What if Wednesday | What if KKR retained Suryakumar Yadav in the 2018 IPL Auction

Once again, it is 2018, the year that has the real opportunity to change fortunes for franchises and turn a dream into a reality. We are in Jaipur, in the month of December, eagerly awaiting how the franchises approach this auction amidst much halla-bol. 

Bangalore, who missed out on these batsmen, have a name on their list - Ishan Kishan. Having struggled in the wicketkeeping section in the 2017 edition, they have earmarked the Jharkhand keeper, whom they get for 6 crores, beating Mumbai, who ultimately had to give up on the left-hander. But all of these had a bigger impact and gave the other franchises a bigger purse to target their core players.

Meanwhile, KKR pick up pace from last season, with a win over RCB, where both Suryakumar Yadav and Ishan Kishan steal the limelight for their respective sides. Delhi, on the other hand, manage to win against Punjab, on the back of their new recruit Harbhajan Singh’s splendid spell, picking up 3/15. With all teams happy, the season ultimately revolves around the larger theme of CSK and RR’s comeback. 

While Mumbai and Uthappa form an unmissable partnership, KKR have found a hero at No.3 in Suryakumar. Ultimately, a 560-run season from the Mumbaikar propels Kolkata to a third-place finish at the end of the group stage, alongside Kuldeep Yadav. Meanwhile, Washington Sundar’s 24 wicket season for Chennai, alongside his 350-run tally at the top of the order, has landed the returning Kings in the second position, as Sunrisers end up on the top. 

However, on the night, Washington Sundar sets the sun straight, with a three-fer in the powerplay and an unbeaten 47 off 42 deliveries to give Chennai an easy win. In the final, it is the willy ol’ veteran MS Dhoni against the up and coming skipper Suryakumar, who leads KKR to yet another final against CSK. But this time, CSK thrash KKR and ensure that they avenge the bitter defeat of 2012. However, Surya’s run tally earns him the orange cap while a surprise figure in Washington earns the purple cap home. 

Now comes the bigger picture, India’s tour to England, a year before the hyped-up 50-over World Cup. On the back of a brilliant season for Surya, the selectors are forced to pick the right-hander alongside Rishabh Pant, who smashed his way to selection. In the bowling department, Washington Sundar gets picked but an injury, unfortunately, rules him out, as Shardul Thakur is picked as his replacement. 

India have a bigger headache - Rishabh Pant or Dinesh Karthik behind the sticks? Trusting the youngster, India make a bold choice in the first two Tests, going with the youngster, who repays the trust with 60 runs across four innings. But he misses two stumpings and three catches while conceding 40 byes, which leads to the most obvious thing - drop. Pant gets axed and gets replaced with Karthik, the seasoned veteran. 

But India have won the first Test, where Pant got them home but despite that his showing behind the sticks didn’t help the cause. On the other hand, the veteran makes full use of the opportunity, scoring a scintillating hundred alongside Hardik Pandya, who scores a 70. Together, they take India to a first innings score of 400, which leads India to a 250-run win over England. India are already one step ahead of the hosts but unfortunately, bad batting in the last Test forces a drawn series. 

In a season of runs, wickets and golden performances, familiar figures rise up and make the leaderboards, with Suryakumar continuing to score runs like it was his breakfast, with a 600-run season. Washington, on the other hand, continues to pick up wickets for Chennai. But unfortunately for Bangalore, Ishan has a fall in form, getting replaced by youngster Devdutt Padikkal. Padikkal, who walks into the setup tears away the bowlers, with a 350-run season for the Bangalore side. 

Yet, it boils down to familiar names - KKR, CSK, MI and SRH - in the playoffs. While KKR get the better off CSK this time around, MI manage an easy victory over SRH to setup a date. Local star Suryakumar returns home and MI are aiming for a fourth title win. While Mumbai bat first and put up 180 on the board, thanks to a stunning innings from Curran, Suryakumar makes light work of it with Russell leading the charge down the order, chasing the total in 18.4 overs. 

One name that springs up a surprise and the other missing, a bigger one. Suryakumar, who made his debut in England, has been named as the first-choice No.4 batsman, replacing Manish Pandey in the T20I setup. And thus India seemingly believe that their troubles with that position has been done and dusted, at least in the shortest format.