Jasprit Bumrah

Bumrah missed the IPL 2023 due to a back injury. The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) was extremely cautious about his fitness and saved him for the ODI World Cup. The wait paid off as he took 20 wickets in the tournament. He also took 19 wickets in 4 Tests against England. Now, he is all set to back with Mumbai Indians (MI).

Jonny Bairstow

Jonny Bairstow couldn’t play in the IPL 2023 because he was healing from a leg surgery. Punjab Kings (PBKS), which haven’t reached the playoffs since 2014, also have Kagiso Rabada, Nathan Ellis, Chris Woakes, Sikandar Raza, Liam Livingstone, Sam Curran and Rilee Rossouw among international players. It will be interesting to see if Bairstow manages to be a regular in the team.

Kane Williamson

Shubman Gill is leading Gujarat Titans (GT) for the first time as Williamson makes a comeback after missing the 2023 edition due to an injury he suffered in the first match itself. He hurt his knee badly while trying to catch a ball. 

Kane has to fight it out with David Miller and Matthew Wade to get a regular place in the team. As Rashid Khan is expected to play all matches, Gill will have to choose the other three overseas players carefully.

Mitchell Starc

Mitchell Starc hasn’t played the IPL since 2015. However, his comeback is nothing short of a high-octane drama. He is now the highest-paid IPL player ever, joining Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) for ₹24.75 crore. Shah Rukh Khan’s team won him amid tough bidding wars with MI and GT. 

In his 27 matches in IPL so far, he has taken 34 wickets. He has played 60 T20I cricket matches for Australia and has taken 74 wickets so far. All eyes will be on him to see if he pays KKR back with his performances.

Pat Cummins

Cummins gave up ₹7.25 crore from KKR to focus on playing for Australia and left IPL 2023. His efforts did pay off as he captained his national team for yet another World Cup win. He also won the World Test Championship and the Ashes. Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) paid ₹20 crore to make him a part of the team. This is the first time he will lead a T20 team. However, Cummins is yet to prove his mettle in T20 cricket.

Rishabh Pant

India’s blue-eyed boy, Rishabh Pant, has been away from cricket since December 2022 when he met with a life-threatening car accident. The BCCI has now declared him completely fit to play. Delhi Capitals (DC) will have their captain back after 14 months. This is the comeback every Indian fan is looking forward to.

Shreyas Iyer

Iyer missed the last IPL due to a back injury and surgery as Nitish Rana captained KKR. However, now, he is all set to return. Meanwhile, media reports suggest that his back pain worsened while playing for Mumbai in the Ranji Trophy. During his 95-run innings against Vidarbha, Iyer slowed down when he got into the 80s and needed the physio’s help twice. It is speculated that he might miss the start of the IPL.

Milestone Alert!
Livemint tops charts as the fastest growing news website in the world 🌏 Click here to know more.

Unlock a world of Benefits! From insightful newsletters to real-time stock tracking, breaking news and a personalized newsfeed – it’s all here, just a click away! Login Now!

Published: 15 Mar 2024, 01:29 PM IST