Enter the part-timers in the stands,it's time for the Indian Premier League.The League this year is gonna be a novelty in a few ways.First and foremost,the absence of Lalit Modi at the helm of the event.This year's edition was once potentially a doubtful case with outrageous disclosures on procedural abuse in between the administrators and the constituent franchisees.Not only have Kings XI Punjab and Rajasthan Royals,despite cases pending in court against them,have been allowed to feature in this edition of the IPL,but we will have two new teams competing it out this time,namely Pune Warriors and Kochi Tuskers Kerala.The constitution of the teams have completely been revamped this time after the expiry of the original contracts between the players and the franchisees they have been representing,a fresh auction having taken place earlier this year.
The last 3 seasons have been utterly disappointing for us down here with our home favourite,Kolkata Knight Riders,failing to impress with their game.Rather they have been more in the news throughout for the never ending controversies revolving around the team,and for Shah Rukh Khan,its owner,of course.So,while KKR looked to start afresh releasing all its former players,each team having been provided the option of retaining four,a new debate was sparked off concerning whether it was right to to let go of their original icon player,Sourav Ganguly,who also captained the team in the 2008 and 2010 editions.
Controversies are plain fond of our favourite Dada,it seems.You must acknowledge the emotions associayed with Sourav in the heart of the average Bengali cricket fan.He almost represents the nearly extinct Bengali nationalism.Successful as KKR has been in their market strategy,a lot of the local demand can be credited to the status and prestige of the former Indian captain.We remember the resentment evoked when Sourav was scrapped off the captaincy before the 2009 season in South Africa as a result of the experimental team management theories of the then coach John Buchanan.His batting position was also toyed with throughout the entire edition.Last year,leadership was restored to his aegis and he led from the front in many occasions with the bat and in the field.He finished as the highest run getter for the Knights last year and fourth overall in the Orange Cap table after Sachin Tendulkar,Jacques Kallis and Suresh Raina.It is not difficult to comprehend the intensity of the furore created by Ganguly going unsold in the entire auction spanning two days.It was insulting indeed on two counts.The first of the brought upon by Dada himself.He was one of the two players to have augmented their base prices before the auction,the other being V V S Laxman.The latter was purchased by Kochi.The second one came in the very last minutes of the auction.After the business was supposedly over,the names of the few players unsold yet,who were shortlisted on requests from the representatives of the teams at the auction.Contrary to our hope,Sourav's name did not feature in the list.All set to be wrapped up,it was announced that one final call was to be made on an unsold player due to a last moment request.To our rude shock and jaw dropping disappointment,it was Mohammad Kaif,of all people,whose name came up and was even sold to Kings XI Punjab.
The KKR management was under severe attack from its home followers.There were strong hopes in the air that Dada's home team might include him in their plans.Thr rage threatened to rob the franchisee of its local fan following and Shah Rukh Khan the good wishes of his admirers.The 'King' Khan,as he is often called,had to publicly offer Sourav a role in the management,which was declined by the Prince of Kolkata.Lots of retrospective claims were made and reported.Arguments over the rationale of the total wipeout faced by Ganguly.It was not only a case of KKR 'ditching' him.If it were,well,I could give you a good many reasons in favour of KKr's strategy.Like perhaps the Knight Riders,despite acknowledging his contribution to the team in the last three years,are looking for more impact players with the bat in the side,with a more intimidating strike rate to flaunt.Or hunting for fresher legs.Or maybe the fact that Dada doesn't play enough competitive cricket any more went against him.(Of course,the same consideration holds true for stalwarts like Adam Gilchrist and Shane Warne,but they are still playing.)But a player of his standing failing to find favour with all the teams is a little too much to digest.Even when Kochi made efforts to make a post-auction purchase of Ganguly,Royal Challengers Bangalore vetoed it,ensuring he remained an untouchable.I have been forced to concede that various non-cricketing factors were at work which I am in no authority to dwell upon here.
Perhaps,it wouldn't have come to this if Sourav chose to retire from domestic twenty20 cricket,as I had remarked to many a friend when speculations were at peak if he'd feature in the future plans of KKR,after the decision was not taken not to retain him.If it was humiliating,it was enough by then.Anyways,as expected mass agitations were afoot after the auction,mostly through the social networking sites and SMS campaigns,so much so that many Sourav fans went on to endorse the 'No Dada,no KKR,no IPL' hardline.
With the World Cup in our hands now,most of it seems to have died out.The exalted people are now waiting to erupt in celebration with the crickentertainment bonanza.Cricket,we know,is a great unifying force for our nation.But the IPL has set an unmistakable opposite trend.Domestic cricket rivalry is a living reality today in India.We in Kolkata are now rooting for a refurbished team under the leadership of former Delhi DareDevils captain,Gautam Gambhir.A lot of thought seems to have been put into the composition of the side this time,unlike in 2008,when despite bagging a handful of foreign stars,they got the balance all wrong struggling to recruit good Indian players.This time,along with the likes of Jacques Kallis,Brad Haddin,Brett Lee,Shakib-al-Hasan,Eoin Morgan and Ryan ten Doeschate,national players of the calibre of Yusuf Pathan,Manoj Tiwary,Laxmipathy Balaji and Pradeep Sangwan fill up the ranks.Strength in the allrounder department also means strengthened chances in this format of the game.However,due to the coinciding ODI series between Australia and Bangladesh in Bangladesh from the 9th to 13th of April,KKR will not be able to avail the services of Brad Haddin,Brett Lee,Shakib-al-Hasan and James Pattinson in the first two matches,against the Chennai super Kings on 8th in Chennai and the Deccan Chargers on 11th in Kolkata.
Like everytime else,only a fool may strive to compare the strengths of the sides.Barring CSK and Mumbai Indians to some extent,every team that has featured in the earlier editions have undergone a thorough change in their core.The Indian Premier League is one hell of an unpredictable tournament.I remember,after the first ever auction in the League in 2008,the Deccan Chargers looked the strongest on paper before play ever began,closely followed by the Knights in public anticipation,even helped by the thunderous start they provided to the first season in Bangalore.But the tournament has had the habit of throwing up unlikely heroes and making ants of giants.The Rajasthan Royals,the most underestimated team before the first edition,ended up lifting the trophy for the first time under their illustrious coach-cum-captain,the legendary Shane Warne.Decaan Chargers finished last,only to emerge champions the next time.So,heed my advice,play your fantasy cricket steady and wise,and get ready for the 50 day long battle to make you dance to its excitement like never before.Enjoy!
The last 3 seasons have been utterly disappointing for us down here with our home favourite,Kolkata Knight Riders,failing to impress with their game.Rather they have been more in the news throughout for the never ending controversies revolving around the team,and for Shah Rukh Khan,its owner,of course.So,while KKR looked to start afresh releasing all its former players,each team having been provided the option of retaining four,a new debate was sparked off concerning whether it was right to to let go of their original icon player,Sourav Ganguly,who also captained the team in the 2008 and 2010 editions.
Controversies are plain fond of our favourite Dada,it seems.You must acknowledge the emotions associayed with Sourav in the heart of the average Bengali cricket fan.He almost represents the nearly extinct Bengali nationalism.Successful as KKR has been in their market strategy,a lot of the local demand can be credited to the status and prestige of the former Indian captain.We remember the resentment evoked when Sourav was scrapped off the captaincy before the 2009 season in South Africa as a result of the experimental team management theories of the then coach John Buchanan.His batting position was also toyed with throughout the entire edition.Last year,leadership was restored to his aegis and he led from the front in many occasions with the bat and in the field.He finished as the highest run getter for the Knights last year and fourth overall in the Orange Cap table after Sachin Tendulkar,Jacques Kallis and Suresh Raina.It is not difficult to comprehend the intensity of the furore created by Ganguly going unsold in the entire auction spanning two days.It was insulting indeed on two counts.The first of the brought upon by Dada himself.He was one of the two players to have augmented their base prices before the auction,the other being V V S Laxman.The latter was purchased by Kochi.The second one came in the very last minutes of the auction.After the business was supposedly over,the names of the few players unsold yet,who were shortlisted on requests from the representatives of the teams at the auction.Contrary to our hope,Sourav's name did not feature in the list.All set to be wrapped up,it was announced that one final call was to be made on an unsold player due to a last moment request.To our rude shock and jaw dropping disappointment,it was Mohammad Kaif,of all people,whose name came up and was even sold to Kings XI Punjab.
The KKR management was under severe attack from its home followers.There were strong hopes in the air that Dada's home team might include him in their plans.Thr rage threatened to rob the franchisee of its local fan following and Shah Rukh Khan the good wishes of his admirers.The 'King' Khan,as he is often called,had to publicly offer Sourav a role in the management,which was declined by the Prince of Kolkata.Lots of retrospective claims were made and reported.Arguments over the rationale of the total wipeout faced by Ganguly.It was not only a case of KKR 'ditching' him.If it were,well,I could give you a good many reasons in favour of KKr's strategy.Like perhaps the Knight Riders,despite acknowledging his contribution to the team in the last three years,are looking for more impact players with the bat in the side,with a more intimidating strike rate to flaunt.Or hunting for fresher legs.Or maybe the fact that Dada doesn't play enough competitive cricket any more went against him.(Of course,the same consideration holds true for stalwarts like Adam Gilchrist and Shane Warne,but they are still playing.)But a player of his standing failing to find favour with all the teams is a little too much to digest.Even when Kochi made efforts to make a post-auction purchase of Ganguly,Royal Challengers Bangalore vetoed it,ensuring he remained an untouchable.I have been forced to concede that various non-cricketing factors were at work which I am in no authority to dwell upon here.
Perhaps,it wouldn't have come to this if Sourav chose to retire from domestic twenty20 cricket,as I had remarked to many a friend when speculations were at peak if he'd feature in the future plans of KKR,after the decision was not taken not to retain him.If it was humiliating,it was enough by then.Anyways,as expected mass agitations were afoot after the auction,mostly through the social networking sites and SMS campaigns,so much so that many Sourav fans went on to endorse the 'No Dada,no KKR,no IPL' hardline.
With the World Cup in our hands now,most of it seems to have died out.The exalted people are now waiting to erupt in celebration with the crickentertainment bonanza.Cricket,we know,is a great unifying force for our nation.But the IPL has set an unmistakable opposite trend.Domestic cricket rivalry is a living reality today in India.We in Kolkata are now rooting for a refurbished team under the leadership of former Delhi DareDevils captain,Gautam Gambhir.A lot of thought seems to have been put into the composition of the side this time,unlike in 2008,when despite bagging a handful of foreign stars,they got the balance all wrong struggling to recruit good Indian players.This time,along with the likes of Jacques Kallis,Brad Haddin,Brett Lee,Shakib-al-Hasan,Eoin Morgan and Ryan ten Doeschate,national players of the calibre of Yusuf Pathan,Manoj Tiwary,Laxmipathy Balaji and Pradeep Sangwan fill up the ranks.Strength in the allrounder department also means strengthened chances in this format of the game.However,due to the coinciding ODI series between Australia and Bangladesh in Bangladesh from the 9th to 13th of April,KKR will not be able to avail the services of Brad Haddin,Brett Lee,Shakib-al-Hasan and James Pattinson in the first two matches,against the Chennai super Kings on 8th in Chennai and the Deccan Chargers on 11th in Kolkata.
Like everytime else,only a fool may strive to compare the strengths of the sides.Barring CSK and Mumbai Indians to some extent,every team that has featured in the earlier editions have undergone a thorough change in their core.The Indian Premier League is one hell of an unpredictable tournament.I remember,after the first ever auction in the League in 2008,the Deccan Chargers looked the strongest on paper before play ever began,closely followed by the Knights in public anticipation,even helped by the thunderous start they provided to the first season in Bangalore.But the tournament has had the habit of throwing up unlikely heroes and making ants of giants.The Rajasthan Royals,the most underestimated team before the first edition,ended up lifting the trophy for the first time under their illustrious coach-cum-captain,the legendary Shane Warne.Decaan Chargers finished last,only to emerge champions the next time.So,heed my advice,play your fantasy cricket steady and wise,and get ready for the 50 day long battle to make you dance to its excitement like never before.Enjoy!