Indian Premier League - General Discussion

[SaiSrini]

I can only laugh at the Raidu inclusion in a WC side. There's no way I would drop Rohit/Dhawan to accommodate him. Not even Raina.

Rahul
Dhawan
Kohli
Rohit (Fixes the number 4 issue)
Dhoni
DK
Pandya
Bhuvi
Kuldeep
Bumrah
Chahal/Umesh

There is nothing to laugh about there. Rayudu has been a standout performer this season for CSK. And more importantly, he gives flexibility of batting at any spot. And Rayudu's success has come with very technical batting and proper cricketing shots. Rayudu has always been around the corridor of Indian cricket selection but before this IPL, was lacking the element to turn the batting pace on several notches higher. This IPL, he has shown that he can bat at a pace several notches higher and can even be a finisher.

 

[Velocity]

Delhi have huge potential to be the tournament winners within the next three if they retain their batting line up and allow them to develop an understanding. In the meanwhile, they should improve their bowling instead. Shaw, Pant, Iyer, Munro, Shankar and another foreign player, maybe even just Roy, would be a formidable top 6 as they grow and mature. The three Indian kids in particular must be retained at all costs.

It'll be interesting to see how Hyderabad cope when their bowling has as off-day against a good side. Their team seems a touch lopsided and there are not enough fast-scoring batsmen. If they concede 180+ in a play-off, can they chase it down?

Curious for your opinions - Until this point, who have been the 3 best and 3 worst buys of the season?

Three worst:

D'Arcy Short: he's been a disappointment. He might score well in Australia on fast pitches where the ball comes onto the ball nicely. He's struggled in India, on sluggish pitches. Maybe in the next few years he'll get used to the pitches and score. But for now he's played poor shots and I don't think he was a good buy and wasn't worth 4 crores.

Jaydev Unadkat: the obvious one, he definitely not worth so much. He's lost his form from last IPL. Expensive most of the time nowdays

Glenn Maxwell: Didn't step up for DD, poor form throughout the tournament

Best buys:

KL Rahul: This guy as been in terrific form, enough said. Bet it makes RCB fans go bonkers when they see him playing so well and wished he was retained!

Mayank Markande: He's been fabulous for Mumbai, really good pick

Ambati Rayudu: Very flexible batsman, can bat anywhere and holder of the orange cap. He was a good buy.

 

[LiveLoveABD]

There is nothing to laugh about there. Rayudu has been a standout performer this season for CSK. And more importantly, he gives flexibility of batting at any spot. And Rayudu's success has come with very technical batting and proper cricketing shots. Rayudu has always been around the corridor of Indian cricket selection but before this IPL, was lacking the element to turn the batting pace on several notches higher. This IPL, he has shown that he can bat at a pace several notches higher and can even be a finisher.

There have been plenty of cricketers in the past X years littered with exceptional IPL seasons and younger than Rayudu. At this moment in time with one year to go removing or even contemplating the removal of proven international match winners like Dhawan/Rohit is very frankly, laughable. In the IPL, you can always target bowlers in bowling attacks. International cricket is another kettle of fish altogether. I'm not saying that we should pick Yuvraj over Rayudu for his international career, BUT at this moment in time I see :-

1) Rahul above not just Rayudu but probably before a lot of other people. It's not just the runs he's getting but also the manner in which he's getting them. It's the burden of a comparatively weaker franchise and I swear to god the ball just seems to travel off his bat like nobody's business. Again, very versatile and dynamic bloke. He keeps if need be and can bat anywhere. Young as well.

2) DK has come of age. I don't remember DK playing 3 consecutive dots in any of his innings this year. Again, he can keep like Rayudu and when I first saw DK in an U-19 WC I was convinced we had seen the best keeper bat India will ever produce.. that won't happen now but he is the finisher we need and he can render tremendous support to Dhoni and Pandya. If you ask me, he will empower Dhoni even more in the death and the way Dhoni is going right now, I wouldn't want to face India.

3) Raina just has to be there. You cannot tell me you're picking Raidu over Raina on the basis of 1 damn IPL season. Raina unlike Yuvraj isn't having a shocker. Raina bowls, fields as well as anyone and just like he's proved in the past that when the big match beckons his ticker is the strongest. I still remember the uproar in 2011 when Dhoni went for him over Pathan in the knockouts. Till date, everyone talks about Dhoni, Yuvraj, Tendulkar and Gambhir for the QF, SF and F but nobody remembers those two jewels Raina played in the QF and SF and that knock by Sehwag in the SF. He's the sort of cricketer that binds dressing rooms together and does things that don't glitter but are gold.

Don't get me wrong, what Rayudu has done is commendable but the space in the India dressing room is just not there.

 

[Gaurav_7]

I am a big Raina fan and want him to play the WC. And Rayudu isn't just there because of this damn IPL season. He has been consistently performing whenever presented an opportunity. He may not be in the XI but should be picked in the WC squad is all I am saying. No way Yuvraj should be anywhere near the side, he is done. Period. Again I am a big fan but he just doesn't seem to be there while batting.

 

[Ohm]

To put Rohit at 4 just to adjust Rahul in Indian side is actually a good plan to end Rohit's career. We all know how big deal he's when he opens and how big shit he's when he bats anywhere else.

Although I think with few more opportunities Rahul could accommodate to 4th spot. He's technically gifted player with lots of fire power.

 

[AliB]

To add, Rayudu averages 50 in ODIs.

 

[abhi_jacko]

I am a big Raina fan and want him to play the WC. And Rayudu isn't just there because of this damn IPL season. He has been consistently performing whenever presented an opportunity. He may not be in the XI but should be picked in the WC squad is all I am saying. No way Yuvraj should be anywhere near the side, he is done. Period. Again I am a big fan but he just doesn't seem to be there while batting.

Same here. I am a big fan of Raina and would love for him to be include in the limited overs side. But he has been a shadow of himself ever since his come back. He was poor in the domestic season, below average on his international comeback - threw away his scratchy starts, did not bowl and even dropped catches.

He seems to be coming into his own a little in the IPL, although he is playing with a very strong lineup where he doesn't have to work with a lot of pressure. If he fails, the next 3-4 will more than cover up. He hasn't bowled in the IPL(so it wasn't just Kohli holding him back) and has been out-performed by multiple batsmen who can replace him if he has nothing to offer as a bowler. Drafting in Raina by ignoring his current struggles and purely based on the accolades earned 7-8 years ago would be very risky. Plus it would be unfair on the guys who are performing well.

 

[SaiSrini]

Same here. I am a big fan of Raina and would love for him to be include in the limited overs side. But he has been a shadow of himself ever since his come back. He was poor in the domestic season, below average on his international comeback - threw away his scratchy starts, did not bowl and even dropped catches.

He seems to be coming into his own a little in the IPL, although he is playing with a very strong lineup where he doesn't have to work with a lot of pressure. If he fails, the next 3-4 will more than cover up. He hasn't bowled in the IPL(so it wasn't just Kohli holding him back) and has been out-performed by multiple batsmen who can replace him if he has nothing to offer as a bowler. Drafting in Raina by ignoring his current struggles and purely based on the accolades earned 7-8 years ago would be very risky. Plus it would be unfair on the guys who are performing well.

True. As much as I want and love for Raina to be in that WC squad, he is currently on very shaky grounds. From what we've seen so far this IPL, Rayudu looks a lot more stronger technically, a lot more sounder and as quicker as Raina in terms of scoring runs. Also as someone pointed out there, he already has a healthy average in ODI's for India and a case could be made that he was not given the opportunities he deserved. Maybe not an immediate starter in the XI, but Rayudu has in my honest opinion, has made a strong case for the selectors to give him the rope in the upcoming ODI's before they select the WC squad.

Raina has had a meddling season so far this IPL. He has been among the runs (2 scores of 50+; a couple of 30+ ones) but he has looked neither threatening nor confident. Also he scares people with his constant "across the leg stump" shuffles due to which he easily gets out many times, mostly bowled. Such glaring weakness should very likely cost you a spot in the WC side.

 

[LiveLoveABD]

Looks like Manish Pandey is on noone's list. He is on mine.

 

[SaiSrini]

Looks like Manish Pandey is on noone's list. He is on mine.

This IPL, he has definitely displayed an apparent and 'glaring' weakness of not being able to force the pace easily. And for a middle order batsman who is expected to come after the 30th over (maybe even after 35th over as India's top order will fire most of the time), that's a pretty heavy weakness to have. We already have enough batsmen who need to get their eye in before the slog.

Before this IPL, I might have given him a chance, but this IPL has shown that Manish Pandey should not be in there unless he changes his game dramatically.

 

[ParkedTheBus]

Well, looking at the way Rajasthan has performed this season, it is almost safe to say that the stellar performance of Pune Supergiants in the last season (IPL 2017) can be put down to 'either Steve Smith or MS Dhoni or both put together'. And seeing the way CSK has performed this season under Dhoni

They look lost on the field most of the times, whether it's while batting or bowling. Rahane captained India extremely well against Australia in the test series but he doesn't seem suited to T20 at all, he keeps changing plans and doesn't stick to a particular mindset. One over he tries to be attacking and instead of following it up the next over, he moves to a strategy that's the polar opposite of the previous one. If Smith did play, would he really fit into this side? As it is they lack players who can score quickly, adding another slow scorer will only aggravate the issue.

Speaking of RPS, what a shame they didn't win the IPL last season. Would've been a true fairytale considering their overall resources are nowhere near the likes of MI, RCB, etc.

 

[abhi_jacko]

Raina has had a meddling season so far this IPL. He has been among the runs (2 scores of 50+; a couple of 30+ ones) but he has looked neither threatening nor confident. Also he scares people with his constant "across the leg stump" shuffles due to which he easily gets out many times, mostly bowled. Such glaring weakness should very likely cost you a spot in the WC side.

And he has not sorted his short ball issue at all. He can get away with it in IPL and on subcontinent wickets, but in foreign conditions such a glaring weakness will be easily exploited

 

[Bigby Wolf]

Epic!

 

[SaiSrini]

And he has not sorted his short ball issue at all. He can get away with it in IPL and on subcontinent wickets, but in foreign conditions such a glaring weakness will be easily exploited

I actually felt he has started handling short balls better (he doesn't get out as easily to them these days). Of course, he cannot master short balls at this stage, but I felt (even the commentators spoke about it this IPL season) that he seems to be playing them better.

He was pretty decent to good in South Africa where he came back into the Indian team against South Africa. Though he did it only in T20's, he was sent out with the purpose of hitting out and he did that well. Considering that he could be batting at No. 5 or 6 potentially in the WC side (if he is selected), he will need to do the same role (i.e. hitting out) and might actually work. The ball wont be as fresh and so the bounce shouldn't trouble him as much. To me, Raina is not a sure shot starter in the XI, but I am inclined to have him in the squad as backup for the WC. DK will obviously trump him ahead since DK is a much better hitter.

Speaking of RPS, what a shame they didn't win the IPL last season. Would've been a true fairytale considering their overall resources are nowhere near the likes of MI, RCB, etc.

Well, they were one big hit short of winning the IPL title last year (they lost the final in the last ball, where got a 2 instead of a four). Their performance last season was the reason why Rajasthan tried to replicate it this season, and failed miserably at it. They had two good heads there, in Smith and Dhoni. And they obviously couldn't get Dhoni back and Smith took it upon himself to tamper the ball.

 

[LiveLoveABD]

This is the best team RCb have fielded. Only tragedy is that it's in the 10th game!