IPL 2020: Gambhir names the bowler that might cause 'difficulties for batsmen' in UAE

Coming to the IPL 2020 with his re-modelled action, former Kolkata Knight Riders skipper Gautam Gambhir reckons that Sunil Narine will be the most impressive in the upcoming tournament. Gambhir remarked that Narine would be very effective if he gets a 'little grip' from the UAE wickets. The tournament is set to get underway from Septemeber 19 in the UAE, with the matches being played in Abu Dhabi, Dubai, and Sharjah, with pitches across the stadiums expected to assist spinners. 

“For me, the most important thing is that when Sunil Narine is hiding the ball during his run-up, it will increase the difficulties for the batsmen. It will be difficult to find which ball will go away and which ball will come in. Because the later you see the ball in the hand, the more difficult it is for the batsmen,” Gambhir said on the Cricket Connected Show on Star Sports.

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“If Sunil Narine gets a little grip from the UAE wickets, he will be very effective. The pace at which Sunil Narine is bowling, Rashid Khan is so successful because of his pace and Sunil Narine has been successful when he has bowled quicker, it is a new thing we have seen and this might make him very successful in the IPL,” he added. 

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Narine has been impressive with his renewed action in the ongoing Caribbean Premier League. The spinner has picked up five wickets from matches at an economy rate of 4.87. 

IPL 2020 in UAE

The cash-rich tournament, which was earlier postponed, has been moved to the UAE due to the prevailing COVID-19 situation in India. The tournament is all set to start on September 19 while the final will be played on November 10. The BCCI has already issued an SOP for the tournament and has also allowed COVID-19 replacement during the tournament. Recently, Dream11 acquired the title sponsorship rights for IPL 2020 for a whopping amount of Rs 220 crore after Vivo's exit. This year's edition will also feature COVID replacements that have been allowed by the governing body in view of the pandemic. The schedule of the tournament will be released on September 6. 

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KKR 2020 squad

Andre Russell, Dinesh Karthik, Harry Gurney, Kamlesh Nagarkoti, Kuldeep Yadav, Lockie Ferguson, Nitish Rana, Prasidh Krishna, Rinku Singh, Sandeep Warrier, Shivam Mavi, Shubman Gill, Siddhesh Lad, Sunil Narine, Pat Cummins, Eoin Morgan, Varun Chakravarthy, Tom Banton, Rahul Tripathi, Chris Green, M Siddharth, Praveen Tambe, Nikhil Naik

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