Amongst them will possibly be Sourav Ganguly, who hasn’t made a decision yet, if he will keep on playing in the IPL- atleast that is the official line! Ask Sanjay Manjrekar of the situation and he will come out with the famous ‘elephant in the room’ remark of his and as compared to the previous occasion, this time it will be quite apt. Now before all Dada fans start kicking their computer screens, consider the big headache in front of his team owner, or for that matter, any of the eight team owners who have this power of retaining their favourite and/or best players.

A purse of nine million USD to assemble a thirty-man squad for the next two seasons has been afforded to all parties involved. If the eight existing teams do exercise their right of retaining players, then for the first player a fee of 1.8 million will be cut from their purse, irrespective of player fees agreed. The second player will cost 1.3 million, a third 900,000 USD and the fourth 500,000 USD, which is the cap – no team can retain more than four players with a maximum three Indians and two overseas ones. This in turn means if four players are retained by any franchise, they would have to pick the rest of the 26 names with a purse of only 4.5 million will be available to them. Does that sound like good business or good team balance to you?

The Indian Premier League is after all a business and a most result-oriented one that we have seen for sometime in Indian sport. With the kind of money invested in buying the franchises, building teams and a brand name, they would want a good shot at glory – and the prize money – to have a decent return to show for their investment. Spending half your money on just four players isn’t the kind of venturing many would want to indulge in, yet there are names around that seem to be priceless, or there about.

Would Mukesh Ambani not want to retain Sachin Tendulkar for his Mumbai Indians team? Can you even imagine Sachin playing for any other team? Maybe MS Dhoni can be pictured in a different jersey than the canary yellow of Chennai Super Kings. But he is the biggest draw in Indian cricket today, as per the number of ads he is doing, so can India Cements really bear to lose him? There are others in the same mould, without whom their teams might have achieved less in the last three years; Jacques Kallis for Bangalore, Shane Warne for Rajasthan Royals and Virender Sehwag for Delhi, though one has to say they are not as sure-shot deals to go through in comparison to the two names prior.

There are others to consider; Kings XI are in a fix whether or not to sell their franchise, and if not that, then it must be whether or not to retain Yuvraj Singh. While even a blind cricket fan will tell you that VVS Laxman will possibly miss the cut at Deccan Chargers, the likes of Herschelle Gibbs, Andrew Symonds and Adam Gilchrist haven’t exactly become indispensable either. Of course the less said about Kolkata Knight Riders, the better. Point is retaining a player merits an argument based on either of the three – ability to win matches, brand image and sentimental value. It is indeed tough to find a lot of players – starry ones or otherwise – who would fall in this intersection. But the big question is, even if players fulfil one criterion, is it worth 1.8 million USD and so on?

Records suggest that no player has been consistent across all three seasons of the IPL. Stars ate dust in the first season when youngsters rose to prominence and then the roles were reversed in South Africa in the second season. In 2010, it was a fine balance between the two. About the branding part, there is just so much sponsorship and marketing associated with this game in India and in particular the variety of cricket associated with IPL, that getting new faces to sell everything from apparel to face-creams to motorcycles to pain relievers, won’t be a big problem. The big conundrum is regarding the sentiments of the Indian masses and if history is anything to go by, they should not be messed with.

And therein is the problem for Mr.SRK. Just as Sachin cannot be fathomed playing against Mumbai in Mumbai, can anyone imagine Ganguly turning up against KKR? While the first could happen ideally speaking – although the chances of that transpiring are about as bright as the world ending in 2012 – the second is more likely a possibility. When the Kolkata team owner sits down to evaluate his options, will he go with a near-forty year old who doesn’t play cricket around the year but can fill the Eden Gardens to the brim? If he does so, won’t that entice him to loosen up his purse strings a bit more and keep someone like Chris Gayle or Brendon McCullum as well? How about either of them instead of Ganguly?

The bottom line is not to pick on any one team’s plight, but to highlight the calculations which will keep the franchise honchos awake till the very night before the auction, and quite well, during the bidding process as well. This is where they will earn their pay or lose their jobs, like after the first season – anyone remember the dirty linen washed in public by Vijay Mallya? The new rules have allowed for a lot of permutations and combinations which will shake things up a bit and lead to quite a few interesting battles on the pitch next fall. And that is indeed needed, after the mess one Lalit Modi has left behind!

This article was first published at www.dreamcricket.com.

Aussie speedster Brett Lee played his first match. But he was hit for three fours in his first over by West Indies captain Chris Gayle. Kings XI Punjab tasted success in the third over when Gayle was dismissed. It was 45/2 with young Hardeep Singh being held at mid-on. Ganguly and Tiwary resurrected Kolkata Knight Riders innings with a 79-run stand for the third wicket. Ganguly completed his half century but was out at the same score, spooning a catch to long off. Leg spinner Piyush Chawla, who has been selected for the World Twenty20 championship, bagged the wicket of Australia hard-hitting batsman David Hussey, who was beaten in the flight to be bowled. Kings XI Punjab looked liked containing the Kolkata Knight Riders for a below 150 target. But Tiwary changed the script with his lusty hitting in the last two overs.

When Kings XI Punjab began the chase, Yuvraj Singh came out to open with Ravi Bopara. But Kiwi Shane Bond struck with the second ball of the innings to claim England opener Ravi Bopara. Yuvraj Singh (24 off 16 balls) struck three fours and one six before he was brilliantly caught by Manoj Tiwary at deep mid-wicket off Ajit Agarkar. The former Indian medium pacer claimed his second wicket and this time David Hussey held a low catch at mid-off to dismiss Manvinder Bisla. Playing in his first match, Agarkar captured two wickets in two overs.  Mahela Jayawardene (16)  fell to a poor shot to be bowled by his Lanka team mate Angelo Mathews. Skipper Kumar Sangakarra followed his former Lankan skipper, stumped while playing a clumsy pull shot for 30, and Kolkata Knight Riders were on course for victory.

Match report courtesy Adfactors PR.

Now the match may seem enthralling to most people but simply speaking, it was a continuation of Kings’ poor run while Chennai stooped to that low level after a super win over Delhi Daredevils. Sample this: it was another one in the line of failures from the Mohali team. In their four matches, only once did their batting fire collectively and that too they lost to Bangalore. But the remaining three games, only one or two batsmen fire and they end up some thirty runs short everytime. Thanks to Irfan Pathan continuing his rich vein of form and Yuvraj Singh looking like scoring some runs for the first time in this year’s tournament, they ended at 136. Leave aside for the moment that Albie Morkel and Muralitharan bowled decently well for Chennai, since when is a sub-140 score competitive in T20 cricket?

Then, one isn’t too sure how many expected Kings XI to make a match out of it. To their discredit, Chennai Super Kings failed to score 137 in 20 overs – a cakewalk on any other day – faced upto a has been off-spinner and a jet-lagged unknown South African import. It burns my heart to speak in this manner of the efforts of Romesh Powar and Juan Theron, but one is being honest here. It was more Suresh Raina’s team goofing up than Kings XI bowling too well.

As if this mediocrity wasn’t enough, there came the Super Over. Yes, he mauled Delhi with his mongoose bat but seriously speaking, isn’t Mathew Hayden effective enough with the regular bat? A mere ten runs were needed and the moment that Murali stepped up to bowl for Chennai, Kings had won it. Despite the Lankan great’s credentials, doesn’t it occur to any one that hitting out a spinner is far easier than playing a medium pacer in this situation? Last year, Yusuf Pathan thrashed Ajantha Mendis in similar fashion. A spinner bowls at more or less the same speed while the latter can alter length and pace, and fox the batsmen. If Albie Morkel had bowled that one over, Chennai might have won. Period!

Reading back the last three paragraphs, one isn’t convinced at all about whatever Mr. Modi says!

Deccan Chargers skipper Adam Gilchrist slammed a 12-ball 33 hitting two sixes off Sreesanth 51 runs today. But Gilchrist’s innings was cut short when he top edged left-arm seamer Shalabh Srivastava and was caught at short mid-wicket by Jayawardene. Deccan Chargers suffered a setback when VVS Laxman got injured in a strange circumstance when Srivastava threw the ball wildly from mid-on that got Laxman’s forearm. The batsman had to retire hurt for 10.  Although Rohit Sharma (run out) and left-hander Anirudh Singh were out cheaply, Herschelle Gibbs made a 23-ball 23, Andrew Symonds struck his second successive half century (38-ball 53) and T Suman played a cameo knock of 26 (22 balls) as Decccan Chargers reached 170/7.

Kings XI Punjab were off to a disastrous start as purple cap holder left-arm seamer Chaminda Vaas swung the ball late and captured two top order wickets (Kumar Sangakkara and Yuvraj Singh) as MS Bisla was run out to have Punjab reeling at 22 for 3 in the fifth over. Ravi Bopara, Kings XI Punjab’s main run-getter, could score only a 32-ball 38 before he was caught in the deep of off-spinnner Rohit Sharma. West Indian opener Adrian Barath, on his IPL debut, made only seven before falling to local hero Pragyan Ojha. However, it was left-hander Irfan Pathan (60 off 29 balls) who fought a lonely battle to create some element of hope for the Kings XI Punjab with his lusty hitting. Pathan took the match to the last over. But his fine rearguard innings ended when the surprise last over choice bowler Jaskaran Singh had him caught at deep mid-wicket. The twentieth over that Jaskaran bowled was incidentally his first of the game.

Kings XI Punjab have so far lost all their first three matches while Deccan Chargers have finally notched a home victory in three seasons of IPL.

Match report courtesy Adfactors PR.

Nevertheless I did find one at 8 pm sharp, the same time the first ball was bowled. From then on it was a matter of walking the distance of three-and-a-half kilometers in the swarm of fans looking for tickets, clueless policemen and chaotic traffic. By the time I stumbled into the box, Sanath Jayasuriya was out and Sachin Tendulkar had already made half of his 63 runs. Nevertheless it was a pleasure watching from then on.

The first thing I looked out for was the pitch. Kotla’s reputation in that regard has taken a hit. Personally I want the square to be well maintained and the ODI World Cup matches to be held here for a visit to the press-box next year would be even more of a topic to write upon. Any negative thoughts I had about that happening were quickly allayed as Saurabh Tiwary launched into the Delhi bowling.

It is utterly ridiculous when a team racks up 200 runs in T20 cricket two matches running and that too without Sanath Jayasuriya firing. One is not sure how many of the six remaining attacks would want to bowl at them now, least of all Kings XI and Rajasthan Royals. Let’s face it – the former have already been squished by Bangalore Royal Challengers and if they suffer once more like that, Preity Zinta will go mad. And with the current form that Rajasthan are showing, three losses in three matches at the time of writing, Shilpa Shetty surely doesn’t need another reason to go crazy.

The only Bollywood star screaming out his lungs at the moment must be Shah Rukh Khan. Kolkata Knight Riders have made a start that stands them better than the last two years and there is reason for optimism for Chris Gayle and Brendon McCullum haven’t faced a ball yet. For them, it can only get better from here.

Openers Manvinder Bisla and Ravi Bopara put on a 129-run opening stand for the Kings XI Punjab in 14.1 overs, which helped the post an imposing 203/3 in 20 overs. Bisla batted aggressively for his 51-ball 75 (7×4, 1×6), before he was finally in the deep off Kallis.  Bopara too batted confidently to record his second successive 50 in the tournament. He played some audacious shots in his 50-ball 77 (9×4, 2×6) and was dismissed only in the last over.  Left-hander Yuvraj Singh was sent back cheaply for 9 while Mahela Jayawardene was brilliant in the end, scoring a 13-ball 26.

Man-of-the-match Kallis and Manish Pandey (38 off 26 balls) gave the Royal Challengers Bangalore a solid start, sharing a 74 run opening partnership in 8.1 overs. The dominant Robin Uthappa was later severe on medium-pacer Sreesanth taking 25 runs with three sixes and one four racing to his 50. Uthappa though fell soon after with debutant left-arm spinner Bipul Sharma taking his prized wicket. Kallis and Uthappa had by then added 69 runs for the second wicket. But thereafter Kallis went on a rampage in Sharma’s third over. He struck three sixes and one four as the inexperienced bowler went for 23 runs in the crucial 18^th over.

Uthappa missed the distinction of hitting the fastest half-century by two balls which is still in the name of Adam Gilchrist of Deccan Chargers (50 off 17 balls). Incidentally this was Bangalore Royal Challengers’ first win, while the Kings XI Punjab are now staring down the barrel after their second successive loss in two matches.

Match report courtesy Adfactors PR.

Squad: Kumar Sangakkara (captain & wicket-keeper), Yusuf Abdulla, Love Ablish, Adrian Barath, Manvinder Bisla, Ravi Bopara, Piyush Chawla, Karan Goel, James Hopes, Mahela Jayawardene, Mohammad Kaif, Brett Lee, Vikramjeet Malik, Shaun Marsh, Irfan Pathan, Ramesh Powar, Bipul Sharma, Reetinder Singh Sodhi, Amanpreet Singh, Yuvraj Singh, S. Sreesanth, Shalabh Srivastava, Tanmay Srivastava.

Strengths & Weaknesses:

One of the biggest debating points for the team was the captaincy of Yuvraj Singh. Amongst the eight franchises, probably this was the only team wherein the skipper wasn’t actually in the scheme of things to lead his county. Seen from a different point of view, that is a weakness for captaincy is an art just like batting or bowling, and you need to practice that a bit as well.

This year Kumar Sangakkara takes over the reigns making it the fifth team in the fray to have a foreign player as captain. For the point discussed above, this is a very good thing. They will have some one with experience in T20 cricket as to how to lead the troops on the field when push comes to shove.

Also as compared to the last season, when they had to make do for long without their foreign players, this time quite a few of them will be available plus injury concerns seem not to be an issue either. A full squad for a competition this long is always desirable and the owners’ prayers seem to have been answered for once.

They haven’t made any big purchases in the off-season but a low key one – that of Mohammad Kaif and he alone is the reason for cheer. As a T20 player, Kaif won’t find many takers but the players who know him will tell that he is a complete player. One feels that Rajasthan Royals made a mistake letting him go in South Africa last year just as they have done this year and their loss will be Punjab’s gain. He will play the anchor role in the middle order which is fast becoming increasingly important in T20 cricket as well and will allow the batsmen around him to play shots at will. His inclusion will also mean that the combination of four foreign players to be chosen can be tinkered around with as per the requirements. Any team that affords this sort of balance is a fantastic prospect.

Note: This is an extract from the Kings XI Punjab preview first published at www.cricketworld.com. To read the full article, click here.