Rising from the Ashes

So yet another Ashes has come and gone…wait a minute though…was it just another Ashes? It definitely wasn’t as good as the 2009 series, and doesn’t hold a candle to 2005 series. And yet this series is significant in that the truth has finally been laid bare before the Aussies: Australian Cricket is in a downward spiral and needs serious attention. The wheel has finally turned the full circle and Australian cricket is back to where it was in the early 1980’s. Australia have lost all their greats in the past couple of years and the last remaining great – read Ricky Ponting – spends more time walking to the crease and back to the pavilion then he actually spends at the crease.

Even apart from Ponting, the rest of the team looks in shambles. Watson has been consistent but hasn’t got the big scores. Clarke has been struggling for runs. Hussey is just managing to cling on to his place (he might hold on longer now because of the run glut in the Ashes). Number six has been a perennial problem for them for some time now. Haddin is doing a good job. But the less said about the bowling, the better. The fact that they used eight different bowlers in the series and still there were voices for Warne to make a comeback tells the whole story. Even their bench strength – something they used to boast about earlier – looks bleak.

However, it's not the batting, bowling, the bench strength - or the lack of these - that would be worrying the Aussies most. Their biggest headache must be the fact that there doesn't seem to be a single player who can lead Aussies out of this trough. When the Aussies were in a similar rut about 3 decades ago, they found Allan Border who managed to pull Australia through and build a team that eventually - under Steve Waugh - managed to draw comparisons with the great West Indies side of the 1970's and 1980's. It's not just Border; we have had numerous examples of captains inspiring ordinary sides to extraordinary heights. Arjuna Ranatunga, Sourav Ganguly, Imran Khan, et al, are some of the promienent names that come to mind. Out of these only Imran Khan had a side boasting of a lot of great players. Ganguly had an average squad with Tendulkar, Dravid, and Kumble the only ones who were good enough to play against all-comers. Ranatunga had a very average side with players who would later go on to become some of the best in the business. However, some common qualities that all the aforementioned captains had in common were charisma, a strong, proud personality, and a definite vision for shaping the squad. Right now Australia cannot find a player with even one of the above mentioned quality.

What's more, even Cricket Australia (CA), the official governing body of Australian Cricket does not seem to have any definite vision; and the only thing worse than a clueless captain is a clueless board. CA has been famous for abruptly terminating the careers of a lot of good servants of the game - most notable mentions being Michael Bevan, Ian Healy and Steve Waugh (while Steve Waugh did retire on his own terms, there is no doubt that he would have liked to continue a couple of years more; and he certainly looked good enough to do so at that time). These decisions, while not very popular, have nevertheless, in hindsight, proven to be quite fruitful. The departure of Waugh and Bevan from the Test and One day sides respectively paved the way for Michael Hussey. And the result of Gilchrist replacing Healy is clearly etched in the record books. However, the fact that CA is still hanging on to Ponting and Hussey, despite their not-so-good form over the last 2-3 years, is an indicator of the crisis involving Australian cricket.

There’s a dialogue in the ‘Remember the Titans’ which goes as ‘Attitude reflects leadership.’ This appears to be very true about the current Australian squad. Ponting has been their batting mainstay for the last decade and the longer his poor form has continued the lower his frown has dropped. And the Aussies – known for their ability to comeback after being pushed to the corner – have lost quite a few tight games.

Another factor is the Australian domestic culture. When the Aussies went into a rut during the 80’s, rather than panicking and losing their heads, the selectors set about developing a strong domestic structure which churned out players who, while not more talented than their other contemporaries, were certainly more prepared to face the arduous nature of international cricket. The system was so good that it was inevitable that other countries adopted it in some form or another. The fact remains that CA has made no efforts to further improve the system whereas the other countries have found ways to come up to scratch with the Aussies. Given Australia’s dominance over the past decade, it was inevitable that they would have to face such disappointments some time or later. However, what’s surprising is that they haven’t been able to find replacements who look like bringing Australian Cricket back on track in the next few years.

A 3-1 drubbing – with all 3 losses being innings losses – has raised serious questions regarding the state of Australian cricket. And while I do not think that the Aussies will go the West Indies way, I certainly think that it will be a long time before they can rise again to their former glory. In Greek mythology, Phoenix is a magical bird that rises from its own ashes. For Aussies to rise from these ashes, it will truly take more than just magic.

...And my cup runneth over

Saturday, 8.30 AM: We enter the Chinnaswamy stadium and a sigh of disappointment echoes as a whole across the stadium. No, yours truly, or his friends, are not famous enough to warrant such strong reactions. The reason for the mass disappointment was being displayed on the huge electronic display screen mounted at the BEML end: "Australia has won the toss and are going to bat first." We didn't sigh, we swore, as we made our way to the best possible seats we could get in the North stand. This was the first time that I was going to watch a test match live at the. And while I am an ardent cricket fan, the biggest purpose of this visit – atleast for me – was to watch Sachin Tendulkar bat. I won’t go into how big a Sachin fan I am and blah, blah, blah. Every sport fanatic out there will understand that; because every sport fanatic will have a player whose career they have religiously followed ever since they got hooked on to the sport.

So anyway, here we were, at one of the more famous test venues in the country, waiting for the play to start and hoping that an out-of-form Indian bowling attack would be able to dismiss a reasonably strong Australian line-up cheaply on a shirtfront of a wicket. After a lot of struggle, and a brilliant second session on the second day, India finally managed to dismiss Australia on 478. The highlight of the innings was Marcus North getting to his century to end his run of poor form (something that a lot of players manage to do against India).

The end of the Australian innings about 10 minutes before lunch raised the decibel levels of the crowds considerably; since many of them – including us – wouldn’t be returning the next day due to the mundane routine of going to the office. Now, watching a game live at the stadium is an amazing experience; one that anyone with more than a passing interest in any sport should undergo. Apart from the Mexican waves, the poster waving at the camera, and the calling-your-relatives-that-you-may-appear-on-TV-any-moment, it’s the crowd reaction that is amazing to watch. It’s as if the parts become the whole. Every wicket, century (by an Indian or opposition player), or, at times, even a single run is greeted by a single loud cheer rising from the stadium as a whole. Every catch dropped, stumping missed, or the instance of a batsman getting beaten is accompanied by a single ‘ooh’ emanating from the stadium as a whole much akin to the supporting notes belted out by the chorus singers in a song. And God forbid if an opposition player has the temerity to exchange words with an Indian one.

So, Day 2, session 3; the Indian team commenced its innings. Sehwag and Murali Vijay walk out to start the proceedings for India; loud cheers accompanying their arrival at the crease. Sehwag sets about his business in his usual fashion – trying to get all of the 478 runs in a single session. The Aussies, however, had warned that they had specific plans for Sehwag, and they soon bore fruition as Sehwag fell to a short delivery off Ben Hilfenhaus. Though I let out a loud ‘No!!’ of disappointment with the others, the evil part of me (or the devil on the left shoulder) smiled wickedly; one more and then I would have been paid for my patience. In walks the local hero, Rahul Dravid; to loud cheers from the crowd. After poking around for 10 minutes for a single, he edges one to first slip off Mitchell Johnson; his favored mode of dismissal now-a-days. A loud ‘oh!’ echoes around the stadium followed by deathly silence (it’s hard to believe such silence can be found in the presence of such a boisterous mob). Dravid has hardly made it halfway to the pavilion when the noise starts revving up again; much like an engine. The reason: Sachin has been spotted getting out of the dressing room on the 1^st tier of the pavilion. Rahul Dravid must be one of the most unfortunate number 3 in the history cricket. For all his resilience, his fantastic contribution to Indian cricket, and his popularity, whenever he has batted in India, he’s had to listen to people cheering at his dismissal. What’s more, there have been times when he’s been booed on his way to the crease and cheered on his way out. Quite a thankless way to treat a sportsperson who not only has given his all for the country, but also has been a fantastic ambassador for the country as well as the game.

But then the man walking in next hasn’t done any less well for India. He’s done well enough to ensure that even when we refer to Him in pronouns, we break all the grammatical laws and use uppercase. The man himself though seemed oblivious to the brouhaha around him. He walks calmly to the pitch, taps the bat at the good length spot, takes his guard, and starts doing what he does best – and what we have come to see him do – bat. He began sedately enough, taking a single off Hauritz. For the next half an hour he was watchful, yet confident. Now the time and the situation in which Sachin walked in meant that that was no chance of us getting to see him reach his 50. There was another stat though, which everyone was eager to see him achieve before the end of the day: becoming the first man to scale Mount 14k. That Indians are obsessed with stats is no secret (perhaps this has something to do with the illustrious history of mathematicians that we have had); and Tendulkar has given them enough stats to chew upon for a lifetime. Before the start of the game, he needed 27 runs to achieve the target, and I am sure that almost every fan present in the stadium was counting every run that he was making (I know I was). With the light fading and Sachin stranded on 25, there were more than a few anxious faces in the crowd, and every dot ball played by Murali Vijay was greeted with cries of ‘oh!’ or, in some cases, a variety of swear words. But a short ball from Haurtiz, and some mystical field placements from Ponting, saw Sachin punch one through the covers for a boundary to reach the much awaited landmark. The next few overs saw a flurry of boundaries as Sachin raced to 44. And as is the human wont, the traditional habit of ‘thoda aur’ kicked in, with the crowd willing Sachin to get to his 50 as soon as possible. The umpires though had different ideas as they whipped out the much antagonized light meter and declared the condition to be too dark for play.

And so amidst much booing (for the umpires) and much more cheering (for Him), Sachin walked off, calm as ever, quietly acknowledging the cheers of the crowd on his way. As for me, well, my only wish was to see Sachin walk upto the crease and take his famous stance just once. Considering that, my wish was fulfilled many times over (44 to be exact…yeah bite me! Even I am obsessed with stats). What happened next is ofcourse present in all the cricket archives. Sachin went on to make a double century and an unbeaten fifty in the second innings. 267 runs and getting out only once. Following the match sitting in the confines of a claustrophobic cubicle was gut-wrenching ofcourse, but then when I think of that one evening when I saw the God of cricket bat out there, all I can say is that my cup runneth over.

Time to 'fix' the problem

It's sad that at a time when cricket is struggling to stay afloat, its representatives (read the cricketers) are indulging in activities that not only besmirch the 'Gentleman's Game', but also threaten to drag it into the cesspool of extinction. The recent disclosures about the incidents of 'spot-fixing' are threatening to drag the game back into the dark ages. The ever-expanding broadcast of the game also brought along with it the evil of match-fixing. Fans all over the world were shocked to see an ashen-faced Hansie Cronje confessing to match-fixing about a decade ago. Given his record as the South African captain and as an ambassador of South African cricket in general, this was an earth shattering revelation to say the least. The question on everybody's mind at that time was 'Who else?' In what turned out to be the most turbulent period in our beloved game's history - along with the apartheid period and certainly graver than the bodyline series - the bottom suddenly seemed to fall open. As the ICC - aided by the Scotland Yard - cracked down on the match-fixing racket, many notable names came to light. Bans were handed out like candies during Halloween and the matter came to rest.

However, when the Butt-Asif-Aamir incident came to light, some serious questions, which should have been answered much earlier, reared their ugly heads. The biggest of them was: Was the ICC's Anti-Corruption Unit really successful in weeding out match-fixing from the game? As the situation stands right now, the answer seems to be a clear NO. One could argue that the cricketers themselves, as representatives of the game and of their countries, should be responsible for their actions. But then if we lived in such an ideal world, then the vocation of a Policeman would not exist. But yet it does, because however educated and sensible a man may be, there are times when he inevitably falls victim to unforeseen circumstances; or just the darker side of his nature. Among the cricketers banned in that incident, most have had their bans overturned, a few of them have served their bans - as it was for a limited period of time, and a very few percentage of the players are actually serving the ban. In fact, I am having a lot of difficulty coming up with a name other then Mohammed Azharuddin; who, by the way, has already appealed in the Indian courts. In between these two events, there have been a few incidences where we have seen evidence that match-fixing still exists at the highest level of the game, the Marlon Samuels incident being an example.

So the biggest question is, how to minimize match-fixing in cricket. The reason I say 'minimize' and not 'eradicate' is because cricket has become so big a business in Asia,  that uprooting match-fixing out of cricket has become a next-to-impossible task, one which cannot be accomplished without total dedication and commitment not only from the governing body, but also from the players. But then young players coming from poor backgrounds can prove to be easy victims to bookmakers. The brash and devil-may-care attitude of youth fails to see the consequences of their actions. Right now, the only way to try and stop this malpractice is to discourage the players from even considering the offers that may come their way from the bookmakers, because it seems that any efforts to catch the real culprits do not seem to be bearing fruition. And the only way to do that is to set firm examples. Handing out life bans may sound harsh, and I can already see most people unsheathing their everyone-deserves-a-second-chance swords, but then there just doesn't seem to be any other way to deal with this menace. Atleast not one that seems to be openly visible. It's true that a wise man always learns from his mistakes, but a man with some common sense learns from others' mistake too. It's time that ICC learned from it's mistake put a stop to this disease that has our beautiful game in a 'fix'.

FIRST LOOK: KOLKATA KNIGHT RIDERS

Kolkata Knight Riders have been anything but knights in shining armor in the two editions of IPL. The most glamorous and the most advertised team of the competition has been the most unsuccessful one. They began in the most explosive fashion to win the first match comprehensively, but by the end of the second edition, they had become the standing joke of the tournament. There was confusion over the captaincy, a great noise being made about the coach, some player posing as the Fake IPL Player and leaking team secrets (supposedly), and they were fielding worse than a six-year-old.

This year the franchise owners are trying to bring things to order. And they certainly seem to have started on the right note. For starters, they have selected their captain (Ganguly), and so far look intent upon sticking to him. Rather than going for the players who won’t be available for the entire season, they have picked up players who will play maximum matches. Let’s have a look at the team to see how it looks like.

Batting

Saurav Ganguly is back as the captain, and it looks as if he will open. And there was news a couple of days back that Bard Hodge will be the other opener. But that would mean either bringing Chris Gayle down the order or not picking him up in the playing eleven; which would be a folly either way. Because Gayle is a huge asset to any side and if you pick him then you have got to play him at the top. And Ganguly was never the quickest of runners during his heydays, so it would be a mistake to assume that he would have improved after being away from competitive cricket for so long. So this means that he should bat only at the top of the order. This means that Brad Hodge has to come down the order. Omitting him from the side will be a mistake since he’s been their best batsman so far. The middle order will comprise of Cheteshwar Pujara, Manoj Tiwari, and Harshad Khadiwale. Pujara has been the run machine in Indian domestic scene but has rarely got a chance to show his talent at the highest level. And while T20 may not showcase his entire talent, but atleast he can convince everyone that he can stand against the best in the business. Manoj Tiwary is another talented batsman who’s yet to prove his potential on the big stage. Harshad Khadivale has shown glimpses of talent but has failed to come up with anything spectacular. Kolkata might try out Rohan Gavaskar instead of Harshad if they feel that he is not up to the mark. Next up will be Laxmi Ratan Shukla who may not have set the league on fire with his performances but nevertheless has been one of the more consistent performers from the side. Saha will be the wicketkeeper and while he may not be in the league of Gilcrist or Dhoni, he still has a lot of gumption. The biggest problem for Kolkata is the lack of Indian talent. Even apart from Gayle and Hodge, they have got other batsman like Owais Shah, Brendon McCullum, and Angelo Matthews, but they do not have a single Indian batsman who is currently playing for the Indian team or even someone who is in the reckoning for the job. This means that they will have to play with 3 foreign batsmen. So McCullum may play, but he isn’t coming till very late. Gayle will join the team after 2-3 matches. That leaves the entire responsibility upon the shoulders of Hodge, Matthews, and Owais Shah. And in such a high voltage competition, a great start is vital to any team.

Bowling

Kolkata have picked up Shane Bond as their strike bowler. And while he may not be as lethal as Umar Gul, he is nevertheless an effective operator. In all probability, he will be partnered by Ishant Sharma. Sharma’s form has been up and down after a great start to his career. But he seems to be recovering his confidence now and a good performance here will certainly be beneficial not only for him but also for team India. The other two candidates for the opening bowler’s slot are Agarkar and Ashok Dinda. Agarkar is an aging war horse and has not been able to perform too well in the shortest format of the game. Dinda, on the hand, has been bowling well and has been impressive in this format. The spin department will be handled by Murali Karthik, Iqbal Abdulla, and Ajantha Mendis. Karthik was under bowled last season, and Ajantha Mendis wasn’t in the best of forms. Both will be hoping to match up to their rival spinners this year. But the man to watch out for is Abdulla. The 20-year-old is being touted as the next best thing in Indian cricket. He’s shown the talent, both with the bat and the bowl, but whether he shows it at this level remains to be seen. He is reputed to be a smart cricketer and has a good economy rate in T20 cricket, asides from a five wicket haul; a rarity for a spinner in T20. Another talent to watch out for is Varun Aaron. Though the twenty year old has hardly played any first class cricket, he’s already created a buzz in the KKR camp having impressed Ganguly and Wasim Akram. These frontline bowlers will have the support of Shukla, Matthews, and Ganguly; all of whom are steady medium pacers who can apply the brakes in the middle overs, and pick up vital wickets. Chris Gayle ofcourse will provide the extra spinning option with his off spin. Once again the problem here for KKR is that since they will be playing three foreign batsmen, they can only pick up one bowler out of Bond, Charle Langeveldt, and Mendis. While the loss of Mendis may not hurt them too much, the loss of Langeveldt may. He’s a good bowler in the death overs and the only game that he has played for KKR so far, he’s bowled them to victory. So eventually they will have to figure out as to how they will fit him in the team.

Fielding

Fielding has been a major worry for KKR over the last two seasons; and it doesn’t look as if it will change now. The amount of runs that they have given away due to shoddy fielding – both misfields and dropped catches – must be more than the runs a few of their batsman have made. Another problem is that there’s no backup for Saha. If he should get injured before McCullum returns, then Kolkata will be in a real fix. Overall, despite all the efforts put in by the franchise, KKR still seems to have come up short in this department.

Final Verdict

Despite all the changes in the players and support staff brought about by SRK, it seems as if KKR might fail to qualify for the semis. At the risk of sounding repetitive, the lack of top level Indian batsman may end up hurting the team. There are a lot of promising young players in the team, but no one who has fulfilled his promise. So KKR may finish up higher this season, but they certainly do not look championship material. The only silver lining for them is that they have got a captain who has been in a similar position where his team has been written off only to emerge as victors. But that’s a very slim hope to cling on to.

Kolkata Knight Riders’ squad

Saurav Ganguly	Iqbal Abdulla	Charles Langeveldt
Chris Gayle	Ishant Sharma	Varun Aaron
Cheteshwar Pujara	Shane Bond	Rohan Gavaskar
Brad Hodge	Brendon McCullum	Eklak Ahmed
Manoj Tiwary	Ashok Dinda	Chirag Pathak
Angelo Matthews	Ajit Agarkar	Owais Shah
Laxmi Ratan Shukla	Ajantha Mendis	Ganapathi Vignesh
Wriddhiman Saha	Murali Karthik

FIRST LOOK: MUMBAI INDIANS

Mumbai Indians may well be called the ‘chokers’ in the IPL. They had the chance to make it to the semis in both the editions; instead they lost the script in the closing stages of the tournament. To say that it was bad luck would be unfair. The simple fact is that Mumbai lost their nerves just when they needed them. They may not have had as good a side as Chennai or Delhi, but they had enough quality to atleast make it to the semis. They had the right mix of players, the right combination of youth and experience, but what they lacked was the killer punch; the final burst that separates the good from the great. This will probably be the last chance for many legends in this team to win a major trophy in the newest format of the game.

Let’s see whether they have the team for it this year.

Batting

The biggest advantage for Mumbai is that Sachin Tendulkar is in good form and injury free this season. What’s more, he seems to be enjoying his batting better than ever before and not just thinking about the consequences should he get out early. Sanath Jayasuriya, on the other hand, seems to be treading on the edge of a knife. His form in the past 18 months has been anything but encouraging; not to mention his performance in IPL 2. As an alternative, Mumbai might consider trying out Shikhar Dhawan or Graham Napier; who has the reputation of being a big hitter of the ball and is a useful medium pacer. The number three position can be manned by JP Duminy or Abhishek Nayar. Nayar has made some very useful contributions to the Mumbai total in the last two editions. And the best way to make use of his full potential will be to bat him higher up the order. Duminy on the other hand, is going through a torrid time with the bat. And his recent troubles against spin means that he needs to come up the order so that he will be well settled before the spinners come on. Shikhar Dhawan will be manning the middle order along with Ambati Rayadu, Saurabh Tiwary, or Rajagopal Sathish. Ambati  Rayadu was touted as one of India’s next superstars, but a switch to ICL saw his career getting derailed. After getting pardon from BCCI, this will be his first major tournament, and a chance to prove that he can still fulfill the promise that he holds. Rajagopal Sathish is another player who’s returning from the ICL. And his record in ICL suggests that he will be a valuable batsman to have in the middle order. A member of the U19 World Cup winning squad, Saurabh Tiwary has shown a lot of promise with his performances in the domestic arena. Though he hasn’t been able to show the same kind of form in IPL, it will be too early to write off this 20-year old. Then come the all-rounders; Dwayne Bravo, Ryan McLaren, and Kieron Pollard. Dwayne Bravo was injured for the last few months, but he’s making a comeback against the Zimbabweans. This will give Mumbai a fair idea as to his fitness and form. Ryan McLaren has just made his debut in all three forms of the game in the last four months and has done reasonably well. He will be keen to do well here to remain in contention in the South African side for the next world cup which is taking place in the sub-continent. Pollard is the season’s biggest buy for Mumbai and comes with quite a reputation. Whether he lives up to that reputation remains to be seen. Another allrounder joining one of these three will be Dhawal Kulkarni. The youngster has grown as a player in the last season and will be looking to make more contributions with his bat. Harbhajan Singh and Zaheer Khan are capable of clearing the ropes in the final overs.

Bowling

Like the batting, Mumbai’s bowling looks pretty threatening too. Dilhara Fernando and Lasith Malinga are well known for their exploits in T20 cricket. Harbhajan Singh has been Mumbai’s best bowler over the last two editions of IPL, whereas Zaheer has been India’s best bowler, and one of world’s best left-armer, over the last two years. The only worry for India will be the injury that Zaheer picked up during the series against South Africa. The support cast too looks good for Mumbai. Pollard has been bowling well for West Indies and has kept the pressure on the batsmen in the middle overs. Dwayne Bravo has enough variations to keep the batsman guessing and so does Dhawal Kulkarni. What’s more, these two are capable of picking up wickets consistently. McLaren and Napier have been picked up on reputations and recommendations. It’s hard to tell at this stage how well they will perform. The spin department will be taken care of by Jayasuriya, Duminy, Nayar. Jayasuriya may not be at his best with the bat, but, given his vast experience, he can be a handful on the Indian pitches. The focal point of the bowling though will be Harbhajan; and the way he bowls. Given the lack of quality in the spin department – and the fact that the IPL is in India this time – he needs to step up and shed his image as a defensive bowler. He needs to assume the mantle of a wicket-taking spinner rather than a run-saving one. If he can achieve that, then Mumbai’s bowling will definitely have the much needed edge.

Fielding

Mumbai may not count among the most dynamic fielding side in the tournament; despite the presence of Jonty Rhodes, but they certainly are a safe fielding side. They won’t give two runs where there’s only one. But then T20 isn’t about that, it’s about giving away just a single where there may be three. And this is where Mumbai may struggle. Another worry for them is the wicket-keeper. Both the ‘keepers – Chandan Madan and Aditya Tare – are relative unknowns. Clearly, the Mumbai think tank has under estimated the importance of a good wicket keeper batsman. And this may hurt them a lot when it comes to the balance of the team.

Final Verdict

Like in the previous two editions, Mumbai have a team that can take them to the semis. Once there, they will require some mastery from the Little Master to make sure that they win. As mentioned earlier, the lack of a good wicket keeper batsman may hurt them. But this tournament has been a launch pad for many an unknown faces, and the two gentlemen donning the ‘keeper gloves have as good a chance as any one before them had.

One just gets the feeling though, that more than the fielding, lack of good wicket keeper batsman, or any other player, the important obstacle between Mumbai and glory will be their nerve. The Mumbai Ranji Trophy team is known for its khadoos attitude that has seen them through thick and thin. Maybe, this side needs to draw upon that attitude to put the past failures beyond them.

Mumbai Indians’ squad

Sachin Tendulkar	Harbhajan Singh	Aditya Tare
Sanath Jayasuriya	Zaheer Khan	Graham Napier
Abhishek Nayar	Lasith Malinga	Ishan Malhotra
JP Duminy	Dwayne Bravo	Ryan McLaren
Shikhar Dhawan	Dilhara Fernando	Murtaza Ali
Kieron Pollard	Ambati Rayadu	Rahul Shukla
Dhaval Kulkarni	Saurabh Tiwari	Syed Shahbuddin
Chandan Madan	Rajagopal Sathish

FIRST LOOK: KINGS XI PUNJAB

Kings XI Punjab are the dark horses in IPL. They have a good enough side to make it to the semis maybe, but after that they will need a miracle performance from one of their members to put it past their opponents. And the one man who can invariably deliver that performance is Yuvraj Singh. He’s been on and off in the last two seasons, and as a result Punjab have not been able to perform as well as they could have. Perhaps now that the burden of captaincy is off his head, he can concentrate on his batting more and maybe Punjab can shed their tags of under dogs.

Let’s see what Punjab has in store for us this season.

Batting

As before Punjab’s batting will revolve around Yuvraj, Sangakkara, and Jayawardena. Sangakkara has been doing well for them, but it will be interesting to see how he copes with the added pressure of captaincy, especially since the owners of the franchise will finally be hoping for the trophy. Jayawardene has done a good job of seeing the team through till the end on quite a few occasions, and he will be expected to do the same this year. The batting will be opened by either Bopara, who had a good stint last season, or Shaun Marsh, who had a tremendous stint the year before. Though Punjab may just give a chance to Adrian Barath. He was impressive in Australia where he even managed to get a century against them. One of these two will be joined at the top by Karan Goel, though Punjab would like to try to out Tanmay Srivastava at the top. The middle order will be guided by Sangakkara, Jayawardene, Yuvraj Singh, and Mohammed Kaif. Goel got a lot of chances last season but failed to capitalize on them and this maybe a last chance for him. Kaif was sent home halfway through the last season by Rajasthan Royals and will be desperate to prove that he fits in this format of the game. He certainly has the qualities to succeed in the middle order. He’s good at working the ball in the gaps, can run quickly between the wickets, and can find the occasional boundary. The lower middle order will be manned by Irfan Pathan, Ramesh Powar, and Piyush Chawla. For Irfan this will be the last chance to make it to the Indian team before the T20 world cup, Powar has fallen out of favor with the selectors a long time back and may just hope that his good performances here may remind them of his presence. Chawla too has shown that he can throw around his bat. If they decide to rest either one of Sangakkara or Jayawardene then they would have the option of playing James Hopes. One man they might want to give a chance to is Reetinder Sodhi. The all-rounder is one of the many players who have been granted amnesty by BCCI following their renunciation of the ICL. He may not be the most talented players around, but he’s certainly one of the more gutsy ones. All in all the Punjab batting looks sturdy, but not very capable of chasing huge totals unless Yuvraj clicks. But will he click this time? That is the million dollar question.

Bowling

The bowling will be handled by Brett Lee and Sreesanth. Pathan will play the role of third seamer. Sreesanth has had mixed results since his return. But he will still be a force to be reckoned with, since he is such an aggressive bowler, and can cause the batsmen some real problems with the new ball. Pathan may have lost his ability to swing the ball prodigiously, but he can still keep the runs down. The return of Shalabh Srivastava from ICL gives them yet another seaming option.  Yusuf Abdulla, who bowled beautifully last season, also provides a good option in case Punjab decide to rest Lee. Hopes and Sodhi will provide more medium pace options. The spin department will be handled by Piyush Chawla, Powar, and Yuvraj. Chawla has fallen out of favor with the selectors after the advent of Amit Mishra and Pragyan Ojha. He will be keen to make his mark and get back into the selectors’ radar. Powar may lack the variations that one needs in this format, but he is a smart bowler. Yuvraj has grown as a bowler in the past 2-3 years and can not only keep it tight in the middle overs, but can also pick up wickets regularly. Looking at the bowling attack you just get the feeling that despite all the variety that they have, the attack lacks the much needed bite. Their biggest trump card in the series may turn out to be Brett Lee. He’s just retired from test cricket, he’s been displaced from his position as the strike bowler of the Aussie team, and he’s finding it difficult to make a permanent place for himself in the squad. So this will be the perfect launch pad for him. Whether he takes advantage of this opportunity remains to be seen.

Fielding

Kings XI have a pretty competitive fielding unit; in fact one of the best in the tournament.Yuvraj, Kaif, Marsh, and Jayawardene in the infield can really choke up the batsman. Plus they will have the strong throwing arms of Lee, Chawla, and Pathan in the outfield. The interesting thing to see will be whether Sangakkara dons the keeper’s gloves or not. Not doing so will meant that Manvinder Bisla will have to take up the responsibility, which means that they will have to leave out either Powar or Sreesanth. But if Sangakkara stays on as keeper then he will have a tough job on his hands. But then he’s done it before, and can probably do it again for a short span.

Final Verdict

As mentioned before, Punjab will entertain, but they lack that certain punch to take them through. If they are to win this season, they Yuvraj will have to do for Punjab what he did for India in the 2007 T20 World Cup; take on the opposition as only he can.

Kings XI Punjab’s squad

Shaun Marsh	James Hopes
Tanmay Srivastava	Yusuf Abdulla
Kumara Sangakkara	Love Ablish
Yuvraj Singh	Amanpreet Singh
Mahela Jayawardena	Adrian Barath
Mohammed Kaif	Bipul Sharma
Irfan Pathan	Manvindar Bisla
Ramesh Powar	Vikramjeet Malik
Brett Lee	Reetinder Sodhi
Piyush Chawla	Shalabh Srivastava
S Sreesanth	Karan Goel
Ravi Bopara

FIRST LOOK: RAJASTHAN ROYALS

Rajasthan Royals seem to have entered IPL with intentions of throwing up a surprise in every edition. First they chose a team with no star cricketers except Graeme Smith and Shane Warne (Watson and Pathan were relatively unknown then). Then they go for a captain-cum-coach system. And then they actually had the temerity to go against popular opinion and win the trophy. In the second edition too, they made almost similar decisions, except winning the trophy part. But even then they had people supporting other teams rooting for them at times. Simply put, they have been the ‘Rocky’ of IPL. They again shocked everyone this year by selecting Damien Martyn and Michael Lumb ahead of all the available accomplished cricketers.

Whether they can enthrall us again in home conditions remains to be seen. In the mean time let’s have a look at what we can expect from them this season.

Batting

Much has been said about the lack of quality batsman in the RR team. But the fact remains that all the quality batsmen that they have are foreign recruits. This means, courtesy the four foreign players per team rule, Rajasthan can pick at the most two non-Indian batsmen in their team because the other two places will be taken up by Warne himself, and one another bowler or an all-rounder. This was one of the major factors in Rajasthan’s inability to make it to the semis last season. Graeme Smith was out of form and the team was missing the services of Kamran Akmal and Shane Watson. This put the pressure squarely on the broad shoulders of Yusuf Pathan. He did well, but not well enough for the team to go past the league stage. Ravindra Jadeja impressed in patches, but he’s a supporting actor who needs a main character whom he can play the side-kick to. Dimitri Mascerenhas disappointed with the bat. Swapnil Asnodkar, who had a great first edition, looked a shadow of himself. Naman Ojha impressed with his pyrotechnics occasionally. Abhishek Raut and Shane Warne pitched in with a few runs here and there. But all in all, Rajasthan really missed a good top order batsman, and they would have done well to purchase an Indian player in this auction rather than going for Damien Martyn and Michael Lumb, another surprising selection. True Lumb has an impressive record in the counties, but playing in the sub-continent will be an entire different matter. Martyn is good at e and playing the odd big hit, but he is still not suited for T20. All these random out-of-the-blue selections mean that Rajasthan will once again depend heavily on Graeme Smith and Yusuf Pathan. The last two new additions, Abhishek Jhunjhunwala (who is returning from ICL) and Adam Voges, have done well in this format, and should add a bit more depth to the batting. Other fringe players like Faiz Fazal and Syed Quadri may get a look-in on the rare occasion. But all said and done, the Royals will depend quite heavily on their bowlers to deliver the goods for them.

Bowling

Shane Warne has managed to achieve what Dhoni and Rahul Dravid could not; get Munaf Patel to do more than just run up to the wickets and bowl. Indeed, the Munaf Patel that we see in the Rajasthan Royals is quite in contrast to the Munaf that we see in the Indian team. He fields like a maniac, is actually proactive on the field, and actually keeps his nerve to bowl brilliantly in the death overs. Perhaps the Indian team management needs to take a few pointers from Warne. In fact, it is this transformation of Munaf Patel that has been a big advantage for Rajasthan. Because he is a very under-rated bowler, and can be a very effective stock bowler. Like their batting, Rajasthan are going to struggle putting up a decent bowling attack too; but for very different reasons. They have Shaun Tait, who has performed very well for Australia in T20 cricket recently and would hoping that he can use IPL as a launch pad to get into the thick of things in Australian cricket; much like his compatriot Shane Watson did in IPL 1. Rajasthan will also pick up Morne Morkel this season, since he could prove to be handful given his current form. His height helps him generate that extra boune from the wicket and he is quick too. His good performance in the recently concluded India – South Africa series will do his confidence wonders. So we will probably see Rajasthan juggling Tait and Morkel so that both will get enough rest. The other foreign recruit in the team is Johann Botha who, with his fastish off-spin, can tie down the batsman. But the presence of Yusuf Pathan may mean that he will get limited opportunities. Mascerenhas will be another bowler they may call upon provided he is batting well, because Mascerenhas as a bowler is of very little value to them. They have better foreign recruits to take his place as a bowler. Among the Indian recruits, Munaf will be supported by Kamran Khan, Siddharth Trivedi, Amit Singh, and Abhishek Raut. Trivedi has already become a regular fixture in the Royals’ team, but Amit Singh and Abhishek Raut have the opportunity to do so. Amit performed well in the limited opportunities that he got last season by not only picking up wickets but also bowling very economically. Kamran Khan was the star sensation of last edition when Warne unveiled him as a raw tear-away who could consistently bowl over 140 kmph. Along with Morkel and Tait, Kamran may cause some serious problems with his pace. His only concern will be fitness as his slingy action puts a lot of stress on his body. And last but not the least, the key to Rajasthan’s performance in the middle overs will be held by the captain himself: Shane Warne. He’s handled the tremendous workload of captaincy and bowling quite well. He’s their highest overall wicket taker in both the tournaments so far. The biggest question here is whether he will be fit enough for the tournament. If he is, then we may see some magic once more. Overall, Rajasthan’s bowling certainly looks good and will play a crucial part in their campaign.

Fielding

Rajasthan have a good fielding unit and the bowlers can bank upon their fielders to save some valuable runs for them. Munaf Patel may be a bit suspect in the field, but as I mentioned earlier, somehow under Warne he looks an entirely different man. And no one knows more than Warne the importance of fielding since he himself had excellent fielder in the slips when he was bowling for Australia.

Final Verdict

Like the first edition of IPL, the Royals are certainly not the favorites to win, but as before, don’t be surprised if the wizard of Oz conjures up some new magic to enthrall us all. No one emphasizes the importance of having a good captain in T20 cricket more than Warne.

While it is true that Smith, Tait, Pathan, and Morkel will play an important part in this campaign, but key to Rajasthan’s success will lie inside the cranium of a certain Shane Warne.

Rajasthan Royals’ squad

Graeme Smith	Damien Martyn
Swapnil Asnodkar	Michael Lumb
Naman Ojha	Amit Paunikar
Abhishek Jhunjhunwala	Johann Botha
Yusuf Pathan	Kamran Khan
Dimitri Mascerenhas	Faiz Fazal
Abhishek Raut	Sumit Narwal
Shane Warne	Amit Singh
Shaun Tait	Srikanth Wagh
Siddharth Trivedi	Syed Quadri
Munaf Patel
Morne Morkel