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.

It would be harsh to say none, for they did get David Warner, Virender Sehwag and Paul Collingwood out, and these were the batsmen in form for the hosts. From here on, all you need is a couple more wickets and you would be chasing a sub-100 total when playing Delhi for their middle order is quite well known in the IPL circles for its weakness. Not anymore though it seems. The team think-tank, with Gautam Gambhir at its head, has found a new solution and balance for the team which allows Warner to open and Gambhir himself to anchor the innings later on.

In the last match against Kolkata Knight Riders, this task was performed by Collingwood as Warner blazed his way to a ton. This day was a bit different though as Gambhir first went about resurrecting the innings and then late on Dinesh Karthik peeled off the bowling in inimitable style. Rare are these days for the second-choice Indian stumper but when they do come, it is for every body to see why he was considered to be the best thing happening to Indian cricket before MS Dhoni came along.

That Karthik has grown as a player is sometimes hotly debated but if anything, there was indeed a moment in this game which would suggest that the critics have gotten it wrong. Going for a quick single, the bowler Warne back tracked right onto his way and there was a bit of touch and push moment. For a second one thought it was nothing and indeed it wasn’t. But expect the Australian players to get stuck in nevertheless and we had the Royals’ captain questioning Karthik on national television over an incident which didn’t really matter.

Or so we thought. Karthik unleashed an array of shots straight from the belligerent book, comfortably taking Delhi past 160 and then even above 180. Once that had transpired it was clear to every one who would be the most important Rajasthan batsman to walk in. Gambhir confessed as much in his post-match briefing when he said that they only feared Yusuf Pathan and no one else. Pathan did walk in to bat but only after four wickets had gone down and that is not the ideal way to chase a target when over nine runs an over are required from the start.

Now that the return leg of the tournament is under way, where do the teams go from here? Delhi are looking more fearless by the day and that can happen when all your jigsaw pieces start to fit and you only need to fear one player in the opposition. Quite clearly this might be the time for them to go on a little run and get into the semis. For Rajasthan though the task is a little edgier for they know they can be pulled back easily by any more such mid-table teams. And there are three out there – Deccan Chargers, Kolkata Knight Riders and Chennai Super Kings – all boasting atleast more than one player whom the opposition ought to fear.

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

Rajasthan Royals chose to bat but got off to the worst possible start as opener Michael Lumb was out first ball to Ashok Dinda. New Zealand pace bowler Shane Bond dismissed Faiz Fazal for 31 (23 balls). Naman Ojha (27 off 18 balls), who gave the momentum to the Rajasthan Royals, was run out going for a risky second run. Dinda brought back for his second spell bounced out Yusuf Pathan who pulled it straight to mid-wicket fielder for 15. However, Abhishek Jhunjhunwala (45, 36 balls, 5×4) and Adam Vogues (37; 22 balls, 2z4, 2×6) batted aggressively to take the Rajasthan Royals to 168 for seven. Rajasthan Royals lost three wickets for two runs but Vogues struck some lusty blows in the end overs.

Defending 168 runs, Rajasthan Royals bowled tight and fielded hard to restrict the Kolkata Knight Riders to 134/5 in 20 overs.  They executed their plans to perfection and Warne made some inspiring bowling changes as the Kolkata Knight Riders could never get the momentum going as their batting fell apart. Skipper Sourav Ganguly made a valiant 29-ball 33.

After losing their first two matches, the Shane Warne led Rajasthan Royals had their best match in this year’s campaign while the Kolkata Knight Riders succumbed to their second successive defeat.

Match report courtesy Adfactors PR.

Praveen Kumar’s hat-trick came in the 17^th over of the innings. The swing bowler’s first victim was Damien Martyn (bowled), debutant Sumit Narwal (caught in the deep) and Paras Dogra (bowled) with his second, third and fourth deliveries of his third over. This was the seventh hat-trick of the three-year-old IPL tournament.

Earlier, put into bat, Rajasthan batsmen struggled as Dale Steyn, Praveen Kumar, Vinay Kumar and Kallis contained the openers Naman Ojha and Lumb, scoring just 27 runs in five overs.  Rajasthan Royals had the slowest start of the tournament so far, scoring 45/3 in 10 overs.  The big-hitting Yusuf Pathan broke free by clubbing Vinay Kumar for two sixes in the 12^th over. But he was back in the pavilion, run out for a 24-ball 26 as Kohli broke the stumps with a brilliant throw from covers. Martyn (19 off 24 balls), who was a pale shadow of his playing days, got his first boundary after 22 deliveries but was yorked the next ball by Praveen Kumar who then completed his hat-trick.

Orange Cap  holder and man-of-the-match Jacques Kallis (44 not out, 34 balls, 7×4), the tournament’s highest run-getter with198 runs, and Manish Pandey (42 not out, 30 balls, 7×4, 1×6) completed the formalities with 56 balls to spare.  Bangalore Royal Challengers have chalked up their second successive win while Shane Warne-led Rajasthan Royals tumbled to their third defeat on the trot.

Match report courtesy Adfactors PR.

Virender Sehwag (34-ball 75; 8×4, 5×6) powered Delhi Daredevils to a six-wicket victory over the Rajasthan Royals in Match 6 of the IPL 2010 on Monday.

Gautam Gambhir’s decision to bowl first was justified as Rajasthan Royals nosedived to 50 for four by the ninth over. Openers Swapnil Asnodkar and South African captain Graeme Smith had started well before Asnodkar was out to left-arm seamer Dirk Nannes. Naman Ojha then struck four fours and one six in his 14-ball 24 but was bowled by leg-spinner Amit Mishra.  Yusuf Pathan, who scored the fastest century in the three years of IPL against Mumbai Indians, lasted only five balls and was out for a duck in a huge blow to Rajasthan Royals.When Graeme Smith too departed, the writing was on the wall for the Rajasthan Royals.  Abhishek Jhunjhunwala (45-ball 53 not out) and Paras Dogra (29 off 26 balls) with a 60-run stand too Rajasthan Royals to a respectable total.

Delhi Daredevils however chased down the modest target of 142 in 17.1 overs. England medium-pacer Dimitri Mascarenhas’ double strike in the fourth over when he dismissed Delhi Daredevils’ skipper Gautam Gamhir (9) and TM Dilshan (0) raised hopes for Rajasthan. Mascarenhas could have had Sehwag when the batsman was on 41 but Shaun Tait failed to hold a skier at short fine leg. Sehwag capitalised on the costly lapse as the Indian opener smashed left-arm seamer A Uniyal for a 6, 4, 6 in the next over. Sehwag reached his 50 in 21 balls before getting out to a stunning catch by Graeme Smith.

This was Delhi Daredevils’ second successive win. Rajasthan Royals, IPL Champions in 2008, on the other hand suffered their second consecutive loss.

Match report courtesy Adfactors PR.

The other day on Twitter I came across the channel’s marketing VP’s (don’t remember her name!) tweet that they had a surprise in their line-up. I thought Mandira Bedi was going back to wearing sarees – with noodle straps of course. But now that it has come to light, no one can trump up our Member of Parliament Mr. Siddhu. The hosts on MAX should ask Siddhu his views on the Women’s Reservation Bill as well, while they are at it!

Lalit Modi’s ceremonial opening day speech rested on the banal and frankly does anyone care? By the time he stopped talking, everyone I know wanted to see the action unfold. And when it did, I thought Adam Gilchrist made a blunder not batting first. It is all very fine knowing what target to chase but this is the first day of the tournament and you are the champions. Dude, make a statement! After all they were up against last year’s hapless side – Kolkata Knight Riders.

It so happened that the statement came from the Shah Rukh Khan camp. Rather one should call it the ‘Sourav Ganguly camp’. The match see-sawed for the first thirty overs and both teams looked like wanting to gift the other a win. But when it came down to the last ten overs, suddenly Ganguly was seen frantically making changes, bowling and fielding ones, and they brought him results. You could see he was pumped up and had decided late that he wanted the win, badly.

Probably that was the difference between the two sides today and that can happen when one of the teams has had a previously bad enough season. This opening match takes me to last year’s opening game where Bangalore Royal Challengers beat 2008 champions Rajasthan Royals. Bangalore came through thanks to Anil Kumble’s intensity who picked up five wickets in that T20 game, yes! When you see guys like Kumble and Ganguly perform with their fire of old despite having retired from the international game, then you know watching the travesty that is IPL has turned out to be productive.

On a different note, I experienced my first on-air “cricket expert gig” with Radio One 94.3 today (12th March). It felt good to be talking cricket when you know more than one person might be listening in. The hilariously good part was the alias assigned to me, Dr. IPL! The bad part I would say was that the bites were too small, four of them stretched not more than two to three minutes each spread across one hour of programming. I would have loved to keep talking cricket incessantly but it is a music channel first and foremost. The best part is there are 45 more days to go yet!

Squad: Shane Warne (captain), Swapnil Asnodkar, Johan Botha, Faiz Fazal, Abhishek Jhunjhunwala, Kamran Khan, Michael Lumb, Damien Martyn, Dimitri Mascarenhas, Morne Morkel, Sumit Narwal, Naman Ojha, Munaf Patel, Yusuf Pathan, Amit Paunikar, Syed Ahmed Quadri, Abhishek Raut, Amit Singh, Graeme Smith, Shaun Tait, Siddharth Trivedi, Shrikant Wagh.

Strengths & Weaknesses:

The return to home conditions this third season of the IPL will surely play to their strengths once again. Shane Warne is a shrewd man and he will know that the confidence he inspired in his team two seasons ago was mostly down to the same reason. Now that they are back, all he needs to do is revise his pep talks from 2008 and get the adrenaline pumping again. Only this time he can add to it by saying that the title that was theirs has been taken away.

It is a side that has a lot riding on its foreign players. But that is true for any side in the IPL. What stands them apart is the fact that they need their young guns to fire if they are to do well. And that is a heavy ask if they cannot find any form. But that shouldn’t really be a problem for they have endured a hard domestic season and are more or less aware of where they stand. T20 should help them feed off their learning and it could be an event to watch out for the youngsters from Rajasthan.

The other highlight would be two Australian players in the side apart from Warne. Damien Martyn and Shaun Tait will return to high profile action after considerable time. Martyn is indeed a good purchase for the side for they let go off Mohammad Kaif. The former Australia middle order batsman can pace the innings and at the same time attack the bowling with flair. The only question remains is whether he will be able to bring it to the table?

We know Shaun Tait will. He has been in stupendous from this past season, especially in the KFC T20 Bash, and has even managed to return back to the national fold thanks to that. In 2008, Shane Watson benefited from playing under Warne and his international career just shot from there. This could be Tait’s year.

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