We are a few days away from the start of the 13th edition of the Indian Premier League. This
the year the competition will be held in the United Arab Emirates and it promises to be an
an exciting couple of months of action in Dubai, Sharjah, and Abu Dhabi, even though spectators
won’t be allowed.
We look at five players whose presence would have sold out tickets at the three venues in the
UAE.
MS Dhoni
Fresh from announcing his retirement from international cricket, MS Dhoni has always been a crowd puller, wherever he has played in the world. It would not have surprised anyone to see a sell-out in every Chennai Super Kings game in the UAE had crowds been permitted, only because Dhoni was playing in the match.
That is the kind of adulation he has developed in the minds of all watching cricket in the last 15 years.
Andre Russell
West Indians, across the globe, are among the most popular cricketers thanks to their flamboyant style of playing the game on the field and being equally charismatic off the field.
Andre Russell, thanks to his explosive batting, has become a crowd favourite in the last few seasons of the tournament. His ability to turn things around for KKR from any position has found him fans everywhere he went. Had spectators been allowed at venues in the UAE, he could well have put bums on seats on his own in all KKR matches.
Virat Kohli
Arguably the best batsman in the world across formats and IPL’s all-time leading run-getter, Virat Kohli would have been a draw, as far as the ticket sales were concerned, regardless of how good or bad the Royal Challengers Bangalore were doing.
There are two reasons why Kohli is so popular: His batting and his energy. The antics, the aggression and the passion that Kohli displays on the field is something that fans love to watch and ticket sales would have hit the roof in every game he was part of, across all three venues.
Although Kohli won’t be selling many tickets this year, he will definitely still have a crowd of supporters backing him on various IPL betting sites!
Rashid Khan
Ever since the Afghanistan wrist-spinner, Rashid Khan made his debut in the 2017 IPL, playing for the Sunrisers Hyderabad franchise, he has become an instant crowd-puller thanks to his consistent performances with the ball.
While there are other star attractions in the team, Rashid’s ability to win matches almost single-handedly sometimes has made his popularity rise with each passing season.
The case would have been no different this year, had there been fans, with tickets getting sold out at a fast rate.
Jofra Archer
The English paceman may have had a short international career so far, but his fan following has been on the rise ever since he has made a mark on the world stage.
The intimidating pace that Archer generates with the ball that leads to him knocking the best in the world has found many fans in the last year and more and the possibility of that increase would have been high had the IPL been played with fans in the stadium.
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