IPL 2020: Brad Hogg picks Royal Challengers Bangalore as 1 of his 3 title favourites

Indian Premier League (IPL) 2020 is just a little over two weeks away and it’s more exciting than ever since the wait this time has been the longest. The 13th season of the marquee T20 league was originally scheduled to begin on March 29 but was indefinitely postponed by the BCCI due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

However, with the ICC canceling the T20 World Cup this year, the BCCI got its preferred window of September-October free to stage the IPL. The cash-rich event commences on September 19 in the UAE and all teams have set their camps in Dubai and Abu Dhabi.

Former Australia off-spinner Brad Hogg has revealed that he believes one among the three teams – Royal Challengers Bangalore, Mumbai Indians, Kolkata Knight Riders- will lift the title this time.

RCB, Mi, KKR. #ipl2020 #askhoggy https://t.co/MUYsAQiQ34

— Brad Hogg (@Brad_Hogg) September 2, 2020

On one hand, there’s RCB, who despite being one of the most popular IPL teams, have never won an IPL title. The pressure will certainly be on them but with Virat Kohli, AB de Villiers in the side, they always have the chance to shine. Moreover, their recruitment of young Australian wicketkeeper Joshua Philippe, as Parthiv Patel’s alternative, could really reap rewards for them.

Then there’s Kolkata Knight Riders who fared brilliantly in the IPL auction, held on December 19 last year. The signings of Eoin Morgan, who played for them in the 2011-13 seasons, and that of Pat Cummins, who was recruited by them in 2014 but never played a game, have been a real boost to their already set team. Moreover, the signings of Varun Chakravarthy, Rahul Tripathi, Tom Banton could really help the two-time champions.

Now coming to the four-time IPL champions, the most successful team in the history of the tournament, Mumbai Indians. They didn’t fare brilliantly in the auctions, but if winning is a habit, Mumbai sure knows how to stick to it. There’s no doubt to the fact that Rohit Sharma’s team are the frontrunners in the race.