On the 13th anniversary of VIVO IPL, Chennai Super Kings captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni and his Mumbai Indians counterpart Rohit Sharma were declared joint Greatest of All Time (GOATs) captains of the IPL.
South African AB de Villiers emerged as the GOAT in the batsmen category and Lasith Malinga took away the title in the bowlers category. Shane Watson, one of CSKs vital cog in the wheel, won the battle among the all-rounders.
The list was picked by Star Sports’ expert jury on Cricket Connected. Royal Challengers Bangalore and Team India captain Virat Kohli was voted the IPL’s greatest Indian batsman for being the highest scorer in the history of the tournament with 5412 runs in 177 matches at a staggering average of 37.84. The jury was split right down the middle to make their pick on the greatest ever captain. 
While Dhoni shouldered the responsibility of taking the #YellowArmy to 10 playoffs out of the 11 seasons, Rohit proved to be the most successful captain pocketing 4 titles in 7 seasons for Mumba Indians. In the coach’s category, the calm and composed Stephen Fleming (Chennai Super Kings) emerged the winner as he pipped Trevor Bayliss of KKR by a small margin.


GOAT batsmen
‘Mr. 360 Degrees’ AB de Villiers, one of RCB’s batting mainstays, walked away with the recognition from among the batsmen. It was a tough choice as the shortlist comprised of players such as Suresh Raina and Virat Kohli, who are among the leading run scorers. 


GOAT bowler
Among the bowlers, Mumbai Indians’ pace machine Lasith Malinga, the leading wicket-taker of the IPL so far with 170 scalps in 122 matches, was the near unanimous GOAT bowler due to his consistency over the years and his success at MI’s cauldron – the Wankhede Stadium.


GOAT all-rounder
Shane Watson, who fought valiantly for the Yellow Brigade in the 2019 IPL final with a bloodied knee, went past Dwayne Bravo and the powerful Andre Russell primarily due to his consistency.
About the Jury
The jury comprised of 50 members which included former cricketers (20), senior sports journalists (10), statisticians & analysts (10), broadcasters (7) and anchors (3) and analysts who chose the best among the list of top 10 players in each category and a list of 5 players each in categories of Greatest Captain and Coach. A shortlist of 3 names based on the 50-member jury’s votes were then deliberated upon by former KKR captain and two-time IPL champion Gautam Gambhir, former England captain and World T20-winning batsman Kevin Pietersen, ICC World Cup and IPL champion Ashish Nehra, 2007 ICC World T20-winning all-rounder Irfan Pathan and former New Zealand pacer and VIVO IPL commentator Danny Morrison, who picked the winners.


What now for cricket in 2020?

Cricket has seen international series postponed, the Indian Premier League put on hold and the T20 World Cup in Australia thrown into doubt by the coronavirus pandemic.
Here, AFP Sport takes a look at what could happen next for cricket in 2020:


Will Windies be able to defend title? - The West Indies have been one of the weakest of the Test nations in the last 10 years, with troubles behind the scenes and rows over players’ pay often proving costly for a talented side on the pitch.
But they have still produced two memorable World T20 triumphs, in 2012 and 2016, but now may have to wait to defend their crown in Australia.
The 2020 T20 World Cup is due to get underway in October, but the International Cricket Council (ICC) admitted on Friday that it was “exploring all options”, despite playing down reports that it could be pushed back until 2021. A postponement would be a blow to some of the game’s ageing stars, including the 40-year-old Chris Gayle, who was hoping to bow out of the international arena in style by leading the Windies to another global title.
However, Gayle has mooted the possibility of playing for another five years. “Forty-five is a good number. Let’s talk at 45,” the big-hitting opener told cricbizz.com earlier this year. “I think that’s a good number and my first number. I just think I am on the slow side a bit.”
 
Could loss of franchise cricket prove costly? - The world’s richest tournament, the Indian Premier League, has been indefinitely suspended, while the inaugural edition of The Hundred in England and Wales is appearing increasingly unlikely to go ahead as planned.
Many international players make the majority of their salaries in franchise limited-overs cricket, while the IPL draws massive crowds and is estimated to generate more than $11 billion a year for the Indian economy.
Australian fast bowler Pat Cummins was the most expensive overseas player bought at the 2020 season auction, with the Kolkata Knight Riders snapping him up for $2.17 million.
The IPL was originally scheduled to start on March 29, was delayed until April 15, and has now been postponed indefinitely after the Indian government extended the country’s lockdown until at least May 3.
A cancellation, or even delay of The Hundred would be a huge blow to English cricket, which was hoping to capitalise on last year’s World Cup triumph by continuing to attract new fans to the sport. The tournament is still slated to start as planned on July 17, but other sporting events in the UK in July, including tennis Grand Slam event Wimbledon and golf’s British Open, have been scrapped.
 
Can women’s cricket continue upward trend? - This year has already been an excellent one for women’s cricket, with a record-breaking crowd of over 86,000 watching Australia beat India to win the T20 World Cup at the Melbourne Cricket Ground last month. But it faces a battle in order to continue to thrive after the coronavirus lockdown, with players paid far less than their male counterparts.
Teenager Shafali Verma was the find of the T20 World Cup for India, but India’s women’s captain Mithali Raj thinks the lockdown could make it harder for youngsters to break through.
“It’s true that if these matches were to go ahead, a few more gems like Shafali Verma would have been unearthed,” the Indian batting great told The Times of India.