The world's premier T20 competition, the IPL, will be starting its 13th season in a month's time.

When the 6-week extravaganza gets underway, all cricket around the world will come to a standstill and all eyes will be on the world's best players competing for the ultimate T20 crown.

Like last year, 8 teams will take part in IPL 2020, which starts on 27 March 2020 and goes on till the middle of May.

Six teams have won the previous 12 editions of the IPL with Mukesh Ambani's Mumbai Indians winning it 4 times. Chennai Super Kings, who missed out two seasons, have won the IPL three times; while Shahrukh Khan's Kolkata Knight Riders have won it twice.

The other three editions have been won by Rajasthan Royals, Deccan Chargers, and Sunrisers Hyderabad.

LEADING BATSMEN
T20 is a batsman's game and the IPL has seen some scintillating knocks over the past decade and a bit.

The first ever match played in IPL history, in 2008, witnessed a Brendan McCullum classic as he butchered the Royal Challengers Bangalore's attack amassing an unbeaten 158 that included 13 sixes and 10 fours.

That remained the highest score ever made in the IPL till Chris Gayle smashed his way to an unbeaten 175 in 2013. Gayle's knock comprised 17 sixes and 13 fours.


Chris Gayle is among the leading run scorers as well in the IPL, but it is no surprise as to who tops that list.

None other than the King himself, Virat Kohli!

Kohli is only one of two batsmen who have piled on over 5,000 runs in the IPL. The other being Suresh Raina.

There are only 8 other batsmen who have over 4,000 runs in the IPL.


There is another batting accolade that Chris Gayle has the honor of holding - the most number of sixes hit in the IPL.

Gayle is right there at the top with 326 sixes and he has a lead of over a 100 sixes over the next batsman on the list!

More than a 100 sixes than anyone else playing this T20 league!

What a legend this Chris Gayle is.


Gayle's name also makes the list when you look at batsmen who have scored the most runs in one season of IPL; however like the list of batsman with most runs in the history of the IPL, Kohli leads this list too.

He knocked a legendary 973 runs in IPL 2016!


Take a look at today match predictions and decide for yourself on who you will be placing your money on. Chris Gayle is a T20 superstar and a cricket legend. He is a key man to have in your team in T20 cricket. Any team that has Gayle in it will always be a favorite on the day.

Also take a look at this video for match predictions.


LEADING BOWLERS
It is a batsman's game no doubt but bowlers who can check the run flow are worth their weight in gold! Not many bowlers escape the onslaught of T20 batsmen, but there are a few who have been quite successful in this format.

Spinners are among the top wicket takers in the IPL, but there is one pacer who has out done all of them and that is Lasith Malinga.


Malinga has been a T20 superstar with the ball, not only for his IPL franchise for his country too. Mumbai Indians are fortunate to have him in the ranks and he has been a key component of their 4 IPL wins, the most by any team in the IPL.

I would say that the Mumbai Indians will start IPL 2020 as favorites. They are the defending champions and have won 4 of the past 7 IPL Trophies.

The U19 cricket World Cup played out to a thrilling conclusion in Potchefstroom, South Africa, as Bangladesh beat India by three wickets. This tournament was yet another indication that cricket is alive and well in the international youth ranks, with many outstanding individual performances over the playing of the event.

It was also quite interesting, and somewhat alarming, to see how much winning the World Cup means to these future stars after a scuffle broke out between the players of Bangladesh and India after the final runs had been scored. The ICC have said in this report at https://crickettimes.com, that they will take serious action against the perpetrators. Hopefully, common sense will prevail, with cricket’s governing body aware that these young men still have a lot to learn, and that wisdom comes with age. Having said that, there should be no grey areas about the repercussions of future conduct of this sort. 

CHAMPIONS 🙏

📸: @ICC#U19CWC2020 #BANU19vINDU19 #FutureStars pic.twitter.com/Z8Y7t0b4aP

— Bangladesh Cricket (@BCBtigers) February 9, 2020

No doubt, this will mean that any India vs Bangladesh fixture, over the coming 15 years, will be filled with drama, with the foundations of any coming series between these two countries being built on bad blood. That can only be good for the game; but how likely is it that Bangladesh will continue to beat India over the future? And does the u19 World Cup truly point the way forward in terms of who will dominate in the future?

A Cautionary Tale

The South African u19 saga is probably a good example to use seeing as the young Proteas won the event in 2014. A look at the match report at https://www.emirates247.com, and you'll see just how clinical these youngsters were. Much was made of this particular winning team as it comprised of Kagiso Rabada, Corbin Bosch, and Aiden Markam. Indeed, these were young players who looked set to help South Africa banish their senior World Cup demons once and for all. 

Fast forward to 2019, and Rabada and Markram were the only players on that side from the u19 World Cup win, and South Africa were utterly dreadful. The Proteas were knocked out of the group stage and looked like a team without any direction whatsoever. And, as for Corbin Bosch, son of the late South African opener Tertius Bosch, well, he hasn’t played any international cricket since. It shouldn’t come as a surprise to hear that a lot of the u19 players won’t go on to become professionals, even if they find themselves on the winning team.

So whilst it is very encouraging to see Bangladesh make such great strides in the u19 World Cup, very few will be backing them to win the senior World Cup in three years time in India. In fact, any punters visiting www.cricketprediction.com will see the opposite, with the Indians way out in front as favourites. 

What a tournament the #U19CWC was 😍@alanwilkins22 picks out five players to keep an eye on 👇#FutureStars pic.twitter.com/Ec6m7UwDvk

— Cricket World Cup (@cricketworldcup) February 10, 2020

It's safe to say, not many are expecting Bangladesh to be able to repeat their heroics at an all-ages level. This is by no means a slight on the talented young men that gave their country a day they will never forget, but more of a factual look at how teams who win the event get on over the next 10-15 years.

There is no doubt, however, that Bangladesh is a cricketing nation heading in the right direction.

Pakistan have played 5 tests this season (2019-20) and in each of those tests, Babar Azam has shown the world why he is the most exciting batsman in the world at the moment.

Babar's scores in these 5 tests read: 1, 104, 97, 8, 102*, 60, 100*, 143.

Four centuries and a ninety odd in 5 tests. A century in each of the home tests played till date.

Babar Azam, the test batsman has arrived!

Currently, Babar is the only batsman in the world who ranks in the top 5 in each format. He is the only batsman in the world with a rating of 800 or more in Tests, ODIs, and T20Is.


Following his 143 in the first test against Bangladesh, Babar has pushed his Test Average above 45 for the first time in his career. His ODI and T20I averages are both above 50.

Currently, Virat Kohli is the only member of the elite club of batsmen with an average over 50 in each format.

With the way Babar's season is going, it will not be long before he joins Kohli in this elite club.

In tests played as a part of ICC's World Test Championship, which began this season, Babar is not only among the leading run scorers, he is the only batsman averaging over a 100!


His 4 centuries are right up there, level with the find of the season - Marnus Labuschagne.

In addition to scoring a Test Hundred in Australia against the world's best bowling attack, Babar has ensured that the return Test Cricket to Pakistan has coincided with his rise in the format.

Babar has made Pakistan's home cricket season, its first in over a decade, his very own!

He has scored a century in each of Pakistan's home tests and he is averaging a phenomenal 202.5 across these three test matches.


Pakistan will play one more Test at home this season and then play another three in the summer in England. The year till end with two tests in New Zealand.

Another six tests; I am going to place my bets on Babar being at the top of ICC Test Batting Rankings by then.

Babar's time is NOW!

Having made his debut in Australia a few months ago, Naseem Shah has quickly risen to become Pakistan's spearhead. Along with Mohammad Abbas and Shaheen Afridi, he has formed a potent pace attack, which has the potential to serve Pakistan successfully over the next many years.

Pakistan has now played this triumvirate in three consecutive tests. In the 5 innings that Abbas, Shaheen, and Naseem have bowled together, they have collectively accounted for 34 out of the 50 wickets that Pakistan has taken.

The trio have a total of 30 tests among themselves; two of them are still in their teens. So young and inexperienced, yet they have given Pakistan glimpses of the hey days of Pakistani pace.

Their numbers are quite remarkable.


Look at those averages and strike rates!

While Abbas is the workhorse who bowls tirelessly at a miserly economy, Shaheen and Naseem strike with their pace. Shaheen has consistently provided the early breakthroughs, while Naseem has provided the closing touches.

NASEEM SHAH
He is only 16 years and 4 tests old and he has already played an instrumental part in Pakistan's last two test victories.

Yesterday he became the youngest bowler to take a test hatrick and only the 4th Pakistani bowler to achieve the feat following in the footsteps of Wasim Akram, Abdul Razzaq, and Mohammad Sami.

For all of Pakistan's sake let us hope that he continues to follow in the footsteps of the former.

Naseem's 4-26 in the second innings initiated Bangladesh's collapse from 124-2 to 168 all out, setting up an innings win for Pakistan.

In his previous test, the second of the series against Sri Lanka, Naseem became the youngest bowler to pick up a five wicket haul in a test innings. His 5-31 in the second innings led Pakistan to a test and series win.

What is even more impressive about Naseem is the fact that 9 of his 13 test wickets till date have come in the opposition's second innings, which is testament to his fitness, passion, and motivation level.

MOHAMMAD ABBAS
In the period since Abbas made his test debut in April 2017, he has one of the best test bowling averages in the world. He has the best economy rate in the world in that period and he is among the only 4 bowlers in the world who have picked up a 10 wicket haul in tests in this period.


SHAHEEN AFRIDI
Shaheen is the only one among the three who has excelled across formats for Pakistan. Not only is his test average of 28 impressive, his ODI and T20I averages of 21.2 and 20.8 respectively are also top notch.

In the period starting from April 2018, when Shaheen made his international debut, he is among the top 10 wicket takers in all international cricket.


In this period, he has the second best strike rate in the world, behind only Kuldeep Yadav's. There is no pace bowler in the world who has a better strike rate than Shaheen Afridi's in the past two years!

And his international bowling average of 23.5 is bettered by only Pat Cummins and Jasprit Bumrah.

For a 19 year old this is quite remarkable.



As a trio, Abbas-Shaheen-Naseem have worked wonders for Pakistan. Let us hope that they will continue to create the same magic for many more years!

Let us hope that Abbas will continue to deceive batsmen with his seam, Shaheen will continue to dismiss opposition openers in the first few overs, and Naseem will continue to give us fiery wicket taking spells reminiscent of the two Ws and Shoaib Akhtar.

Pakistan has always had an abundance of fast bowling resources but so many of them have disappeared into the wilderness due to mismanagement of talent and general issues within the system.

Let us hope that this does not happen to this triumvirate and that they continue to excite, enthrall, and entertain Pakistan cricket fans for a long time.

20 Test Matches, 38 innings, 1189 runs, average of 31.28, three hundreds, six fifties.

This is Shan Masood's Test Career, which began 6 years and a few months ago. 6 years and only 20 test matches? Exactly!

These numbers don't provide a true picture of Shan Masood the test cricketer.

Having scored 75 on his debut, in October 2013, one would have expected to see Shan as a regular test opener for Pakistan, but after two tests in that series, he did not play for another year, till his return in October 2014 for two more tests.

Following that, he played 7 months later in July 2015 when he scored his first test century and became a part of Pakistan's test history with that record chase in Pallekele.

He played another two tests at the end of 2015, and then went to England with the Pakistan team in  the summer of 2016 but played only two of the four test matches.

After that tour he was sidelined again and returned a year later in May 2017 for one of the three tests in the West Indies. He played Pakistan's next two tests in October 2017, and then was sidelined once again till December 2018.

Since Shan Masood's test debut in October 2013 and his latest return to the test team in December 2018, Pakistan played 45 tests, out which Shan played only 12!

How can any player perform consistently if he plays only 2 to 3 tests every year? How can anyone expect a player to perform if he plays only 12 tests in the first 5 years of his career?

In these 12 tests, Shan scored 565 runs in 24 innings at an average of 23.54 with 1 hundred and 3 fifties.

Shan returned to Pakistan's test side in December 2018 for the tour to South Africa. Since then he has played all of Pakistan's 8 test matches.

In South Africa he stood out for his temperament and the way he countered the new ball against Dale Steyn, Vernon Philander, and Kagiso Rabada. Shan was Pakistan's top run scorer in that series and the second highest run scorer between both sides, behind only Quinton de Kock.

He went to Australia and continued to demonstrate immense skill countering the new ball. He gave a good account of himself against the best pace attack in the world comprising Starc, Hazlewood, and Cummins.

When Test cricket returned to Pakistan in December 2019, Shan Masood was there as Pakistan's first choice test opener. In that series, he marked his presence with a solid 135 in Karachi, in another record breaking test match.

Yesterday, Shan walked out to open against Bangladesh, in his 8th consecutive test match for Pakistan. When he walked back to the pavilion he had scored his third test century, and a second consecutive one!

Finally, he has had an interrupted run for over a year in Pakistan's test side and he is completely repaying the faith placed in him by the selectors and the team management.

In these 8 tests, Shan has scored 624 runs at an average of 44.57 with two centuries and three fifties.

In these 8 tests, he is Pakistan's second highest run scorer in Tests, behind only Babar Azam.

Now these numbers are more representative of a test opener, a regular Pakistan test opener. These numbers are also representative of a talented batsman who has been given a consistent run in the team.

Shan is Pakistan's first choice test opener now. Ahead of Imam Ul Haq, ahead of Fakhar Zaman, ahead of Abid Ali. He is a test regular and notably the one that Pakistan rely on the most after Babar Azam.

Shan had shown glimpses of this promise in his debut test innings (7 years ago), and again in that record partnership with Younis Khan in Pallekele (5 years ago). Perhaps he should have never been sidelined and maybe then he would have delivered on this promise much earlier.


But he has a lot to look forward to.

He is still only 30.

Pakistan will play plenty of test cricket going forward...

... and Shan Masood will be the first name on that team sheet for a long time to come.