IPL 2021: These 8 cricketers could pack a punch for their teams

With the Indian Premier League beginning on Friday IANS looks at a bighitting batsman from each franchise who could make a difference for his teamGlenn Maxwell RCB The righthanded Australian hasnt had much success in the past with the Punjab franchise but a new team this season may help his confidence The righthander will be key in helping RCB reach big totalsRishabh Pant DC Fresh from international success the new Delhi Capitals skipper will again hold the key for his team in the middleorder He didnt have a great tournament last time and because of that he was ignored for Indias whiteball series in Australia But he will be important this time aroundBen Stokes RR The English allrounder showed glimpses of what he could do with the bat in the second ODI against India recently when he made the fastest 99 in an ODI off 52 balls He started badly during the last IPL season but gained confidence later with good scores This time though he already looks warmed upHardik Pandya MI The India allrounder has been one of Mumbai franchises powerhitters lower down the order Along with brother Krunal Pandya and Kieron Pollard he has destroyed oppositions Following success for India in Australia and against England at home his confidence will be skyhighAndre Russell KKR He failed last season with the bat and was found out against shortpitched bowling His failure with the bat hurt KKR eventually as they couldnt make the playoffs This time again his batting will hold key One hopes he has got his weakness sortedNicholas Pooran PK He will again be the key in helping the Punjab franchise get big scores The lefthanded Trinidadian had the best strike rate among those with over 300 runs in IPL last season PK will be hoping he repeats the actJonny Bairstow SRH With David Warner he has formed a dangerous powerpacked combination at the top of the batting order for SRH His hardhitting was evident in the recent ODI series against India SRH will hope he again clobbers opponents and have more century partnerships with captain WarnerRavindra Jadeja CSK The lefthanded batter will be returning to competitive cricket from the thumb injury that ruled him out of the entire series against England this year CSK will be hoping he gets them to big totalsThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever