed a golden opportunity to prove his faith and loyalty, meaning everything will rest in the hands of coach Mark Boucher, who can take ABD back by taking into account the ex-batsman’s past actions. 

Imran Tahir

The fallout of Tahir in international cricket has been quite astounding - from bowling the first ball of the 2019 World Cup, he now finds himself behind Tabraiz Shamsi and Bjorn Fortuin in the pecking order. Which was also exactly why IPL 2020 was deemed to be crucial for him, as in the tournament, he would have had the chance to leapfrog both his compatriots. That now seems like a long, long shot, and I’m afraid that with age not on his side - he is 10 days away from celebrating his 41st birthday - we might never see Tahir in Proteas colours again should the IPL not go ahead.

Chris Morris

Like Tahir, Chris Morris is another household name who is more popular in India than he is in South Africa. Even a sound BBL campaign - where he ended as the second-highest wicket-taker - did not quite convince the South African selectors to pick him in the team which, in turn, meant that his WT20 selection rested on his IPL performance. Cancellation would mean that not only would he miss out on the 10 crore that RCB dished out to him, but also a seat in the plane to Australia. Talk about a lose-lose situation.

Dale Steyn

South Africa have been clever in using the word ‘rested’ as a smokescreen to mask the fact that Steyn is no more a regular starter in the XI and in all honesty, a strong IPL season was the only way for him to change that fact. The tournament would have also served as a great platform for him to prove his fitness to the selectors, that his body can function for a couple of months without breaking down. It’s no mystery that he has, of late, been outperformed by both Ngidi and Nortje and so he desperately needed a sound IPL to re-stamp his authority. Well, the cancellation would mean that he might, at best, need to settle for a place in the squad just to serve drinks to his teammates.

Australia

Chris Lynn

Probability of making it to WT20 squad: 5%

Marcus Stoinis

Probability of making it to WT20 squad: 30%

Mitchell Marsh

Probability of making it to WT20 squad: 50%

Josh Hazlewood

Probability of making it to WT20 squad: 70%

West Indies

Is the Universe Boss a specimen who has retired from international cricket or does he plan to play T20Is for the Windies? Is he in the selectors and Pollard’s plan for the WT20? Well if the IPL does get cancelled, these questions will remain unanswered. Should it go on, at least we would have got an answer from the man himself, as he often tends to give away important details in candid chats? But having persisted with Lewis, Simmons and now Brandon King, it’s hard to see Gayle making it to WT20 squad having played no ‘competitive’ cricket whatsoever. But then again, who knows? We’re talking about WICB, after all. 

Probability of making it to WT20 squad: 50%

Isn’t Sunil Narine like the IPL itself? There’s plenty of hype surrounding him, you only get a glimpse of him for two months and POOOF, he’s gone, just like that. The Windies moving forward with Fabian Allen and Hayden Walsh Jr is further evidence to the fact they have moved on with Sunil Narine and what he brings to the table and given he’s an outcast now, he would have needed to have an extraordinary IPL to be considered for selection. That his bowling has deteriorated doesn’t help his cause either. Should the tournament be scrapped though, there is no way that we might see Narine playing for the Windies come October - not on Australian wickets, at least. 

Probability of making it to WT20 squad: 15%

Tom Banton

To go along with the 74 runs Tom Banton managed to score in 7 innings in the PSL, him getting omitted from England’s T20I squad against South Africa was a further incentive for the youngster to make the world note of him through a startling IPL. He desperately needed a resounding IPL for two reasons - to keep his intact after an underwhelming PSL and to book a place in the WT20 squad. But it looks like he would now have no option but to watch his mates take the field from his home. In fact, England elevating Jos Buttler to the top further dilutes the right-hander’s case for selection.

Tom Curran

Tom Curran has shown his mettle - with both and ball - in the BBL, showed glimpses of it in the South Africa series, but for him to establish himself as a ‘go-to man’, for Morgan to trust him, especially in the case of a Jofra Archer injury, the 25-year-old needed an IPL season where he brought out all his armoury whilst being under the pump. That being taken away from him, seven months ahead of the World T20, might mean that he would have to only settle for a place in the 15 as a back-up seamer and not as a regular.