The much-awaited 16th edition of the Indian T20 League is just a few days away to kick off as the first match of the tournament will take place on March 31 which will be played between the defending champions Gujarat and the four-time champions Chennai at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad.
All teams will hope to end the league stage in the top 4 in order to qualify for the playoffs. However, there will also be some teams who won’t be able to perform better than other teams and will finish at the bottom of the points table. Here we will take a look at three teams who might finish at the bottom of the points table in the upcoming season.
3. Delhi
The Delhi-based franchise finished in the bottom four times in the Indian T20 League so far and they are also one of those franchises who are yet to get their hands on the trophy. However, their performance has improved a lot ever since they named Rishabh Pant as their captain but the star Indian wicketkeeper-batter will miss the upcoming season as he is still recovering from his horrific car accident.
The team management named Australian veteran batter David Warner as their skipper for the upcoming season. Warner is suffering from his bad form which can affect his leadership skill due to which the team can end up at the bottom of the points table.
2. Punjab
The Punjab-based franchise owned by Bollywood actress Preity Zinta always had a star-studded lineup but still, they are the most unsuccessful side in the history of the cash-rich league as they were able to qualify for the playoffs only two times in 15 years. They qualified for the finals in the 2014 season but lost the thrilling contest to Kolkata which cost them the precious trophy.
Once again, the franchise have signed some great players for the upcoming season which included England’s star allrounder, Sam Curran. But their main concern would be Shikhar Dhawan as they named him the captain. However, Dhawan doesn’t have a lot of experience of leading a team and he is also suffering from his inconsistent performance which can affect the entire team.
1. Kolkata
The two-time champions have finished at the bottom only once in the history of the richest cricket league in the world. But this time, their squad is looking much weaker than other teams. They will also be playing with their young captain Shreyas Iyer as he is suffering from a back injury.
They have just announced Nitish Rana as their captain for the upcoming season which is the biggest reason that they might finish at the bottom as Rana doesn’t have experience to lead a team. Despite having star allrounder Shakib Al Hasan, the franchise went with Rana.
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