The good and the bad of the IPL – Teams at the Indian Premier League

Posted on February 29th, 2008 by Harsh

For the past fortnight or so, every news channel has taken a lot of air time, and every newspaper and magazine considerable print space to telecast and write their take on the Indian Premier League. The IPL is perhaps the most glamorous and talked-about event of 2008 in India. The marriage of Bollywood and cricket, the two most crowd-pulling entities in the sub-continent, has created waves and made every cricket enthusiast and non-enthusiast sit and take notice.

Now that the much publicized auction and bidding process is over, everyone is looking forward to the real action – that is on the field. I must admit that the clashes really excite me. The pattern and format is akin to that exists in the western countries. The EPL, NFL and NBA are very similar. The club culture is not new to India; it has existed for decades in football and every club has its own set of loyal fans. I don’t see that kind of culture coming up instantly in India, but I won’t be surprised to see it emerge in a few years from now. I am sure many of my local friends will be rooting for Delhi. Isn’t it tempting to see Shoaib and Sharma ball in tandem, and Jayasurya and Tendulkar open batting for Mumbai?

All said and done, now I am keener on analyzing the teams. I have seen very little common sense from the bidders, especially seeing Ricky Ponting going for a paltry USD 215,000 to Kolkata. I consider that a steal, since I see Ponting as the most valuable player in the last five years or so. He deserved more money and respect. Shane Wane for USD 450 K? For what? What will a 38-year-old ageing leg spinner add to the team, and that too on a soil where most players don’t even care for his reputation. If you look at someone like Gilchrist at USD 700K, it still makes sense because he is still one of the most dreaded batsmen in the world, and an A-list wicketkeeper. Dhoni, on the other hand, adds more value than Gilchrest because he is younger and also has shrewd captaincy skills.

I don’t quite understand the logic of having Dada, Tendulkar and Dravid in the IPL. If two of them are not good enuf to play to the ODIs, and too old to play T20, then why the hell do we have them here? For the moolah, I believe, and also considering the fact that they still guarantee crowd. With dada in Kolkata team, I am sure no seat will be vacant in Kolkata.

The Teams

Kolkata

Looking at the teams, I think SRK, the badshah of Bollywood, has got a steal here. He has an excellent team in Kolkata, which is balanced and has all the elements to win the tournament. Ishant and Shoaib, leading the attack are fast and furious, and you need pace in these slow sub-continent wickets to keep the batsmen on their toes. They also have an excellent wicketkeeper-batsman in McCullum. I am a big fan of McCullum and I think he is very close to Dhoni and Gilchrist when it comes to playing swashbuckling shots. To have a balance between spin and pace, they have Murali Karthik. The batting does not look bad either. Chris Gayle, Ricky Ponting and Ganguly have the reputation of being the big hitters and can take the game away. Don’t forget what Gayle did in the opening match of T20 world cup, hitting 10 sixes against SA.

Sourav Ganguly (capt)
Ishant Sharma (Ind): US$950,000
Chris Gayle (WI): $800,000
Brendon McCullum (NZ): $700,000
David Hussey (Aus): $625,000
Murali Karthik (Ind): $425,000
Shoaib Akhtar (Pak): $425,000
Ricky Ponting (Aus): $400,000
Ajit Agarkar (Ind): $350,000
Umar Gul (Pak) $150,000
Tatenda Taibu (Zim) $125,000

Mohali

Next up, I think Mohali, owned by Preity Zinta and industrialist Ness Wadia, makes an interesting squad. Yuvraj is the real cog in the wheel there. He is a proven T20 specialist, and his histrionics will be one to watch out for. Two of the most valuable ODI players in Brett Lee and Irfan Pathan lend balance to the team. Sangakkara gives solidity to the top order and is a safe bet behind the stumps – he is worth every bit of USD 700,000. Except Yuvraj and Sanga the batting seems very fragile to me. Sarwan and Jayawardene are inconsistent, and Katich does not really seem to be a complete batsman.

Yuvraj Singh (capt)
Irfan Pathan (Ind): $925,000
Brett Lee (Aus): $900,000
Kumar Sangakkara (SL): $700,000
Sree Santh (Ind): $625,000
Mahela Jayawardene (SL): $475,000
Piyush Chawla (Ind): $400,000
Ramnaresh Sarwan (WI) $225,000
Simon Katich (Aus) $200,000
Romesh Powar (Ind): $170,000

Chennai

Chennai are the dark horses. It is a blend of experience and youth. Dhoni is a safe bet behind the stumps and a solid middle order bat who can play with the top order and manage the tail. He also has tons of experience of the shortest format of the game. Batting looks strong and exciting – Hussey, Raina, Hayden, Fleming, Oram are devastating and reliable. It is the bowling which I think can go for runs. Muralitharan, okay is with them, but he can go for runs. Ntini, Joginder and Morkel can be taken apart, we know that. But their bat battery can win games for them.

Mahendra Singh Dhoni (Ind): $1.5 million
Jacob Oram (NZ): $675,000
Albie Morkel (SA): $675,000
Suresh Raina (Ind) $650,000
Muttiah Muralitharan (SL): $600,000
Matthew Hayden (Aus): $375,000
Stephen Fleming (NZ) $350,000
Mike Hussey (Aus) $350,000
Parthiv Patel (Ind) $325,000
Joginder Sharma (Ind) $225,000
Makhaya Ntini (SA) $200,000

Bangalore

Dr. Vijaty Mallya is unarguably the most flamboyant industrialist in India, and is also known to be a shrewd strategist. He has clearly gone for experience and some cheap players who will either fire or be smoked away. Kallis, Dravid, Jaffer, Chanderpaul – who wants to see them in T20? I don’t, at least. Bowling is reliable still – Zaheer Khan, Kumble and Steyn can bowl well when in rhythm, but not consistent all the time. When chasing low totals, Bangalore can be winners, but T20 is fast-paced. You don’t have to play out 10 days, Mr Mallya. I won’t bet on them, unless I want to find out the quickest way of losing whatever money I have.

Jacques Kallis (SA): $ 900,000
Anil Kumble (Ind): $500,000
Cameron White (Aus): $500,000
Zaheer Khan (Ind): $450,000
Mark Boucher (SA): $450,000
Nathan Bracken (Aus): $325,000
Dale Steyn (SA): $325,000
Shivnarine Chanderpaul (WI) $200,000
Wasim Jaffer (Ind): $150,000

Delhi

Sadi Dilli makes a good semi-finalist but is a notch below Kolkata and Mohali. The bowling attack’s tight. Mohammed Asif and McGrath won’t even give an inch away. Maharoof bowls a tight line as well. Vettori is very clever too. I see that as perhaps the strongest attack in the IPL. But the batting lacks the same sharpness. Gambhir has proved his mettle in Australia and will be good on his home soil. Dinesh Karthik ain’t too exciting and did not deserve a bit of USD 525K. Shoaib Malik and de Villiers are decent bats but not threatening. A good semi-finalists, as I said, but will need to play out of their skins, if they are to go beyond the knockout stage.

Virender Sehwag (capt)
Gautam Gambhir (Ind) $725,000
Manoj Tiwary (Ind): $675,000
Mohammad Asif (Pak): $650,000
Daniel Vettori (NZ): $625,000
Dinesh Karthik (Ind): $525,000
Shoaib Malik (Pak): $500,000
Glenn McGrath (Aus): $350,000
AB de Villiers (SA): $300,000
Tillekeratne Dilshan (SL): $250,000
Farveez Maharoof (SL): $225,000

Hyderabad

The Land of Nizams has the player Indians love to hate the most – Andrew Symonds. But he is worth every cent. The batting line-up of Hyderabad is most exciting of the league – Symonds, Gibbs, Gilchrist, Sharma, Afridi, Styris. And if they fire together, boy! Then we have a game that will be worth watching for the next ten years! Don’t take the bowling lightly. Zoysa, RP Singh, Styris are nippy, and Symonds and Afridi can sneak in useful overs as well. It is a team to watch out for and one of the favorite finalists. It is a good fielding side as well – Symonds and Gibbs are two of the best five in the world.

Andrew Symonds (Aus): $1.35m
RP Singh (Ind): $875,000
Rohit Sharma (Ind) $750,000
Adam Gilchrist (Aus): $700,000
Shahid Afridi (Pak): $675,000
Herschelle Gibbs (SA): $575,000
VVS Laxman (Ind): $375,000
Chaminda Vaas (SL) $200,000
Scott Styris (NZ): $175,000
Nuwan Zoysa (SL): $110,000
Chamara Silva (SL): US$100,000

Jaipur

The Jaipur squad is as boring as the city is exciting. I don’t even feel like writing about them. What’s Warne doing there? I heard he is also their coach. Kaif, Smith, Yusuf, Patel, Khan, Langer – I wud rather watch a bear dance on the streets outside the City Palace! One of the poorest teams. I can only see them being bashed by other squads.

Mohammad Kaif (Ind) $675,000
Graeme Smith (SA): $475,000
Yusuf Pathan (Ind): $475,000
Shane Warne (Aus): $450,000
Munaf Patel (Ind): $275,000
Younis Khan (Pak): $225,000
Justin Langer (Aus) $200,000
Kamran Akmal (Pak): $150,000

Mumbai

Aamchi Mumbai has India’s greatest jewel, Tendulkar. He hasn’t played a T20 till date, but can be as dangerous as anyone. He and his opening partner Jayasurya can take a game away in the first five overs. Uthappa, Pollock, Bosman are to follow and can do a good job. But the problem for Mumbai will be when the top crumbles. Bowling doesn’t look too exciting too – Pollock is not the best of T20 bowlers, and Malinga is erratic too often. Harbhajan may be good in some games but lacks the sharpness. I don’t see them making it to the semis. Let me tell you, Mumbai is the most expensive team in the IPL at USD 111.9 m and is owned by RIL – Mukesth, I expected you to do better!

Sachin Tendulkar (capt)
Sanath Jayasuriya (SL): $975,000
Harbhajan Singh (Ind): $850,000
Robin Uthappa (Ind): $800,000
Shaun Pollock (SA): $550,000
Lasith Malinga (SL) $350,000
Dilhara Fernando (SL) $150,000
Loots Bosman (SA) $150,000

P.S: I read somewhere that there are rumors of Misbah joining Kolkata. If that’s true, then they are my second finalists, and also favorites to win the INR 3 Cr Trophy.