It was a huge win for the Chennai Super Kings against the Sun Risers Hyderabad in last year's Indian Premier League. This year, cricket fans are looking forward to another exciting season as the Vivo Indian Premier League 2019 commences on March 23, 2019.
Eight teams will once again compete for cricket supremacy in 60 matches that will be viewed by millions of fans. And with the surprises that came with the IPL 2019 auction held last December 18, 2018, everyone will surely be keeping their eyes on these five players who are set to fire up their respective teams:
Shimron Hetmyer
A lot of teams eyed the services of Shimron Hetmyer during the IPL 2019 auction, but the Royal Challengers Bangalore won the bidding war with Rs4.20 Crore. The batsman from Guyana plays for the West Indies and was the captain of the West Indies team for the 2016 Under-19 Cricket World Cup.
He was also named by the International Cricket Council as one of the breakout stars in men's cricket for 2018. Hetmyer also became the youngest batsman to score a century in the Caribbean Premier League and has an impressive 518 runs in 21 T20 matches with a 142.42 strike rate. So, for anyone who is into IPL betting, Hetmyer is definitely someone to watch out for this season.
Wriddhiman Saha
There are a few Indian cricket players who are as good as wicketkeeper Wriddhiman Saha. This year, he re-joins Sun Risers Hyderabad with a deal of Rs1.20 Crores at the auction. Saha already joined the team before and had the opportunity to open innings without David Warner but failed to deliver.
But Saha's capabilities cannot be denied and he is determined to exceed expectations this season, and he joins the Sun Risers Hyderabad's quest for redemption after failing to snatch the IPL 2018 title from the Chennia Super Kings. He could even be Jonny Bairstow's replacement when he leaves for England to prepare for the World Cup.
Varun Chakravarthy
He was the most expensive buy from the IPL 2019 auction at Rs8.4 Crore, and it's easy to see why. Varun Chakravarthy is the man behind the first title of the Siechem Madurai Panthers in last year's Tamil Nadu Premier League and he is also the second highest wicket taker in the Vijay Hazare Trophy. Chakravarthy started playing cricket as a wicketkeeper and batsman at the age of 13.
But after several rejections, he went on to pursue a degree in architecture and worked as a freelancer after graduating from Chennai's SRM University. Yet Chakravarthy couldn't keep his hands of the cricket bat for too long and later joined the Crombest Cricket Club as an all-rounder. Cricket fans, however, only started to take notice of the 27-year old mystery spinner after his stellar performance at the TNPL where he picked up 22 wickets in nine matches at an economy of 4.23.
Heinrich Klaasen
Heinrich Klaasen's ability to counter spin and handle the bat has been tried and tested for many years. In fact, he is one of only a few good keeper batsmen in the league, which makes him such a commodity for teams in the IPL. The South African cricketer plays for the South African national cricket team and is joining the Royal Challengers Bangalore for the IPL 2019.
Sam Curran
Although Sam Curran is still yet to make his debut in the IPL this season, he already made a mark in the league by being the highest deal for an overseas signing in an auction when Kings XI Punjab won the bidding war against the Delhi Daredevils and Royal Challengers Bangalore with a bid of $1.4 million.
The 20-year old all-rounder scored 273 runs in seven innings in India's tour of England last year and had several match-winning performances in last summer's 4-1 Test series. Cricket fans are beyond excited to see what Curran can bring to Kings XI Punjab in their quest for the IPL title this year.
Are You Ready for IPL 2019?
The 2019 Vivo Indian Premier League will begin with a match between defending champions Chennai Super Kings against the Sun Risers Hyderabad. Despite speculations that the IPL will be held in either the United Arab Emirates or South Africa due its clash in dates with the Indian general elections, BCCI confirmed that all 60 matches will be held in India. But it will follow the caravan format instead of the usual home and away to make game dates more flexible and avoid conflicts with elections in any particular city.
