Indian Premier League - General Discussion

[Bigby Wolf]

People hating us winning back to back titles never did it in 2010-11...

Well its not actually hating people just want a fight or a new champion so that it doesn't get banal every year.

The feeling is reminiscent to days when the great Australia ODI team used to dominant and win the World cups.

 

[SaiSrini]

What a tournament this was!! Heartbreaks, entertainment and deja vu, everything in full measure!! To hold a tournament like this in the midst of the pandemic with only one team suffering from COVID cases (and that played a big part in my heartbreak this season), was SPECTACULAR. And honestly the crowds werent missed because the atmosphere mimicked the crowd noises and did a superb job at it. And the quality of cricket was exceptional.

Mumbai are well deserved winners for the terrifying oiled machine that they have built up over years. If this team has been brought down, the mega auction is where other teams need to prepare better strategies to counter MI (cant blame the Ambani's as acc to IPL rules, MI can only buy players with a fixed amount of purse money that all other franchises have).

 

[LiveLoveABD]

Got to love these "experts" and analysts who are calling this the greatest team of all time (T20).

The franchise has zero history prior to the IPL. India Cements has 50 years. CSK has qualified every time but one, god knows how many finals they have played and a run here and there in the previous IPL would have meant 4 titles each. It's just how quick we have become as a country and frankly as a race on this planet where we only see numbers to pass judgements.

To put my argument in perspective, because that's the only way to make India's public and analysts understand- Pakistan has an overall better head to head against India but there has been NO cricket at a time India has been aeons ahead of them as a cricket team and any reasonable person would say that the numbers would be tilted in our favour as on date if not for the political situation.

Mumbai are simply a very professional outfit now and Rohit doesn't get nearly enough credit for it (in comparison to MSD) and this comes from a die hard MSD fan. Are they one of the greatest franchises and T20 cricket teams in the 15 odd years T20 has lived? Absolutely. Are they the outright greatest? I think there's a valid argument that they are up there but might not be so.

 

[AliB]

Got to love these "experts" and analysts who are calling this the greatest team of all time (T20).

The franchise has zero history prior to the IPL. India Cements has 50 years. CSK has qualified every time but one, god knows how many finals they have played and a run here and there in the previous IPL would have meant 4 titles each. It's just how quick we have become as a country and frankly as a race on this planet where we only see numbers to pass judgements.

To put my argument in perspective, because that's the only way to make India's public and analysts understand- Pakistan has an overall better head to head against India but there has been NO cricket at a time India has been aeons ahead of them as a cricket team and any reasonable person would say that the numbers would be tilted in our favour as on date if not for the political situation.

Mumbai are simply a very professional outfit now and Rohit doesn't get nearly enough credit for it (in comparison to MSD) and this comes from a die hard MSD fan. Are they one of the greatest franchises and T20 cricket teams in the 15 odd years T20 has lived? Absolutely. Are they the outright greatest? I think there's a valid argument that they are up there but might not be so.

On the contrary, I'd say CSK managed to reach almost every final but their inability to close tournaments might be a huge factor here. Arguably they've been the most consistent side barring finals imo.

 

[SaiSrini]

To me, India's T20 World Cup performance next year should seriously decide who should be the Indian captain going forward. I mean, the IPL is such a big beast in India that is influencing test cricket selections (though thats ridiculous!). Nothing less than a title win should allow Kohli to retain his captaincy. If he manages to take India to a title win in 2021, he keeps his T20I captaincy. If not, it is time Rohit Sharma captains India in T20I's. Rohit is not young right now, and he is truly far superior to Kohli in terms of captaincy (even after taking into account the extremely hard working MI backroom management in assembling the right squad and getting them in the right place to perform).

Let Kohli play as a batsman in T20 cricket while Rohit captains the side. Who knows, Kohli might flip up his batting another level in that case.

 

[LiveLoveABD]

To me, India's T20 World Cup performance next year should seriously decide who should be the Indian captain going forward. I mean, the IPL is such a big beast in India that is influencing test cricket selections (though thats ridiculous!). Nothing less than a title win should allow Kohli to retain his captaincy. If he manages to take India to a title win in 2021, he keeps his T20I captaincy. If not, it is time Rohit Sharma captains India in T20I's. Rohit is not young right now, and he is truly far superior to Kohli in terms of captaincy (even after taking into account the extremely hard working MI backroom management in assembling the right squad and getting them in the right place to perform).

Let Kohli play as a batsman in T20 cricket while Rohit captains the side. Who knows, Kohli might flip up his batting another level in that case.

Jesus Christ! I logged back in to make the same post.

I have a feeling that the stopwatch has been started on Kohli. If we don't win the 2021 T20 World Cup, I think he will not be the white ball captain anymore.

 

[Bevab]

Here is a 'short' review of team performances this season in the IPL. (1/4)

Chennai Super Kings

A very poor year by their illustrious standards. Had a disaster in the first half of the tournament despite a strong start versus Mumbai and went from bad to worse with questionable team selections, tactics and some bizarre statements publicly. From what I can tell in my local circle, casual interest in the team this season noticeably dropped until the end of the season where they had a commendable resurgence that few teams over the IPL have done after being knocked out. Avoided the wooden spoon largely due to that but make no mistake, this was still a poor campaign and there remains much work ahead.

Ruturaj Gaikwad was probably introduced a season and a half too late, but better late than never I suppose. With three consecutive fifties, he remains firmly established as the domestic opener leading into the upcoming season.

Sam Curran was a revelation this season, chipping in with wickets and crucial runs regularly. There might even be the case of him being underutilized, such was his impact. Has also established himself as a fan favourite who will be warmly welcomed at Chepauk if crowds are permitted.

Jadeja's improvement with the bat in recent years continues and he has now shown that he can bat in the top six without any question. Rayudu's return to good form is also vital for the team going into next season as a senior domestic batsman.

The spinners have been poor, there is no other way to put it. Karn, Chawla and Jadeja have all been flops with the ball and the importance of having overseas players in other roles means that Tahir or Santner is unlikely to be a first-team regular next season. To make matters worse, last season's highest wicket-taker in the SMA Trophy was not given a single game.

MS Dhoni looks visibly past it with the bat, bereft of confidence and form. If his next match is to be the next CSK game, they might be in trouble with a rusty captain in the playing XI who is unlikely to be dropped.

Player of the Season : Faf du Plessis for carrying that batting lineup on his own at times and later on changing his gears to be an aggressive opener to allow the young Gaikwad to settle and play himself in.

Delhi Capitals

This is a team that has been visibly on the rise. From a wooden spoon in 2018 that coincided with a captaincy change mid-season to a playoff spot last season and their first final this time, it may only be a matter of time before they lift that IPL Trophy that has eluded them till now. A strong start to the season led pundits to predict that they would be the only ones stopping the Mumbai juggernaut but a slump in the second half very nearly threatened their entire season. They will still be happy about how things have gone this season but one wonders if they could have achieved more with some of their regulars contributing in a better manner and with less injuries.

Rabada and Nortje formed a devastating pace duo that contributed 52 wickets. Given how they rely more on their express pace, the Kotla pitch will not hamper them in any way and the way they came back after a sudden loss of form by their high standards was commendable.

Prior to this season, Marcus Stoinis had just 473 runs in the IPL striking at just below 130. He took just 15 wickets with the ball. Not the worst of numbers but there was a sense that he could have gone the way of his fellow Aussie flops in recent IPL years if he did not perform this season. To make matters worse, he was visibly struggling in the middle order role for years with even his national side admitting defeat in their pursuit of the finisher in him. It is remarkable that after all of this, he struck 352 runs with most of it coming in a role he previously struggled with while also picking 13 wickets despite not being optimally utilized with the ball.

Ashwin and Axar may not have led the way in terms of wickets but the control they offered to their side in the absence of a wrist-spinner for most games was remarkable in conditions that often did not suit them best. Watch out for them squeezing the lives out of the opposition next season in much more dangerous conditions at the Kotla.

Rishabh Pant went from having two of the best individual seasons in IPL history to an absolutely terrible one that he only managed to salvage to an extent in the final game of the season. With his keeping also visibly declining and his fitness under the scanner, can Delhi's best batsman in the last two years bounce back next season with a very critical crowd ready to pounce on any mistake he makes?

The drop-off in quality in the second half of the season was alarming, there is no doubt about it. Shaw looked like he was a walking wicket, Shreyas despite finishing fourth on the run scorers list has endured yet another campaign where the number of match-winning contributions he has made has dwindled, Rahane has been outscored by a bowling all-rounder and Hetmyer has not lived up completely to his hype as one of the most destructive hitters in world cricket.

Player of the Season : Shikhar Dhawan will be my controversial pick here, some of his performances this season have been one man acts sometimes and the way he carried his team forward without any support in the second half of the season especially after Pant's injury is remarkable. With questions looming over the long-term viability of his inclusion in Indian squads, he has shown that he is not leaving anytime soon.

 

[LiveLoveABD]

By the way, it got revealed today from MI that they have been trying to get AB from RCB for 3-4 years and they even tried to get Rashid Khan from SRH!!!

No wonder they actually did end up getting Trent Boult!

 

[SaiSrini]

Potentially big news! Hope this is true (from a CSK fan perspective)

Full auction for IPL 2021 - The Hindu

It looks like the BCCI is thinking of adding a 9th team for next season itself and has informally updated the franchises about conducting a mega auction early next year. If a 9th team enters the fray, they might reduce the retainers for each existing side?

I pray that this news article is completely true!! Except for Mumbai Indians, everyone else must be praying that this is true (I mean even DC won't mind this considering how they faded away in the 2nd half of this season)

 

[LiveLoveABD]

Potentially big news! Hope this is true (from a CSK fan perspective)

Full auction for IPL 2021 - The Hindu

It looks like the BCCI is thinking of adding a 9th team for next season itself and has informally updated the franchises about conducting a mega auction early next year. If a 9th team enters the fray, they might reduce the retainers for each existing side?

I pray that this news article is completely true!! Except for Mumbai Indians, everyone else must be praying that this is true (I mean even DC won't mind this considering how they faded away in the 2nd half of this season)

Don't see any other reason for buzz to be talking about it. I personally feel that the IPL is too big for a two month window. Ten teams, mega auction and a 'round the year' IPL depending upon the Indian season. I think there is a LOT of foreign talent that doesn't get showcased in the IPL so if say New Zealand are playing Australia then on that Sunday of that week, Chennai and Delhi have to miss their kiwi and Aussie players. May be two games every weekend of the year when India isn't playing international cricket.

 

[SaiSrini]

Don't see any other reason for buzz to be talking about it. I personally feel that the IPL is too big for a two month window. Ten teams, mega auction and a 'round the year' IPL depending upon the Indian season. I think there is a LOT of foreign talent that doesn't get showcased in the IPL so if say New Zealand are playing Australia then on that Sunday of that week, Chennai and Delhi have to miss their kiwi and Aussie players. May be two games every weekend of the year when India isn't playing international cricket.

Regarding Harsha's opinion on the "mega auctions", I sort of differ with him. When you add in new teams to the league, it becomes imperative that the new teams have access to a wider pool of players to choose and build from. I know this means that teams that invest in players are not able to reap the rewards long enough, but the thing is, they know about it from the start (that there is going to be the possibility of the team being disbanded and rebuilt again).

If the IPL locks in on the no of teams and tells us that we won't have any more new teams, then the idea of getting rid of the mega auction and moving towards a "scouting/drafting system" will be good. Until then, we have to stay with the idea of a mega auction. Maybe they can increase the cycle from 3 to 4 years.

It will be interesting to see how the league plans to expand. It has almost reached its peak where the tournament has become so important for all players around the world. Its forcing players to reduce their priority on international games (we are already seeing examples of this scenario with Rohit Sharma and Mumbai Indians).

 

[ShamiLoverGlipGlops]

BCCI approves 10-team IPL from 2022 at AGM in Ahmedabad

So 10 team tournament confirmed from 2022. This means, 2021 will not have the mega auction for sure since that would be needed for the 10 team tournament. Also we definitely want the 2011 format back where teams are divided into 2 groups. Back in 2011 the ten teams were divided into two groups of five. In the group stage, each team played 14 games: facing the other four teams in their group two times each (one home and one away game), four teams in the other group once, and the remaining team two times. A random draw was used to determine the groups and who plays whom across the groups once and twice.

Will be interesting who will the 9th and 10th team represent. Seeing Jay Shah leading BCCI, I think one of the teams will be Ahmedabad and other probably Lucknow, Patna? Would love to have a team called Kashmir Warriors.

 

[ShamiLoverGlipGlops]

Rajasthan Royals mull releasing Steven Smith

His weak impact as a leader and batsman featured prominently in franchise's 2020 season review, ESPNcricinfo understands

www.espncricinfo.com

Well that is stupid from Royals. KKR should go after him and get him if he is released.

 

[Ashutosh.]

RCB -

1. Philippe/Finch
2. Padikkal
3. Virat
4. ABD
5. Sundar
6.
7. Shivam
8. Morris
9. Saini
10. Siraj/Umesh (Only for powerplay)
11. Chahal


If Philippe/Finch fails, then -

1. Padikkal
2. Virat
3. ABD
4. Sundar
5.
6.
7. Shivam
8. Morris
9. Saini
10. Siraj/Umesh (Only for powerplay)
11. Chahal

RCB needs two overseas finishers and one of them should be a keeper. Sending Sundar at 6 or 7 is just wasting his batting skills. He is not a hitter like Jadeja/Tewatia but he can score runs from single and doubles.

 

[Ashutosh.]

CSK -

1. Gaikwad
2. Jagadeesan
3. Raina
4. Plessis
5. Dhoni
6. Jadeja
7. Curran
8. Bravo
9. Shardul/Deepak
10. Chawla
11. Tahir

Jagadeesan is currently the highest run-scorer in SMAT 2021.

SRH -

1. Warner
2. Saha
3. Williamson
4. Pandey
5. Abhishek
6. Nabi
7. Abdul Samad
8. Rashid
9. Bhuvi
10. Sandeep/Kaul
11. Natarajan

CSK, MI, DC and SRH already have a balanced team.