IPL 2020: 5 players who could benefit from the loan rule

Back in the 2019 season of the Indian Premier League (IPL), the IPL Governing Council threw in a new idea which was similar to what happens in football around the globe. It allowed a mid-season transfer of players. But it was limited only to uncapped players and no team exercised the rule. However, for IPL 2020, the rule has been extended to capped and overseas players as well.

Also Read: IPL 2020: Blow for CSK as Suresh Raina to miss entire duration of the IPL

Players who have played less than two complete matches in the first half of the tournament will be eligible for a mid-season transfer or ‘loan’. And it will be done on the mutual understanding of the two teams involved. Moreover, they will have to inform the IPL Governing Council as well.

While the trade and deal may be more than the player’s official price tag that he received in the auction, the money deal will only be between two franchises and the player will not get any monetary benefit. Moreover, teams buying or taking the player out on loan may spend outside their auction purse as well.

Also Read: RCB team director Mike Hesson open to mid-season loan of players in IPL 2020

For example, if Mumbai Indians (MI) who picked up Chris Lynn for his base price of INR 2 crore in the auction want to loan him out to say, the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR), they can do so for any amount of their liking and KKR may oblige or forfeit the deal. So, if MI put forward INR 10 crore, if KKR want the player, they can go ahead and make the deal despite having INR 8.5 crore left in their auction purse.

In case of a trade, two players can be traded as per mutual agreement of the teams and inform the IPL Governing Council.

Thus, it’s a new rule and Royal Challengers Bangalore’s (RCB) team director Mike Hesson admitted that the team is certainly open to loaning out a player if the need arises. Hence, let’s look at five players who might benefit from the loan rule.

Chris Lynn

Chris Lynn is a powerhouse at the top of the order in T20 cricket. There is no doubt about his abilities. He was a key part of the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) line-up since 2014. In fact, in 40 games for the two-time champions, Lynn amassed 1274 runs at an average of 34.43 and a strike-rate of 141.40. However, he was let go ahead of the auction last year.

Mumbai Indians got an absolute bargain to complete their final squad for IPL 2020

The Australian top-order batsman was picked up by the Mumbai Indians (MI) for his base price of INR 2 crore which was a huge surprise. MI had a steal as far as the purchase of Lynn goes. However, the question is where will they fit the hard-hitting batsman?

Also Read: 5 Mumbai Indians (MI) Players to watch out for in IPL 2020

Quinton de Kock is set to open alongside Rohit Sharma. There is Suryakumar Yadav who bats at three and the middle-order is packed with Ishan Kishan, the Pandya brothers and Kieron Pollard certainties. Moreover, MI have been a team which likes to play two overseas bowlers and considering the lack of depth in the Indian fast bowling contingent, they will be forced to play a couple of overseas fast bowlers.

Thus, where does that leave Lynn? Hence, he could well be benefitted with the mid-season loan or trade rule.

Fabian Allen

You talk about West Indies cricketers and you tend to think T20. Over the last few years, the men from the Caribbean have shown that they are born to play T20 cricket. And Fabian Allen is no different. He is an excellent all-round cricketer and has had a good T20 record. The left-arm spinning all-rounder has made 404 runs at a strike-rate of 164.89 in 24 innings. With the ball, he has taken 16 wickets.

Allen has had a couple of excellent years in the Caribbean Premier League (CPL). In fact, in the 2019 season, he got 218 runs at a strike-rate of 177.23. He has been in and around the West Indies white-ball squads as well. Hence, it was not a big surprise that he found a buyer in the IPL auction for the 2020 season. Allen was bought by Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) at his base price.

Also Read: IPL 2020: 3 Kings XI Punjab (KXIP) Players who can win the Orange Cap in UAE | Most runs in IPL 2020

However, it will be tough for Allen to break into the side. SRH seem to have set overseas options with David Warner, Jonny Bairstow, Rashid Khan, Kane Williamson and Mohammad Nabi. Moreover, they have a pace-bowling all-rounder in Mitchell Marsh. Thus, Allen may not get a lot of chances and might well benefit from the loan or the trade rule allowed mid-season.

Karn Sharma

After picking up 36 wickets across three seasons (2013-2015), he faded away. Since the start of the 2016 season, the Uttar Pradesh leg-spinner has played just 21 IPL matches. And that number is quite less for an Indian, especially after he was one of the first-choice spinners for three seasons prior to that.

And in this time, Karn has been a part of three IPL winning squads – 2016 (Sunrisers Hyderabad), 2017 (Mumbai Indians) and 2018 (Chennai Super Kings). And he has barely made any contribution. He was bought by Chennai Super Kings (CSK) in 2018 and played six games. In 2019, he played a mere one game.

And now, CSK have gone on to add the likes of the veteran Piyush Chawla and the young and impressive R Sai Kishore to their already spin heavy attack which comprises of Ravindra Jadeja, Imran Tahir, Mitchell Santner, Harbhajan Singh and Karn Sharma. Thus, it is clear that CSK might prefer Chawla over Karn and the latter is barely going to get a chance, especially early on. Thus, Karn might be one of those who might benefit if there is a trade or he is given out on loan.

Karun Nair

Karun Nair hasn’t had the best of times in the IPL. His overall numbers read 1464 runs at an average of 24.81 and a strike-rate of 128.53. These are middling returns. Also, since the start of the 2017 season, the Karnataka lad has 587 runs at an average of 22.58.

Last season, Nair played just one game as Kings XI Punjab (KXIP) and scored five. The 2014 finalists preferred the likes of Mandeep Singh, Sarfaraz Khan and Nicholas Pooran instead of Nair in the middle-order. That may just continue to be the case this season as Mandeep and Sarfaraz have done well in domestic cricket and Pooran is a quality overseas option.

Moreover, now with the addition of power-hitters like Glenn Maxwell and Deepak Hooda, Nair’s chances of making it to the XI are even worse. Hence, the mid-season loan rule or the trade rule might serve the Karnataka lad well.

Tom Curran

This name might come as a surprise as Tom Curran is one of the top T20 bowlers going around world cricket. He features in quite a few big T20 leagues around the globe. He was bought for his base price of INR 1 crore in the IPL auction for the 2020 season. Moreover, Curran has played just one IPL season i.e. 2018 where he flew in as a replacement player for Mitchell Starc and took six wickets from five games.

However, he might just be a misfit in the Rajasthan Royals (RR) squad. The 2008 champions seem to have their four overseas options more or less fixed with Steve Smith leading the side, Jos Buttler keeping wickets and Ben Stokes and Jofra Archer being gun players. They have such a packed line-up that someone of the calibre of David Miller could be reduced to a backup player.

Moreover, RR have depth in their pace department. They have a decent Indian fast bowling core but also have a lot of options in the overseas pace department. Apart from Archer and Curran, they have Andrew Tye and Oshane Thomas. While Tye is a very good T20 bowler, Thomas could be a backup for Archer and the pace he brings to the table. Thus, Curran might benefit from the loan rule this season.